Alexander Soros
Hungary’s government incited against George Soros. Now his son is the target
Alexander Soros, son of George Soros
© Pacific Press Agency / Imago Images
For Hungary’s right-wing government, billionaire George Soros was the number one enemy for years. The philanthropist has now put the reins in his son’s hands. Now the 37-year-old is the target of the Orban government’s propaganda.
For years, George Soros was the number one enemy of the right-wing populist Hungarian government. But no sooner has the billionaire and philanthropist handed over his influential foundations to his son Alexander than the agitation is now directed against the 37-year-old – a clear example of how the media, loyal to Prime Minister Viktor Orban, works to create sentiment.
Born in Hungary, George Soros became rich as a financial expert in the USA in the 1970s and 1980s. With his fortune he founded the Open Society Foundations (OSF), which promotes democracy, good governance and liberal political initiatives.
For right-wingers and populists, Soros is a hate figure who they accuse of dark machinations. As a Jew, the billionaire is repeatedly exposed to anti-Semitic hostilities. Because the foundations work for the rights of refugees, the Hungarian government accused Soros of wanting to “flood” Europe with migrants.
Viktor Orban’s government incites against Alexander Soros
“The government has turned George Soros into a kind of undisputed enemy” who is to blame for everything from high inflation to Hungary’s foreign policy isolation, says Peter Kreko, executive director of the Budapest-based think tank Political Capital, which is also backed by OSF.
When news broke on Monday that the 92-year-old was handing control of his philanthropic empire to his son, Orban was one of the first to comment on the news. Under the heading “Soros 2.0” he tweeted a scene from the film “The Godfather” in which the mafia boss kisses his son.
Soros “spent a fortune trying to influence events, including election results,” government spokesman Zoltan Kovacs said on the occasion of the change in leadership. “And all without a democratic mandate. The representatives of the Soros network were never elected, in a sense you could say they are almost a mafia,” he said.
Pro-government media spread fake news
The further reactions show the range and the methods of the pro-government media landscape in Hungary, in which there are hardly any independent critical voices. The Origo website published a photo showing Alexander Soros with a man whom the pro-government platform described as his “life partner”. “The two often hug and hold hands,” Origo continued. “This is obviously part of young Soros’ LGBTQ propaganda.” Hirado, a program on the main public broadcaster, further disseminated the private website’s claims.
As early as 2018, pro-government media published the false report that Alexander Soros had been spotted at the Budapest Pride gay parade. Think tanks close to Orban’s Fidesz party are fond of repeating the government’s rhetoric.
Philanthropist and billionaire George Soros has long been the target of criticism and hate speech from the Hungarian government
© Fabrice COFFRINI / AFP
Tamas Fricz from the Alapjogokert Központ Institute commented on the hints about Soros junior’s private life. The son will be even more “radical” than his father when it comes to “the question of a world government, compulsory vaccination or abortion,” he wrote.
“Was to be expected that the rhetoric would persist”
Away from the traditional news channels that many Hungarians rely on, the Megafon group of pro-government writers and influencers is also active on social media. It is unclear who finances the group. What is certain, however, is that Megafon spends millions of euros on political advertising on platforms such as YouTube and Facebook. Alexander Soros wants to “destroy our homeland,” wrote Megafon member Daniel Deak, warning that the foundations could become even stronger under the younger leadership.
The reporting of the pro-government media on Alexander Soros is very one-sided, says political scientist Kreko. “The fact that he also met regularly with right-wing politicians” such as former Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz or Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic is not mentioned, he says.
The political scientist does not expect that the son will be treated more fairly than the father: “The government’s rhetorical house of cards is built on George Soros, without him it would collapse. So it was to be expected that the rhetoric would remain in place even if when Alex Soros comes to the fore.”