I know it is insulting to Asterix the Gaul, but the Viktor thinks he is like Asterix. Viktor Orbán: While…
February 1st, 2023
CPACK started in Budapest! An illustrious group of right wingers was greeted first by some priests (and rabbis ...) and…
As I am not part of any Catholic denomination or doctrine, there is no way I can relate to whatever…
Since Melania and Donald formally met with the Pope I suspect her transgressions may also have been forgiven.
Melania Trump is a Slovenian Catholic, but it is unclear if she attends mass at any parish. It is clear…
And the beat goes on …
This article reads like a crazy parody!
However, Bojár believed that even with great economic damage, Orbán would rather be outside the EU. He argued that Orbán would certainly not want his power to be limited.
dailynewshungary.com https://dailynewshungary.com/analysing-orbans-possible-huxit-geopolitical-expert-weighs-in/
I’m sure the mini dictator enjoys the EU-political role he has achieved.
LOL. Wonderful cartoon.
Sándor Csányi, president of the Hungarian Football Association, has an interview with M4 Sport which appears in today’s Magyar Nemzet. The topic was Hungarian fans at games wearing clothing or holding signs depicting a greater Hungary (Nagy-Magyarország), such as a scarf worn by Orban to a game that created a stir that even appeared in some regional newspapers in the USA.
Csányi argued in the interview that even though the president of the MLSZ informed that the representatives of UEFA’s anti-discrimination group (FARE – Football Against Racism In Europe) have already reported to the European federation three times that they consider the map to be exclusionary and nationalist, he considers it not to carry a political message.
But Csányi actually goes further and argues that the Árpád stripe flag which also is opposed by Football Against Racism In Europe should be allowed to be flown by fans.
Why? Because he argues it “was the official flag of Hungary for centuries. There was indeed a short period in Hungarian history when he embodied fascism and racism, and was made its symbol. But I think a shorter period could not overwrite a much longer period.” (My translation)
Apparently according to Csányi these objects only become a problem when they are linked with symbol of the explicitly Nazi Arrow Cross Party (Nyilaskereszt).
Now you can actually buy the Nyilaskereszt on the internet and in the advertising associated with it claims: “PERFECT GIFT IDEA – Are you looking for an ideal gift for your friends and family? This flag/banner is durable and great for indoor and outdoor activities. You surprise them at their birthday parties, Christmas day, Valentine’s day, or any other special occasion.”
The advertising also states that by flying the Nyilaskereszt you “will establish yourself as an expert in history and politics as you spend some quality time with your friends and discuss related topics.” Maybe one of those topics will be the mass murder of Hungarian Jews?
Even old members of the Arrow Cross in Chicago who slipped into the USA following WW2 using the so called “rat lines” never displayed the flag in part because they might draw the attention of Jewish Nazi hunters in the USA that they feared could lead to their exclusion from the USA.
In Germany showing the flags of the Prussian emperors and of course the Nazi flag is forbidden just like the swastika and the “Hitler greeting”. Anybody who manages this on the internet is of course immediately put into the group of Nazis or “Cross thinkers” (Querdenker). Yes, they exist but are not politically relevant, it’s just the police watching them because some of these crazies dream about a counterrevolution like Jan 6th in the USA.
And now back to Hungary.
US ambassador Pressman found clear words on Hungary’s / Fidesz position re the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Their support for Putin is ***expletive deleted*** and of course everybody in the EU knows this too. To call Hungary Putin’s Trojan Horse in the EU would be a logical step and of course nobody wants to feed a Trojan Horse.
Maybe it’s really time for them to leave – the EU is already using monetary measures but it seems that the Fidesz government doesn’t understand. They are still thinking they can go on supporting Putin and getting EU money at the same time.
https://dailynewshungary.com/us-ambassador-orban-still-pushes-putin-backed-policies/
I wonder when the average Hungarians will realize this – already the minimum wage in Hungary is lower than in Romania eg, prices for basic stuff like food are higher than anywhere else.
But it must all be the fault of Soros – at least that’s what the Fidesz loonies say!
There is a school of thought among American political scientists that the USA has crossed the rubicon to civil war.
Barbara Walter in her book “How civil wars start” near the end of that book argues January 6 may be the precursor to what is to come. I have been reading that book and her analysis of the civil war in the Balkans is pretty solid as it is for the civil war associated with Modi’s election in India and his own calls for attacks on Moslems. My daughter a Lt Col in the US Army Reserve gave me the book and asked me my opinion. She obviously sees problems ahead too.
We are without question the most heavily armed society on earth and the majority of police officers based on post election surveys appear to have voted for Trump in the last election. At least two Chicago Police officers have been convicted in relation to the Jan 6 coup attempt. There were numerous county level police officers near our Wisconsin home that at least rhetorically supported the insurrection and have made that known in my presence.
We are walking on dangerous ground.
School of thought or not – the gun addiction problem should be possible to handle without too much violence.
But I believe that a society which creates and nurtures Donald Trump, and even makes him popular, national leadership-material, suffers from a deep psychological disorder of a collective/cultural kind. And the gun addiction problem gives it a deadly face.
Well depending on the US Supreme Court it could require amending the US Constitution which is not too easy. First you need two thirds of both US houses of Congress to support the amendment, then three fourths of the 50 states legislatures would have to approve the amendment. It is very possible the US Supreme Court will uphold the right of private ownership of high capacity military style semiautomatic rifles. Those are the critical weapons leading to civil war in the USA. Commonly called assault rifles. There are now at least 20 million semiautomatic assault weapons in private hands here, and a total of 393.3 million Guns of all types in private hands here. More guns than people to shoot them.
AFAIK some states like California are trying to limit the buying of assault weapons but as Istvan describes there are already too many available.
I can count myself lucky that I never had any contact with those people on my over 20 visits to the USA. What I read now might make me think otherwise, maybe looking for other holiday destinations …
Thank you Istvan for your thoughtful comments.
