Why The European Union Cannot Fight Orban (The Failure Of Liberal Globalism)

An 8/2/2021 article by Katja Hoyer published in Spector documents the recent fight between Hungary’s Prime Minister Viktor Orban and the European Union. Specifically, the article points out how it’s Orban who caught the European Union in a trap regarding its principals:

It is quite something when the self-proclaimed “illiberal” prime minister of Hungary, Viktor Orbán, reminds Brussels of its liberal principles. As part of the ongoing row over a Hungarian law which bans the “depiction or promotion” of homosexuality and gender reassignment, Orbán has argued that: “If we want to keep the European Union together, liberals must respect the rights of non-liberals. Unity in diversity.”

Of course, this is an argument the right has made before — especially in the United States. During the gay marriage debate, one common argument made by Republicans is that tolerance of homosexuality was actually intolerance of them. The argument didn’t make any sense, but it wasn’t supposed to, it was just supposed to catch liberals in some form of imaginary hypocrisy.

The only difference is, now, liberals are actually going along with this line of thinking.

Going back to Hoyer, the article is much more on the side of Orban and his government than I am, but I find the point it raises to be interesting nonetheless. The fact is, if the European Union is going to keep having “diversity” as its highest goal, then it’s going to have to deal with not just what Hungary is doing, but the possibility of other nations doing much more objectionable things down the line.

Of course, Orban is famous for being far from a fighter for diversity himself. Orban infamously rewrote textbooks in public schools to include statements like “it can be problematic for different cultures to coexist.” On Syrian refugees, Orban said they were “a security risk and endangers the continent’s Christian culture and identity.” On immigration in general, Orban says it “brings increased crime, especially crimes against women, and lets in the virus of terrorism.”

The European Union could point all of this out, but it won’t, because — contrary to how Europe’s nationalists portray it — the European Union lacks any kind of spine. In…