Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has once again chosen a highly provocative, but undoubtedly effective, way of promoting Hungary, primarily to right-wing foreign tourists. In a post on X, Orbán claimed that European democracy is in decline while, by contrast, Hungary’s democracy is thriving. Appealing to his followers with the #VisitHungary hashtag, he invited them to ‘come and see’ for themselves.
‘Elections rerun, parties surveilled, candidates blocked, leaders punished for defending borders, free speech sanctioned,’ Orbán wrote in the caption of a video excerpt from his year-opening international press conference held on Monday, 5 January, listing developments from the past year that indeed confirm a democratic crisis across the European Union. ‘Hungary chooses competition over bans and sovereignty over centralized control. That’s what democracy looks like,’ the prime minister added.
During the press conference, Orbán once again delivered harsh criticism of the European Union. He said the bloc is undergoing a process of disintegration driven by internal contradictions and implementation failures—citing unrealistic timelines in the green transition and the dysfunction of the Schengen system as examples. He also predicted that patriotic, anti-war, and anti-immigration forces would gain significant strength in Western Europe in the coming period.
This is not the first time Orbán has promoted Hungary to tourists in a similarly provocative and controversial manner. As Hungarian Conservative reported, in November he published a comparable post inviting visitors to spend the holiday season in Hungary and experience Europe ‘the way it should be’, referring to the irreversible changes and security risks left by uncontrolled mass migration in Western Europe.
The accompanying video featured scenic shots of snow-covered Hungarian landscapes, Budapest’s rooftops blanketed in snow, the Christmas tree in front of the Parliament, and, most prominently, smiling families. ‘Looking for a holiday destination this Christmas? Visit Hungary. It’s beautiful and the safest place in Europe,’ the narrator says. ‘Hungary: your safe space in Europe,’ the video continues, concluding with a Merry Christmas message.
The unconventional holiday tourism campaign attracted the attention of the British outlet The Telegraph, which asked Orbán’s most vocal and frequent critic in the European Parliament, German Green MEP Daniel Freund, to comment. He told The Telegraph: ‘Christmas is literally about people from the Middle East seeking shelter. I don’t think anyone has ever understood the Christmas story less than Victor [sic!] Orban.’
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