The Russian news media today ran an article effectively supporting Orban’s purge of the Hungarian military. The article almost gleefully cited statements from the Hungarian opposition about de-NATOfication of the Hungarian military.
Szalay-Bobrovniczky the Hungarian defense minister is also quoted as saying there was no hidden agenda to the coming forced retirements. I can almost see Putin giggling reading that this morning.
Following our host’s rules for posting on this site I will not link to Russian sites that are carrying this story.
Szijarto seems to be very angry at US amabassador Pressman
https://telex.hu/english/2023/02/02/szijjarto-what-the-us-ambassador-thinks-is-completely-irrelevant
In other words:
We Hungarians don’t care what others (USA, EU, NATO …) think about us and we won’t follow any rules (that we’ve agreed to …) – we just want their money!
Today there was an article published in the Telex about a survey by the research 21 centre about the popularity and wishes for future roles of the best-known opposition politicians and the Viktor. (Research 21 has relations with Momentum, Anna Donaths party).
Here it shows, that Dobrev and Gyurcsány would have no chance to achieve relevant result in national elections. Even if the DK is the biggest opposition party, their leaders should not play a significant role in the future according to a large group of participants.
As I wrote before, I cannot understand the behaviour of Gyurcsány, long time ago it should have been clear to this man that staying in the front on the political podium is undermining every effort of good willing people to stop this desaster on a democratic way.
Telex: 21 Kutatóközpont: Még Toroczkai Lászlót is jobban kedvelik, mint Dobrev Klárát
Well, since DK is (and was from the start) effectively a Gyurcsány-Dobrev family enterprise, there is no real pressure on the leadership from inside the organisation. Besides, Mr. G is a much too dominant and self centered person, to be able to accept the bigger picture.
I agree with your description of Gyurcsány.
Maybe a better question to be contemplating is not the most viable opposition party to defeat Orban, but if it is any longer realistic to see an electoral path for removing Fidesz from power while Orban is in control of Fidesz.
Wolfi may well be correct that the EU has exhausted itself trying to leverage cohesion funds to promote democracy in Hungary.
Of course part of the problem is corporate greed from European firms that use Hungary’s low cost labor for their own competitive advantage. The USA does the same thing with Mexico using what is called the Maquiladoras system.
Possibly things like environmental activism against automotive battery factories for EVs in Hungary could become a wedge issue.
In Mexico that has not been the case where there is a treaty called the La Paz Agreement signed by Mexico and the United States in 1983 requiring hazardous waste created by United States corporations to be transported back to the United States for disposal. However, the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) reports that only 91 of the 600 maquiladoras located along the Texas–Mexico border have returned hazardous waste to the United States since 1987.
The Mexicans know US companies will pull out if that treaty is enforced and the environmental movement in Mexico has to deal with massive violence from armed gangs that will shoot them if they get too much publicity and in fact regularly kill journalists in Mexico for stories they write. The illegal drug industry in Mexico is a massive polluter especially in the fentanyl sector.
I guess it’s not surprising that EVs seen as a big part of the solution to climate change themselves in their production can be an environmental problem themselves.
Was this a reply to my post?
I would say it was a response to the extent there is still hope for using the electoral system to remove Orban. His rule is now institutionalized, as is that of his party.
If he suffers some type of health crisis then that might change things.
I did attempt to respond by it was reviewed and apparently not accepted for posting.
No worries, I was wondering what the survey results about the popularity of the opposition politicians have to do with Mexican-US waste contracts and the pollution caused by illegal drug production in Mexico.
The comparison with Mexican/US business relations relative to Hungary has little relevance.
Firstly, EU business structures limit the extent to which another member state can obtain special market favours within the legal framework, but of course 3rd-party actors may obtain different deals, depending on the level of corruption in the involved EU state. However, this doesn’t go unnoticed and sanctions are enforced as such things are exposed.
Secondly, the level of armed vigilantism – let’s face it, uncontrolled rogue militias – you often describe as a dominant factor regarding US/Mexican relations, doesn’t have a place in the EU.
The level of violence in Mexico is off the charts even in comparison to parts of the Balkans. The economic dynamics of offshoring are however very similar. German firms in particular are able to use the wage differences between Hungary and Germany and the US does the same with Mexico. Really whether or not Hungary has better educated workers than Mexico makes little difference.with robotics playing a huge role in mass production.
Many autos produced by US firms are filled with Mexican made parts shipped back across the border. Of the approximately 3.7 million vehicles fully built in Mexico during 2019, the vast majority were exported. Many came to dealerships in the United States.
Mast US automakers don’t necessarily shout about the number of Mexican-built vehicles streaming across the border under their brand names.
Even BMW is starting to build parts for EVs in Mexico going to the US market. They are constructing a new assembly center for high-voltage batteries in San Luis Potosí, Mexico. This investment of 800 million euros (or around $866 million with the current exchange rates) is expected to create around 1,000 new jobs in Mexico.
The BMW Neue Klasse vehicles will be produced in Debrecen, Hungary starting in 2025 and later in the main plant in Munich. The production in San Luis Potosí Mexico will start in 2027. BMW recently announced an investment of $1.7 billion in the expansion of its Spartanburg North Carolina production site in the US, with a billion dollars designated for electric vehicle production.
BMW sees both Hungary and Mexico as a similar source of lower cost labor. Toyota, Volkswagen, Nissan, and Kia all build full cars going to the US market in Mexico. VW produces VW Jetta,
VW Golf, and the VW Tiguan for the US market in Mexico. It goes on and on. GM subsidiary Chevy manufactures several of its popular vehicles in Mexico.
Audi which has long used Hungary for some car production also now builds cars in Mexico. The Audi Q5 for the US market is now built in Mexico at a factory that can produce up to 150,000 cars per year.
