Christian Democrats: Momentum’s signature drive is a Soros move

István Hollik, an MP of the co-ruling Christian Democrats, on Tuesday slammed the Momentum Movement’s signature drive to hold a referendum on the law on the transparency of non-governmental organisations, dismissing it as “nothing but another operation from team Soros”.

Hungary’s Supreme Court, the Kúria, approved a referendum bid on the NGO transparency law two weeks ago, overriding the National Election Committee’s July decision to reject it.

Speaking at a press conference in front of an opposition signature collection stand, Hollik said that 53 NGOs have already complied with the law requiring civil groups to register with a court as foreign-backed groups once their foreign donations reach 7.2 million forints (EUR 23,000) in a year.

Not a single one of the NGOs that have registered has indicated that they consider the law to be “pestering” or that it would make their continued operations impossible, Hollik insisted.

He said that by collecting signatures for a referendum, “team Soros” was “going against the will of the Hungarian people”, arguing that the NGO transparency law was backed by an overwhelming majority of voters in the government’s last “National Consultation” survey earlier this year.