The image, which was distributed on a flyer in the city, was intended to point out the “threat of war” if people did not vote for Fidesz. It was also intended to brand the mayor, András Nemény, who was supported by the opposition, as a “man of war”.
Stock photo from 2013
The flyer caught the attention of the local community newspaper “Savaria Fórum”. According to their research, it is a stock photo of the grain market from 2013 from the photo platform Pixabay. This was edited to give the impression of a war zone – a desperate old woman was added in the foreground. However, the logo of the Technical University (TU) remained clearly visible.
At the top of the flyer, Mayor Nemény can be seen shaking hands with former Prime Minister Ferenc Gyurcsány – Orbán’s long-time favorite enemy. The text below reads: “Gyurcsány is a man of war. Nemény is a man of Gyurcsány. Whoever votes for him is voting for war!” An independent member of the Szombathely city council filed a complaint against the local Fidesz leadership based on the flyer, the news portal hvg.hu reported.
Local elections on Sunday
In Hungary, not only the European elections, but also the local elections are taking place on Sunday. Fidesz, the right-wing nationalist governing party of Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, is claiming during the election campaign that a vote for them is the only guarantee that Hungary will not be “dragged into a war”. The Prime Minister recently warned urgently about the horrors of war at a large demonstration at the weekend. Posters were also put up across the country showing leading opposition politicians within the black lettering “war”. Another poster shows Orbán within the blue lettering “peace”, with the addition: “We need it more than ever.” However, Fidesz has not stated whether the campaign is referring to the Ukraine war or another war.
SPÖ appalled by campaign
SPÖ federal manager Klaus Seltenheim was appalled by the Fidesz campaign and used the opportunity to attack the FPÖ, which sympathizes with Orbán: “The FPÖ is a disgrace for Austria. With Orbán, the FPÖ worships someone who advertises a burning Vienna,” said Seltenheim in a press release on Thursday. “How wrong do you have to be for the FPÖ to have someone like that as a role model? Where is the outcry from (Chancellor Karl) Nehammer (ÖVP) when Vienna, as the federal capital, has to serve as the basis for a despicable campaign? Orbán cannot be a role model – he is a destroyer and enemy of democracy.”
Olga Voglauer, the general secretary of the Greens, also sharply criticized Fidesz’s campaign on X: “Fidesz is advertising with the burning grain market in Vienna. This is populist insecurity and thus the business of Russian propaganda. And the #FPÖ? They want to make the head of this party the President of the Commission.”
“Anyone who copies Orban will ruin Austria”
“Anyone who copies Orban is ruining Austria and the EU – the Fidesz flyer showing the burning Vienna grain market is a shockingly impressive example of this,” wrote Neos EU lead candidate Helmut Brandstätter in a statement. “The fact that the FPÖ wants to make Orban the Commission President clearly shows that the Freedom Party stands for the destruction of the EU and not for a common, peaceful Europe.” Instead, more democracy and more say for the population is needed, said Brandstätter, which is why Neos are calling for a direct election of the Commission President in the future.
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Source: Nachrichten