Hungary and Mexico fill similar slots in the globalization of auto production. Of course there are other industries using both countries depending on where the market is for the products.
The issue of industrial pollution by off shore companies at production sites is a huge international issue. Vast areas of even Vietnam have been polluted by foreign firms. I got to see it on my last visit there and environmental activists in Vietnam have been jailed for protesting this pollution.
The fight over the Chinese owned CATL battery factory in Debrecen is part of an international struggle over off shoring production of polluting industries. Fidesz is currently attacking Hungarian activists opposing this plant, even claiming they are professional protesters.
This Telex article today discusses the Fidesz attacks on the activists opposing the battery factory see https://telex.hu/belfold/2023/02/06/szijjarto-peter-akkumulatorgyar-reklam-indok-debrecen .
Here is a video of the so called professional protestors in Debrecen https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-qGKQWloy44 interesting that so many of the professional protestors had children.
They are fighting for their children’s future.
Of course Fidesz honchos don’t have these problems – they send their children to the West.
In case you don’t know, limiting enviromental pollution problems have been one of the (politically nuanced) top priorities in the EU since the days of widespread forest death, and sandstone erosion caused by the sour rain in the 70’es. Of course, the East European countries are a bit late to realize the detrements of living in and breathing toxic waste, but they are learning – the hard way.
But in the traditional Hungarian black propganda translation, it must be a conspiracy – what else would be acceptable?
Unfortunately, cheap Russian gas was a welcome quick fix, making the predominant coal and lignite burning power plants obsolete.
The current situation changed things back to the worse, which in turn puts pressure on greener alternatives, including EV’s, but the battle for supplying the electric outlets and batteries is very dirty. All this is completely lost on a Hungarian public, except those who care about their environment.
That would imply that the statutory EU minimum wages, strongly endorsed by Germany and supported by Hungary, could be lowered, enough to stay competitive with Mexico. The current monthly average (low wages) for auto workers in Mexico are app. 10.000 Pesos (490 Euro) vs. 550 Euro for Hungarian auto workers.
One of your best cartoons!
After reading some news on Hungary in the German media and the reactions of EU people I got the feeling that the EU now considers Hungary as another really unimportant sh*t-hole country or no man’s land, not worth investing time – or money.
So they’ll leave Hungary and Fidesz alone, just send them no more billions of €.
Problem solved!
Huxit might be welcome even …
PS:
Nicely dscribed her but most of the article is behind a paywall:
https://www.faz.net/aktuell/politik/ausland/ungarn-viktor-orban-steht-unter-reformdruck-der-eu-kommission-18649451.html
Die EU-Kommission verlangt von Ungarn weitreichende Reformen. Es geht nicht nur um die Justiz, sondern auch um Asyl, Unis und LGBTQ. Sonst fließt kein Geld.
Bad standing and strained relations, seem to be the Fidesz government’s chosen comfort zone in Europe and Nato.
It will be interesting to follow events in the former V4, as they currently develop in a more “favourable” direction for the government, and if Slovakian Zuzana Caputova becomes a popular candidate for Nato Chairperson, things do begin to look very “comfortable” indeed.
This podcast offers an analysis of the possible changes in Czech foreign politics (including V4), after the election of Petr Pavel.
Click the ply-button in the podcast link to listen.
The VoiCEE podcast: what Petr Pavel’s election means for the Czech Republic and the region – Kafkadesk
Today Politico published an opinion piece about the EU hitting the Viktor on a weak spot by blocking support for Hungarian students and science from the foundation universities.
There are some things this journalist does not understand.
Here is a quote:
“Many of Orbán’s opponents dismiss Fidesz as a kleptocracy, but the truth is that party has deep cultural and intellectual roots that it’s keen to nurture.”
DEEP CULTURAL AND INTELLECTUAL ROOTS has the Fidesz. I wonder why I did not discover that earlier. He is describing the regime as conservative.
“Fidesz has actively promoted a conservative intellectual culture, celebrating thinkers like the English philosopher Roger Scruton — a favorite of Margaret Thatcher — drawing in like-minded academics from around the world.” A CONSERVATIVE INTELLECTUAL CULTURE. Real conservatives should be offended by this sentence.
“It would, of course, be wrong to suggest that universities under Hungarian public trusts engage in any kind of pro-Fidesz ideological indoctrination.” He means this seriously, it seems he doesn´t know half the people and the head of the office who is responsible for the individual Erasmus+ grants resigned because the Fidesz boards of trustees from the foundations replaced their choices with students from their color.
” Orbán isn’t a political chameleon, and Fidesz’s particular potency stems from the fact that its style of governance has a strong intellectual underpinning.” INTELLECTUAL UNDERPINNING is causing the Viktors´ strength. I always thought it was fear, punishment, defamation, or cruelty that works best for him.
Amazing article.
Brussels hits Orbán where it really hurts — education – POLITICO
This article from the 24.hu describes the situation better.
University trust foundations spend more on their leaders than on their own scholarship programs | 24.hu
Sounds as if someone in the state propaganda dept. pulled a few Anglican strings.
Jan, reading this article I get a totally different result!
It clearly says that Fidesz is trying to manipulate the media, typical extreme right wing behaviour, and also that for them everybody who is not a “conservative christian” (i e not homophobic, not misogyne etc) must be left wing.
Anybody who knows a bit here will have alarm bells ringing as soon as R Scruton is mentioned.
So I see this article as a valid criticuism of Orbanistan politics – not a defense!
