Jesus fucking Christ people. Yes, this is an unfortunate decision from Switzerland. You dislike it, fair. Calling the entire country and/or everyone who lives there monsters, a disease, etc though is insane.

Can we maybe not use fascist rhetorics like blanket demonising and dehumanising statements about entities we don’t like?

I’ll just add that Fidesz (the right wing governing party) started out centrist in 1990. In 2010 they’d moved towards the right, but in a lot people’s minds they were one of the big, reasonable parties since the end of Soviet control. And also just in general “the opposition”.

The social democratic governing party also was inept and admitted as such (see Őszöd sleech).

So what happened was the left side of the spectrum lost all support, and what in many people’s minds was the centrist or centre-right opposition picked it all up. Just over half the votes gave them a supermajority and from that point they gradually attained complete control over all institutions as a result.

I think the main issue I have, and likely many others too, is how strongly it is phrased. If he thinks he’ll die in the next 5 or 10 years… fine, I guess? But that’s unlikely, and with how things have shifted just in the past 25 years, making a statement like this seems arrogant.

Is that overanalysing a one line answer to a question? Probably, but that’s what a politician gets and the effect of modern media.

Not to mention how the population and especially Labour supporters have turned pro-EU so he’ll likely alienate that part of his base. Strong stances are seen as better, but I really feel sometimes he should take a softer approach.

In places the article seems to imply they hadn’t noticed Hungary was a problem before. It has been, for years, and not just in relation to Ukraine.

Openly buddying up with Russia isn’t exactly new and should have raised red flags. Same with open hostility towards the EU. You can also add China there now too, so it’s not like the problem is just Russia.

Sadly, I don’t see things changing internally. People who support the opposition in Hungary are disillusioned and many of those who could have left. Most, if not all by now, media is owned by either the governing party or affiliates. The electoral system disproportionally rewards whoever gets a plurality, which will be Fidesz with the previous two points.

This has been developing for over a decade. Suggestions that this is something that is only now a problem shouldn’t exist.

Also FFS, Russia has been managing to either control people in power all over the world (see: USA) or put their own people in power. Treat this as proper foreign action.