Roger Köppel, editor-in-chief of the Swiss newspaper Die Weltwoche, sharply criticized the EU during a panel discussion at CPAC Hungary with Anders Vistisen, MEP for the Danish People’s Party and Ernő Schaller-Baross, MEP for Hungary’s ruling Fidesz party.
The discussion, according to Mandiner, focused on migration and the functioning of the European Union (EU), reflecting key issues of the patriotic movement.
Vistisen called migration a fundamental issue for the patriot movement, stressing that opening borders could bring irreversible changes to the composition of societies. For example, major cities could become no-go zones for children and women, which he said was a consequence of the presence of too many Islamists being allowed in.
Köppel, for his part, has been a vocal critic of the EU, calling it an intellectual delusion and unfit to function. EU decision-makers, he said, are a group of elitists making decisions on migration, welfare and security that are contrary to the interests of citizens of member states. He says people must start simply saying “no.”:
Turning to Hungary as an example of the right path forward, he said, “From a Swiss perspective, Hungary is the center of resistance and common sense in the European Union.”
Schaller-Baross, meanwhile, reinforced the Hungarian government’s patriotic stance. “As members of the Patriots, we’ve worked to ensure that the voices of Hungarians and Europeans aren’t lost in the political deals of the Brussels leftist elite,” he posted on X.
Back in 2023, Köppel visited Orbán for a lengthy interview. At the time, he asked the prime minister about his Calvinist roots, to which Orbán replied: “We Calvinists are Protestants. Many people think that to protest is to be against something. That’s wrong. Properly interpreted, it means to stand up for something. And that’s what I do.”
More recently, this past February, Köppel interviewed both Orbán and AfD chairwoman Alice Weidel in Budapest.
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