Thanks for the link, Jan. Nattrass writes for a UK-based portal called ‘Unherd’, at which he appears to have become its central europe ‘expert’. Rather than that, he is an apologist for just about all the populist-right nonsense that appears in this part of Europe. Last weekend he had a piece in Unheard entitled ‘Russia and Ukraine named as Europe’s most corrupt countries’, neatly glossing the situation in Hungary. He’s a nasty little ideologue who should probably be ignored. Unherd is similarly unpleasant and full of populist trash but presents itself as part of the ‘intellectual conservative right’ that derives from the thinking of people like Scruton, who appears in Nattrass’s article. You may wonder why I look at it… just to see what is happening in that part of the political forest… it’s an eye opener sometimes, particularly the comments sections which will make you laugh if you have a look.
“Beyond the Bubble”, I read it Freudian from a freelance journalist and commentator. The beyond, the deep cultural and intellectual roots must probably lie in communism. Culture and intellectuality is a relative view here from history. When blackmail, oppression and starvation were normal tools. Especially when you consider the North Korean rooted culture of intellect. You can’t deny it but you can’t admire it either. „Beyond the Bubble“ is inside the Bubble by William Nattrass. 😀
Trying again to answer Jan’s critic of the politico article:
Jan, reading this article I get a totally different result!
It clearly says that Fidesz is trying to manipulate the media, typical extreme right wing behaviour, and also that for them everybody who is not a “conservative christian” (i e not homophobic, not misogyne etc) must be left wing.
Anybody who knows a bit here will have alarm bells ringing as soon as R Scruton is mentioned.
So I see this article as a valid criticuism of Orbanistan politics – not a defense!
Thanks for your reply.
The author just quoted or wrote down the ventilated opinion of the regime about media control and their reaction to the EU about the blocking of funds. He places these opinions nicely in his view of the landscape of the Hungarian society pretending he sees the “big picture”.
In the title of the article, it says that the Viktor is really hurt by the EU decision.
The author only explains this by writing that the Viktor is afraid of losing control over higher education. (The institutional control he just gained by founding the foundations with their Fidesz leadership.) It is true, that the Viktor doesn´t want to see a just planted and carefully nurtured tree to fail to grow up.
But this EU initiative has many more dimensions than the author describes.
The letter about the EU stopping to cooperate (not only the funding) with the Fidesz foundations was sent on the 15th of December 2023. The Népszava was the journal that published the letter in January. This was like a nuclear bomb in the world of higher education. As the news could not be denied, the regime had to react. Here the quotes from the author come in play.
What he misses completely in my opinion are the real dangers for the Viktor, namely that next to the protests from all areas of lower education the students and scientists of the higher education start to take part in the protests. That was the reason for the “panic” reaction. Then, the almost complete unwillingness of the Fidesz leadership to leave the board of trustees is an important aspect. One main goal is to steal, and not like the author describes “Many of Orbán’s opponents dismiss Fidesz as a kleptocracy, but the truth is that party has deep cultural and intellectual roots that it’s keen to nurture.” A sentence I already quoted in my first post on this article.
In the meantime, everything will be silent until mid-March when the decisions start to take place.
Then an opinion from me about some opposition politicians criticizing the fact that the EU hurts the students, in line with the regime. If these people do not understand that this EU move only temporally stops some students from taking part in the big world, whereas the whole education system here in Hungary is leaving big groups behind as illiterates. Taking all chances for a better future. The student thing is not the most important, the loss of participation of scientists working at the foundations in international research programs hurts much more, and maybe leads to more scientists leaving Hungary like what happened with the CEU. And just this part would fit well in the Viktors’ plans. They can be replaced by right wing people teaching at the foundations.
A practice we have seen already at the Corvinus college for highschool education.
Sorry for the length of my reaction.
Jan, we probably agree re the fascist tendencies of Fidesz. You write “leads to more scientists leaving Hungary” and think that O1G is happy with that – but most Hungarians surely won’t agree.
And that sentence you quote from the article:
“the truth is that party has deep cultural and intellectual roots that it’s keen to nurture.”
is followed by
“Control over the dissemination of knowledge and ideas, and the framing of cultural debates are essential underpinnings of Orbán’s political ecosystem. His is a project that has long-term power goals — and that’s why an attack on Fidesz’s influence on higher education is so significant.”
And that doesn’t sound positive for O1G at all like the last sentence of the article:
As such, cutting international funding of Hungarian academia could hit Fidesz much harder than many realize.
That the Viktor wants to dominate education is a long-known fact. His photo is even in history books. He never made a secret of that. The anti LMBTQ law is part of this. But to call this “cultural and intellectual roots” goes too far for me.
The last sentence may describe reality a bit more, but not because Fidesz is losing control over highschool education. That would just be the start of a new peacock dance. The real danger lies in effective protests all around the country. And that would be a total loss of power.
They even started to protest in the complete orange city of Debrecen as they learned for the first time how the NER works.
Students are much more talented for protests than the citizens of Debrecen.
My problem with the article is, that many aspects about the EU blocking the funds are left out, the non-representation of the chronologie of the events, and telling me that this bunch of thieves have a cultural and intellectual basis. Except of a criminal culture and a major talent for cheating.
I did notice watching the videos on You Tube that many young families at the Debrecen protests.
The battery factory and toxic waste associated with it will likely impact those children more than the adults.
Orban’s family business “Hungary” is now the most corrupt state in the EU. It has overtaken Bulgaria and Romania. Orbania is best 😀
Don, I don’t want to brag but I already linked to the English Telex article on this in a comment on January 31, 2023 17:29.
But some things can or rather must be said as often as possible!
Sorry wolfi, I just wanted to write that Hungary should actually be called Orbania. Where – but the culture and intellect in Orbania rage. 🙂 Hungarianvoice wrote about it ten years and has not understood it until today.
Sándor Joób wrote two articles in Telex today and they are online back to back. One says “Russian troops are redeploying their forces in different parts of the front line in eastern Ukraine and are conducting an offensive in five areas, according to the morning briefing of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.”
