Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán was on Monday confronted with the country’s struggling economy — and fended off the attack with a dig at neighboring Romania.
Socialist parliamentarian Imre Komjáthi said that “the Romanians, the Slovaks and slowly everyone will pass us by,” as he railed that Hungary was much worse off financially under Orbán’s longtime rule.
Orbán wasn’t having that.
“Anyone who claims that Romanians are better off than us should move there,” Orbán said, adding that he would be happy to debate anyone who thinks that life is better in Romania.
Romania has lagged behind Hungary’s economy for decades, but in recent years data shows that the country has caught up in terms of gross domestic product (GDP) per capita and purchasing power — and according to Eurostat, Romania has surpassed Hungary in some GDP indicators.
However, local media pointed out that Orbán’s comments could seem hypocritical as he once criticized former arch-rival Ferenc Gyurcsány for similar remarks.
Gyurcsány, a former socialist prime minister, claimed in 2006 that people who said Hungarian companies would be better off in Slovakia could leave the country — and the comment was used by Orbán’s right-wing Fidesz party during later election campaigns.
Now Orbán’s saying the same thing, and even repeated his parliament comments later in a Facebook post.
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