In light of the economic crisis, however, there have appeared political interest representations, radical and populist, that go beyond the elite, he said, referring to Donald Trump, the Republican presidential nominee. “The problem is that today’s crisis of the elite has turned into a crisis of democracy,” he said.

“The vast masses of people obviously and visibly want something other than the traditional elite propose and do,” Orbán said.

Speaking about European immigration policy and the future of Hungary, he said the US elections had significance. In Hungary today one of the main supporters of migration pressure on Hungary is the United States.

Partly this comes from official policy, he said, referring to a statement by President Barack Obama at the recent NATO summit.

The Americans think that whoever does not regard immigration as a positive and to be encouraged, summons up the worst of the spirit of the twentieth century.

This is the standpoint of the Democrats, and given that the Democrats are in power, this is official US policy, he said, adding it was not a matter of indifference as to what the next US president thinks about migration.

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

MTI photo: Máthé Zoltán