The other article states “Although Russia is preparing for a major offensive in Ukraine, Russian forces can advance only a few hundred meters per week. This is almost certainly because there are not enough munitions and maneuver units for a successful offensive, according to the intelligence report of the British Ministry of Defense.”
It is possible both are true assuming the Russians do not see this war in a normal manner based on strategic objectives, but rather as a process of physical alienation of the Ukrainian Army over time.
In fact when I showed up in Vietnam in early 1972 the commanding US General Creighton Abrams explained to officers what he called the “one-war” strategy which had the desired end state of population security for the people of South Vietnam. In reality the “one-war” strategy that was a multi-tiered strategy of attrition.
While the tactics of large scale search and destroy missions were modified, the operational purpose was not. Simultaneously, the Phoenix Program (a covert CIA program to kill communists using special forces) conducted constant low level attrition warfare at the village level to prevent the resurgence of the Viet Cong. While these operations were being conducted the national command authority adopted the policy of Vietnamization in the summer of 1969. The training of South Vietnamese forces was predicated on their capability to conduct attrition warfare upon the departure of American forces.
That strategy collapsed as soon as our combat forces were withdrawn by Nixon and by 1975 the entire South Vietnamese regime collapsed.
Shouldn’t the US military leaders have seen this danger of the corrupt South Vietnam regime losing to the North and its people?
As I’ve written here before I was politically active in this in the 60s and we were right.
But the developments between Russia and NATO right now are on a totally different level.
And I have no idea how strong the support for Putin and his war are in Russia. Do they really believe they can win in the long run against NATO and the USA?
It feels so strange …
Well the corrupt South Vietnamese government was the only card left to play when the French pulled out. The elite of South Vietnamese politics were Catholics. Even today about 14% of the Vietnamese population under communism are practicing Catholics.
The US would have liked to have a less corrupt ally during that war, but really the French colonial government had already accepted corruption as a way of life.
There were Buddhist supporters of the South Vietnamese government too, but there were complications with them given their historic ties to the old royal family of Vietnam. The Nguyen Dynasty, (1802–1945), the last Vietnamese dynasty, which was founded and dominated by the powerful Nguyen family. The last Emperor was Bảo Đại but he was corrupt too. There were Buddhist officers in the South Vietnamese Army that supported restoring the Nguyen Dynasty even while I was there in 1972.
There are still members of that family in Vietnam today, and there are members of the royal clan in the USA too.
Corruption is institutionalized still in Vietnam. The Communists have been purging lately so Nguyen Xuan Phuc, the prime minister was forced out in January, former top diplomats Pham Binh Minh and Vu Duc Dam, who led the response to Covid-19 — resigned to take responsibility for bribery investigations tied to repatriation flights and a manufacturer of Covid-19 test kits. Vice President Vo Thi Anh Xuan will become the acting president until the National Assembly votes in a new leader, according to the Vietnamese Constitution.
I have been reading about all of this with amazement and my anti-communist Vietnamese friends here in Chicago are thrilled by all of this. They hate the communists with a passion to be honest.
„It is possible both are true assuming the Russians do not see this war in a normal manner based on strategic objectives, but rather as a process of physical alienation of the Ukrainian Army over time.“ Why only the Ukrainian army? Putin loves only “Russian” slaves.
István, this is off topic, but do you have an idea about how several obvious nut-cases in American politics (such as M. T. Greene and others who hear voices in their heads and those who think they represent “god”) have achieved such a large public following?
What’s going on over there?
Well if you look at the district Rep Greene represents in Congress Georgia’s 14th congressional district it is obvious it is overwhlemingly white and rural with what we call an exurban component (very far out suburbs of a major metro area).
Her radical far right nationalism fits well with the people who elected her. She is a star on far right TV especially FOX news, she says some crazy stuff that is hard to believe sometimes.
Have we seen this already?
https://www.democracymatrix.com/ranking
Hungary again is no 1 – with the lowest index of the EU countries if I got it right.
These numbers are from 2020 so now Orbanistan is probably even worse.
These guys are almost funny …
Hungary rejects attempts to create a uniform Europe but sees no alternative other than to remain a member of the EU and NATO, Gergely Gulyás, the head of the Prime Minister’s Office has said in an interview to Magyar 7, a Hungarian weekly in Slovakia, published on Wednesdaydailynewshungary.com https://dailynewshungary.com/minister-hungary-does-not-support-a-uniform-europe/
In other words – Hungary’s position re the EU:
We’re only in it for the money
You gotta admit Kétfarkú Kutya Párt always comes up with brilliant ideas. They hijacked again the Nemzeti Konzultáció billboards. “Endless possibilities” they say!
Having seen the original we had a good laugh when we saw this.
I always wonder (and my wife too …) how it is possible that a large percentage of Hungarians react positively to those Fidesz billboards like the Soros/Juncker/Gyurcsany family.
Are they really that stupid?
So you know what’s coming up:
Ramzan Kadyrov, a key ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin, has begun rattling off threats about attacking Poland after Ukraine.
Kadyrov, the head of Chechnya, suggested Monday that Russia should “denazify and demilitarize” Poland next.
https://www.thedailybeast.com/top-putin-ally-ramzan-kadyrov-says-he-will-not-hide-intention-to-invade-poland-anymore
But nothing about Hungary?
Well, Fidesz is on Putin’s side already …
Article about the beheading of Hungarian military by the new Defense Minister Szalay-Bobrovniczky, of super feudal roots. (Double y to start with, or rather, to end with…)
Sir Thappanchyyy
https://www.valaszonline.hu/2023/02/08/magyar-honvedseg-fiatalitas-szalay-bobrovniczky-kristof-nato-sztori/
This is the first time I know of that the regime openly with real words in a press conference admits that they give in to the pressure of the EU.
The ministers sitting in the board of trustees from the foundation universities resigned.
This shows how afraid the Viktor is.
