Hungarian officials have condemned comments made by DK’s Budapest 7th District Mayor Péter Niedermüller on “white, Christian, heterosexual men”.
In a recent talk show, Niedermüller said that “[…] if we look at what remains if you strip away these hated delineations that we have listed: non-Hungarians, others, migrants, Roma, I don’t know what, then there is this frightening formation left in the middle: white, Christian, heterosexual men – and there are of course (some) women among them. That’s the family concept. And this is terrible, because if we look at what the so-called white nationalists are made up of all over the world: that’s it…”
Fidesz MEP Tamás Deutsch said the remarks are “racist, inflammatory and indefensible”.
Deutsch said Niedermüller’s comments were “offensive” and “stigmatizing”, saying that labelling anyone on the basis of the color of their skin, their religion or sexual orientation in Hungary and the rest of Europe in the 21st century was “unacceptable”.
The MEP said Fidesz expected an explanation from the leaders of DK and party MEP Klára Dobrev, who is vice-president of the European Parliament, and sought to know whether they agreed with Niedermüller’s remarks. Deutsch said his party would “defend the people attacked by Niedermüller” at a EP plenary session later in the day. “This is our moral duty.”
István Hollik, Fidesz communications director, called on Niedermüller “to quit public life”. Hollik said Niedermüller’s remarks could be interpreted as nothing other than “pure racism” and “hatred for family and Christians”.
Hollik said he will participate in a demonstration organized for Thursday to protest against the DK politician over his remarks.
Members of the Hungarian Catholic Bishops’ Conference also expressed their “astonishment” over the remarks. The body’s permanent council said on Wednesday that “Christians are being stigmatized because of their faith in Hungary in 2020.”
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