The prime minister mentioned Brexit, the US presidential election, the “ousting” of the Italian government and Hungary’s migrant quota referendum as examples of people expressing that they had had enough of “smugness and self-righteousness” and of “being force-fed” utopian ideals.

He said democracy based on reason had been replaced by “democracy based on correctness”.

Under this model, the power of decision making was taken away from elected governments and handed to “media moguls and unelected international organisations”, he said.

Orbán added that supporters of “globalist politics” had not given up. Instead they declared that “democracy was over” in countries where the liberal forces had lost the elections. He said “globalists” had declared that “the people pose a danger to democracy”.

And so those who had been “in a panic over the state of press freedom” are suddenly calling for restrictions on the media and the internet, Orbán said.

Republished with permission of Hungary Matters, MTI’s daily newsletter.

MTI photo: Koszticsák Szilárd