The anti-establishment Alternative for Germany party has blamed billionaire investor George Soros’s Open Society Foundation attempts to mould public opinion, the German outlet Handelsblatt reports. The newspaper cites the party’s spokesman Petr Bystron, saying the investor has gone too far.
“George Soros goes too far with his ideology of open borders. Every country needs borders,” Bystron told the newspaper.
He pointed at the example of a journalist association Neue Deutsche Medienmacher, reportedly advocating more diversity in the media.
Bystron accused the NGO, which received $100K from Soros-sponsored foundation as well as the German government, of slander against his party, the NDM described as “a right-wing radical party” with “ethnic ideology.”
The group refuted allegations about acting against the foundation, as NDM managing director Konstantina Vassiliou-Enz insisted that Soros’s foundation does not interfere with their work. The foundation’s European director Goran Buldioski expressed readiness for a discourse with the party, according to Handelsblatt.
The foundation relocated to the German capital Berlin from Hungary, Soros’s native country, following a showdown with its authorities and Prime Minister Viktor Orban. It peaked in June 2019, when the right-wing Hungarian authorities adopted a system of regulation known as the "Stop Soros" Package, which sees that assistance to illegal migrants carries a prison sentence.
Budapest has on multiple occasions expressed strong opposition to the activities of the billionaire and Soros-sponsored NGOs, accusing him of interfering in the East European country’s domestic affairs, forcing globalization and welcoming illegal migration of “aliens,” who, according to Orban, disrupt the nation’s integrity.
READ MORE: Bankrolling the Resistance: The Soros Global Conspiracy Finds New Fuel in GOP
Hungary is not alone in holding a grudge against the billionaire for his active stance on politics. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan recently stated that Soros, he dubbed “the famous Hungarian Jew,” “sends people across the world to divide and tear up nations and uses the large amount of money he possesses to this effect.”
The US president, when asked recently whether he thought that Soros was paying for the migrant's northward march, said: "I don't know who, but I wouldn't be surprised. A lot of people say yes," cited by Haaretz.