Viktor Orban visits Vienna, gets booed by protesters over his 'racial mixing' remarks

Viktor Orban, the nationalist prime minister of Hungary, made a one-day visit to Austria on July 28 after receiving harsh condemnation for his remarks opposing the creation of "people of mixed race." He was welcomed by Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer in Vienna, but was met by dozens of demonstrators. The protestors gathered in front of the Austrian chancellor's office in Vienna on the morning of July 28, clearly showed their displeasure with the Hungarian leader's visit.

Orban arrived in Vienna with a big police entourage on Thursday morning. His visit has already raised internal tensions after the Hungarian prime minister recently drew unwanted attention to himself by remarking on "racial mixing" and making a joke about Nazi gas chambers.

Officially, Orban's visit to Vienna will focus on Russia's actions in Ukraine and its implications, as well as cross-border cooperation in the fight against illegal migration. When he arrived at Ballhausplatz, there were already a lot of protesters present, including members of the 'Grandmothers Against the Right' group. According to the local media reports, the protestors welcomed the Hungarian leader with the whistles and boos.

Viktor Orban's comments

Orban, who gave the address in Romania on July 23, claimed that the international left in Western Europe "employs a feint, an ideological ruse: the claim - their claim - that Europe by its very essence is filled by peoples of mixed race. We don't want to be mixed-race individuals."

When criticising Brussels' intention to lower European gas demand by 15%, he seemed to allude to the gas chambers of the German Nazi dictatorship. According to analysts, Orban has made similar remarks in the past, although without using the Hungarian term for "race." Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer promised to speak with Orban to discuss the issue, saying the Hungarian leader's remarks were "of course to be criticised."

Nehammer stated, "Anyone who knows me knows that I don't shy away from direct dialogue."

The International Auschwitz Committee has called on the European Union, and in particular Nehammer, to dissociate itself from "Orban's racial undertones." Austria is the first EU country to receive Orban for discussions since he won a fourth consecutive mandate in a landslide in April. 

Image: AP