Telex: Lemondtak a miniszterek az egyetemi kuratóriumok éléről, jelentette be Gulyás
This must be terrible for the Viktor, placed behind Zelenski, and he is not the one who is applauded. Completely different than in Magyarorszag.
At home: Viktor Orbán did not applaud when Zelensky arrived and seemed to avoid eye contact – video | hvg.hu
„Később azt is kijelentette, hogy Orbán Moszkva felé félúton elhagyta az őszinteségét.“ What sincerity, he’s never had it before and he’s not the only one. 😀 This is a prerequisite to serve in the party.
Jan, thanks for this!
It made me return to twitter after a long abstinence and some of the answers to this tweet are really crazy.
The way some people think- reminds me of our late trolls on HS.
Given the extreme degree of humiliation Orbán must have endured at such an event, especially after the “peace camp” bullshit, it will be interesting to observe the rhetorical contortions he performs, in order to save face with the home audience while donning a mask that fits the Russian face.
He is blaming Zelenski of course.
Orbán: Meghallgatva az ukrán elnököt, nyilvánvaló, hogy ez a háború elhúzódik (444.hu)
There are days (:
This is the Viktors twitter message to Zelenski:
Important #EUCO today with President
@ZelenskyyUA
. “Hungary will continue to provide humanitarian and financial support to Ukraine We support an immediate ceasefire in order to prevent the further loss of human lives. Hungary belongs to the peace camp!”
This is what the government really did until now:
Here is the list of what the Hungarian government has done to help Ukraine | 24.hu
the myghti lidur’s “peace camp” = “béketábor” in Hungarian.
Ákos Hadházy dug up an old Hungarian article from 1950 about the “72 year old Invincible leader of the Peace Camp”, and that was then:
— drum roll — Comrade Stalin*
see https://www.facebook.com/hadhazyakos/posts/755748172580146
*who seems to have lately [?] become one of Putin’s heros
That´s a nice one.
It seems that I was too early with my jubilation.
https://telex.hu/belfold/2023/02/09/modellvaltas-egyetem-europai-unio-miniszterek-erasmus-kormanytagok-allamtitkarok
Basically, the question is why educated people agreed to the politically indoctrinated “teaching method”. Or should it be called “educated” …
„Január 9-én derült ki, hogy nem kaphatnak friss uniós támogatásokat azok a magyarországi oktatási intézmények, amelyek közérdekű vagyonkezelő alapítványi formában működnek, vagy amelyeket ilyen alapítványok tartanak fenn.“
Accordingly, it doesn’t matter how many lickspittles resign.
I have been reading Thomas Sakmyster’s biography in English “Hungary’s Admiral on Horseback: Miklos Horthy 1918-1944.” I noticed citation of our former host Eva’s doctoral dissertation “The Road to Isolation: Hungary, the Great Powers and Successor States 1919-1920.” Sakmyster’s biography of Horthy is exhaustive and detailed if you can take detailed historical research combined with good writing it is well worth reading.
Honestly it has given me some additional insights into the minds of officers who served the Austro-Hungarian empire. Both my grandfather and great uncle were veterans of the Army of the Empire, my grandfather was a Gardezugsführer (a sergeant in the US Army system) and my great uncle was a Gardefeldwebel (master sergeant). Both were of course fluent in both German and Hungarian and as a young child was baffled by how they mixed Hungarian and German in their conversations. As a child I studied only Hungarian and my father would try to explain to me their German phrases since he studied German in high school and learned Hungarian formally in the very same Catholic Church program I did.
They came to the USA shortly before WWI or more than likely they would have died on the Italian front as both of their infantry units were decimated during the war.
You may also be interested in a review by Samuel Goldberger of Sakmyster’s book/”biography”.
That was a very impressive review of the book. Thanks for sharing it. My impression of the motivations for my grandfather and great uncle getting sent to a military boarding school in Austria by my great grandfather from Esztergom definitely seems driven by a lack of opportunities for them in the 1880s as the review noted was the case for Horthy.
I have great difficulty reading the older cursive scripts used in some letters retained by my
family in Hungary and in my possession here in the USA. But the future did not look bright in northern Hungary as WW I approached. Knowing German was a huge plus for them in Chicago because in 1900, 470,000 Chicagoans—one out of every four residents—had either been born in Germany or had a parent born there. Knowing German made them fully literate in Chicago back then and their English became adequate eventually.
So my grandfather and his brother used those skills to make money and accumulate political power in Chicago’s Hungarian community. Much of my own wealth and my father’s wealth comes from those ancient
linguistic skills.
„linguistic skills“ ah that’s what they call it today? 🙂 Then I don’t know what one can accuse Orban of.
Before WW1 most high income families in Hungary let their children learn German, it was necessary to have a career. And I read somewhere that Horthy himself spoke better German than Hungarian.
„Horthy himself spoke better German than Hungarian“ 😀
Putin and Orban kissing – tiny relief placed across the Parliament
This Telex article https://telex.hu/kulfold/2023/02/10/orosz-ukran-haboru-352-nap-hirfolyam discusses yet another Russian missile barrage against Ukraine today.
The article states: “Valery Zaluzhny, the commander-in-chief of Ukraine’s armed forces, said two Kalibr missiles launched from the Black Sea entered Moldovan airspace and then flew through Romanian airspace (a NATO nation) before entering Ukrainian airspace on Friday morning.” The article also indicates the Romanians did not confirm Zaluzhny‘s claim of a Russian violation of their air space.
Romania has now indicated its airspace was not violated by the Russian missile. This is a very big deal because right now there are US Army troops and also French troops carrying out joint combat drills at Romania’s Black Sea training range in Capu Midia, called Eagle Royal 23,
If Russian missiles were detected in Romania air space it is probable they would have been intercepted. When my daughter, a US Army Reserve Lt Col, was deployed to Poland last year as part of US Army forces a US Patriot interceptor battery was also deployed.
