municipalities
Boris Palmer gives a lecture in Hungary at an institute close to Orban
The Mayor of Tübingen, Boris Palmer (independent). photo
© Bernd Weißbrod/dpa
Hungarian Prime Minister Victor Orban is known for his brutal asylum policy. The mayor of Tübingen now wants to give a speech in a collegium that is considered Orban’s cadre school.
Tübingen’s Lord Mayor Boris Palmer will appear on September 5 at Budapest’s Mathias Corvinus Collegium (MCC), an educational institution closely linked to the government of Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban.
At the invitation of the German-Hungarian Institute, which is part of the MCC, Palmer will give a lecture and take part in a subsequent discussion, the press office of the city of Tübingen confirmed at the request of the German Press Agency.
The MCC had already announced Palmer’s appearance and his lecture entitled “Over the Green Border” last week. Palmer has been mayor of Tübingen since 2007. With statements about refugee policy, he repeatedly caused controversy and was exposed to accusations of racism. In May of this year he left the Green Party. His management during the corona pandemic and his municipal environmental policy were recognized nationwide.
Orban’s ultra-right cadres
Prime Minister Orban is pursuing an aggressive asylum policy that includes metal fences at the borders, the non-recognition of reasons for asylum and illegal deportations, especially to Serbia. The European Court of Justice has therefore condemned Hungary several times.
The MCC is regarded as the training ground for the government of right-wing populist Orban. The educational institution and think tank imports, among other things, ideas from far-right journalists from the USA, whose writings it publishes in Hungarian translation. At the same time, it works on the international networking of right-wing conservative and ultra-right activists and movements.
The chairman of the board of trustees of the MCC is Balazs Orban, the political director of the prime minister’s office, who is not related to the head of government. The board of trustees and top management of the MCC are made up of hand-picked Orban loyalists.