i have a real problem with george soros ideology and using his wealth to project that throughout the world. george soros set up an open society foundation in hungary in the late 1980s, supporting young democrats including, at that time, viktor orban. but orban s growing interest in an illiberal democracy increasing clashed with soros vision of a liberal one. but soros, like birnbaum and finkelstein, was jewish. identifying soros as an enemy in a country from which more than half a millionjews were deported and murdered in the second world war risked replacing the demons of the past with the demons of the present. the new threat, according to orban, came from muslim migrants, brought into europe, however implausibly, by another outsider, a jew. although birnbaum stopped working for orban in 2015, and finkelstein
know, we understand what you re going through, we understand what your challenges are. we are going to make those challenges easier and better for you, we are going to give you a better tomorrow. that was reagan s message, that was donald trump s message in his first election. benjamin netanyahu introduced the finkelstein birnbaum duo to hungarian politician viktor orban in 1998. then in opposition, orban and his party won the 2010 election and have stayed in power ever since, using the techniques they taught him. it is notjust a way of simplifying your own message but of identifying an enemy, one that the public is told they ought to fear. but first, a suitable candidate needs to be found, one that cannot fight back. netanyahu, george birnbaum once said, that viktor orban
people s hopes and dreams are realised, and that is the solution for diminishing this polarisation of that exist today. george birnbaum, thank you very much for speaking to us today. thank you very much. hello there. conditions improve for much of the country for wednesday. we re in between weather systems. so again, it s going to be one of sunshine and showers, but nowhere near as wet as what we had across the south of the country on tuesday. now, that s tuesday s area of low pressure clearing off into the near continent. this area of low pressure will enhance showers
george birnbaum may be one of the most influential people in the world you have never heard of, a sought after political consultant who has helped a string of world leaders to power. benjamin netanyahu, viktor orban, as well as a serbian president, an austrian chancellor, and prime ministers in romania, the czech republic, bulgaria and even the mayor of kyiv, vitali klitschko. politically conservative with a strong sense of his jewish identity, he joined forces with arthur finkelstein in the 1990s. finkelstein was famous for making liberal a dirty word for many in america. a brilliant mathematician who liked to crunch electoral numbers. while george birnbaum worked on the campaign strategy. their first big joint success was benjamin netanyahu s surprise victory in israel in 1996 against the strong favourite.
discussed as part of a peace deal. finkelstein and birnbaum taught benjamin netanyahu the art of reducing his campaign to a few simple slogans and then repeating them until enough people believe him. netanyahu before coming back, then remained israel s prime minister for the next 12 years. he finally lost in 2021, but bounced back last year for his sixth term as prime minister. mr netanyahu spoke of the need to reinvent yourself as the leader of the disenfranchised masses, face to face with a mythical elite. was that you and arthur finkelstein s idea, too? i will say this any country anywhere in the world were people feel disenfranchised, who feel like they are not getting the opportunity that others get, and i will say that in most elections, people vote