Austrian Chancellor Christian Kern. (Flickr.com / SPÖ Presse und Kommunikation)
Giving one of his first speeches as a chancellor, Kern was quoted as saying that it “is an illusion to think that issues related to migrants can be made to disappear by creating a state that follows authoritarian principles, which is what Viktor Orbán is doing.” Kern, a Social Democrat, suggested that Austrian-Hungarian relations, which have become icy due to the migrant crisis, are not likely to change anytime soon.
Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó said that Kern’s remarks were “deeply disillusioning”. He added that it was “an illusion to think that a change in chancellors in Austria would bring a change in cultures in Austrian domestic policies”.