This indicates how close a potential conflict between NATO forces and Russia can be to Hungary and how Orban’s neutrality posture is meaningless if all hell breaks out.
Well, Orban is not neutral.
His attitude is to destroy all fast progress in the help for Ukraine.
He thinks that his trolling of the pro Ukraine coalition is popular in Hungary. Only the real Fidesz hardliners like his attitude towards the war.
The ministry of defence declared this evening that Hungary was not involved.
A Honvédelmi Minisztérium közleményben cáfol valamit, amit senki se gondolt, hogy aztán kijelenthesse, a béke pártján áll (444.hu)
(:
In the possible event of a friendly (Nato) occupation or an unfriendly (Russian) occupation, Hungarian neutrality will be reduced to a simple choice between cooperation or foreign administration.
This article sums up the Hungarian situation rather well: Hungary’s staging of War and Peace puts spotlight on its Russia stance | Hungary | The Guardian
Although the planning of opera seasons takes years, there was also a whole year to make changes, which did not happen.
Orbán, to this date, hasn’t produced a plan of foreign policy. The lack of a qualified parliamentary opposition makes public planning an open question.
The Fidesz operetta re-runs unchanged.
It’s unbelievable!
Russia is destroying Ukraine systematically and there will be no chance to live a “normal life” for them and Fidesz is whining about
“We want peace” …
All those stories about Fidesz licking Putomkin’s ass can not describe what is really going on.
But of course that will have consequences for Hungary too. Already everybody in the EU considers Hungary a sh*thole country. Fascists from Germany and Great Britain eg are moving there – life is cheap (for them …).
And there are cheap workers there, good for large companies but …
Wolfi, this article in the hvg describes quite well what choices the Viktor is making, and why.
Home: Orban did not and will not applaud | hvg.hu
If you click on translate the text is well translated.
„Orbán kritikusai és hívei is ugyanazt a mozit nézik. Ugyanazt látják, csak máshogy értékelik a látottakat:“ ? No fortunately we are not in the same cinema, if the faith is also strong!
Yes Wolfi this article appeared today https://magyarnemzet.hu/belfold/2023/02/eleteket-menteni-csak-bekevel-es-tuzszunettel-lehet discussing Péter Szijjártó’s interview on Kossuth radio’s Sunday Newspaper program.
Actually Magyar Nemzet’s article was considerably shorter and less detailed than those appearing in the Russian media today. I think even the Fidesz controlled media has become bored with repeating Szijjártó’s endless calls for a cease fire in Ukraine and arguments that providing weapons and ammunition to Ukraine is exacerbating the war. The truth is a ceasefire now would allow the Russians time to prepare in peace and quiet their offensive involving possibly over 300,000 troops.
But the situation is a blood bath on the front lines with both the Ukrainians and Russians refusing to reveal the extent of their military casualties to the public. The problem for the Ukrainians is the longer the war lasts attrition takes a greater toll on them because of a smaller population.
This is why NATO and the USA are building a full armored division for Ukraine and providing not just tanks and PPCs but tactical training in Germany.
The US Department of Defense announced over a month ago that they would be expanding their training of Ukrainian personnel starting in January. The new training program will aim to train 500 Ukrainians per month giving them instruction on combined arms operations and tactics from the squad to the battalion level.
The goal is to have these trained troops in place when the new armor arrives in Ukraine for a late spring or early summer offensive which will try to breakthrough Russian defensive emplacements. The Russian have created what is called a defense in depth and seem prepared to kill as many Ukrainians as needed to stall this offensive. It’s a roll of the dice if the NATO, US, and Ukrainian plan will work. Meanwhile the Russians will likely carry out their own counter offensive that is escalating even now.
This Telex story https://telex.hu/ellenorzo/2023/02/10/fact-check-nem-szallitjak-orban-viktorhoz-a-magukat-oroszoknak-megado-karpataljai-katonakat was interesting in that the on line Magyar Békekör (Hungarian Peace Circle) have been repeating claims by Russian military expert Igor Korotchenko […] suggesting to the Transcarpathian Hungarian soldiers conscripted into the Ukrainian army that they surrender to the Russian army as soon as they get to the front and they will be flown to Budapest to be welcomed by Orban.
Telex investigated the story and found it to be false but clearly some ultra nationalist Ukrainians will see it as yet another reason to expel Hungarian speakers from Ukraine.
Economists have warned Hungary about the hungarian unorthodox economic policy. After 13 years of unsuccessful economic management, Hungary continues to succeed. As in any field, Hungary is in the first place from behind.
“Hungary recorded record inflation in January 2023. The year-on-year inflation rate was 25.7 percent higher, the highest in the European Union and the highest in Hungary since 1996, according to figures released today by the Central Statistical Office (KSH).
Inflation in Austria is reported at 11.5 percent. Spain and Luxembourg register the lowest rate at 5.8 percent. In the European Union, it averaged 10.4 percent, according to KSH.”
The stories about all the shoot downs of Chinese spy balloons or other objects flying across the northern border of the USA and Canada has been in the European news.
CNN actually did today a good story on the implications of all of this https://www.cnn.com/2023/02/13/politics/unknown-objects-leaders-response/index.html . One rather humorous aspect of this is the inability of the US Department of Defense to call the objects they are shooting down left and right UFOs. That is because of the association of the old term UFOs with alien invasions.
Apparently the object shot down yesterday into Lake Huron by the US Air Force also flew over parts of northern Wisconsin and Michigan’s upper peninsula that have among the highest number of armed militia groups in the country. Many of the wackos up there are no doubt preparing for an invasion.
The frequent flyer is on a “peace mission” in Belarus.
Péter Szijjártó expects attacks because of his trip to Minsk | 24.hu
Szijjártó is the most intelligent among fools 😀 …
We’ve seen several statistics lately which show that Romania is more successful right now in the EU than Hungary.
