George Soros’s Open Society Foundations, one of the world’s biggest financiers of non-governmental organizations, will leave Budapest in response to a crackdown by Hungary’s government that has become a focal point in a clash of democratic values in Europe.
OSF cited the safety of its more than 100 employees in Hungary as well as the security of its operations there, which fund dozens of NGOs in the country of 10 million. The step raises the stakes in Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s standoff with the EU as he seeks to complete a break with liberal democracy after winning a third consecutive term in elections last month.
