Published by TheBudapestBeacon
Minister Overseeing the Office of the Prime Minister János Lázár made an interesting statement Thursday during the government’s weekly marathon press conference.
When asked about the Fidesz-authored NGO bill, which would require those organizations that receive foreign funding to label themselves as “foreign-funded”, Lázár said it wouldn’t necessarily be a bad thing if a statement released by one of these organizations used “a little star” to indicate whether it is supported by the Open Society Foundation’s George Soros.
“Let’s say the Hungarian Helsinki Committee or the Hungarian Civil Liberties Union takes a position on a given issue regarding what is humane or inhumane, what kind of treatment is human or inhumane, then it’s not a bad thing if there is a little star or comment which explains whether this organization is supported by George Soros or not — someone who does in fact have an opinion on the issue,” Lázár said.
Before we start pointing fingers and accusing Lázár of pandering to those with a penchant for anti-Semitism, we should point out that he almost immediately apologized for the reference. The apology only came after a 444 journalist cut him off and asked, “There would be a star to indicate whether George Soros is a supporter [of the organization]? This is new.”