So Bavarian “Christian” politician Markus Söder is in Bukarest right now to intensify the connections, especially to get more Romanians to work in Germany. A total turn around from the last years’ politics.
https://www.spiegel.de/wirtschaft/soziales/markus-soeder-in-bukarest-lange-machte-die-csu-stimmung-gegen-rumaenen-jetzt-umwirbt-die-partei-sie-a-bb04458c-7fc0-4744-8c3d-3772f1a83750
A bit OT:
Söder made a Bavarian law 5 years ago that every state owned office building must have a cross near the entrance.
https://www.faz.net/aktuell/politik/inland/soeder-erlass-in-kraft-es-ist-ein-kreuz-15617604.html
He’s a real “christian fascist”, against same sex marriage – because “every child needs a father and a mother”.
Now tell that to his illegitimate daughter who sees her father only on tv.
These guys are so abominable!
Söder is quite a piece of work, I agree with your assessment of his character (or lack of character).
Romania might be the right place for his business ventures. Because regarding business, the Romanian politicians are a lot more intelligent, cynical and greedy, than their Hungarian Fidesz counterparts, and they have vast resources at their command.
A scathing article on Hungary and its Putin friends – starting with a new performance of “War and Peace” in Budapest and then describing all the pro-Russian activities of the Fidesz government.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/feb/13/hungary-war-and-peace-opera-spotlight-russia-stance-ukraine
Just a few points:
neither Orbán nor his foreign minister, Péter Szijjártó, has travelled to Ukraine since the war began, although Szijjártó did visit Moscow in July.
Orbán claims Hungary is staying neutral in the war, but many critics say his actions amount to tacit support for Putin’s war effort, a strange look for a Nato ally.
And the beat goes on …
The latest furore came after the American conservative Rod Dreher, an Orbán cheerleader, wrote a blogpost about a meeting between foreign rightwingers and the Hungarian prime minister. In it, he quoted Orbán saying Russia had turned Ukraine into an “ungovernable wreck”, and comparing the country to Afghanistan.
Of course we all know about this – will NATO and EU react?
An article in the Guardian has scathing comments, also quoting some of O1G’s former friends:
Nobody wants to meet the Hungarians any more.
neither Orbán nor his foreign minister, Péter Szijjártó, has travelled to Ukraine since the war began, although Szijjártó did visit Moscow in July.
The latest furore came after the American conservative Rod Dreher, an Orbán cheerleader, wrote a blogpost about a meeting between foreign rightwingers and the Hungarian prime minister. In it, he quoted Orbán saying Russia had turned Ukraine into an “ungovernable wreck”, and comparing the country to Afghanistan.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/feb/13/hungary-war-and-peace-opera-spotlight-russia-stance-ukraine?
Of course we know all this already – but how will NATO and EU react?
Sorry, I thought the first version of this had been lost – wp is sometimes strange/crazy.
Some of you may know that in German Carneval many cities have parades with satirical shows. This year Putin is often shown – as Nosferatu or kissing the devil, putting the world through his meat grinder or attacking Mrs von der Leyen …
The weakness of the German chancellor is also shown.
However I didn’t see Hungary and its leader – obviously not important enough (or funny enough …).
https://www.spiegel.de/panorama/karneval-putin-figur-kuesst-den-teufel-und-dreht-die-welt-durch-den-fleischwolf-a-255071eb-c9aa-4ffd-91c1-9b4b8a4241da
“Nice” pictures!
Perhaps if the German public had been prepared for Budapest’s “Day Of Honor” (last saturday), one of the biggest annual Neo-Nazi events in Europe and always attracting many German fans, then perhaps Orbán would have obtained effigy status at the parades.
Michael, I don’t think so – nobody in Germany wants any connection with fascists/Nazis – except the German Neo-Nazis themselves of course.
Austrian Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg who was in Washington for a brief visit last week had an interview with the Washington Post. One the questions asked was about Orban and the Hungarian opposition to providing arms to Ukraine. Here are those parts of the interview followed by my own comment:
Washington Post: Your constitutional position of neutrality has also frustrated some other European governments, since Austria is not sending weapons to Ukraine.
“Our neutrality is a purely military neutrality. But Austria has at no point been neutral as far as values of principles are concerned. Our position is very clear — full solidarity with Ukraine. If you put humanitarian aid and public and private humanitarian aid together, we are among the top European countries aiding Ukraine. We are fully in sync with every single measure the European Union has taken. The only thing we don’t do is deliver weapons. But we don’t prevent any others from doing so.”
Washington Post question: Your neighbor, Hungary, and the right-wing government of Prime Minister Viktor Orban have shown a softness toward Russia that has made Hungary an outlier in Europe. How much of an ideological problem is Orban for the European project?
“Yes, to some degree. What Viktor Orban says publicly — I believe he has deep doubts as far as European integration is concerned and the value of it. But I believe, at the same time, he acknowledges that the vast majority of Hungarians support the membership of Hungary in the E.U. and NATO both. And he has to acknowledge that.”
Of course I zero understanding as to why Schallenberg brings up Hungary and NATO. Austria is one the members of the European Union that are not members of NATO. But both Finland and Sweden have abandoned a neutrality stance via Russia and are concerned for their own security.
Austria as we know was occupied by the four victorious Allied powers following World War II under the Allied Control Council, similar to Germany. During negotiations to end of the occupation, which were ongoing at the same time as Germany’s, the Soviet Union insisted on the reunified country adopting the model of Swiss neutrality.
While Austria joined NATO’s Partnership for Peace in 1995, and participates in NATO’s Euro-Atlantic Partnership Council it has not taken the step to join NATO. According to a survey in May 2022 by the Austria Press Agency, only 14% of Austrians surveyed supported joining NATO, while 75% were opposed. Maybe they think they are safe hiding behind marginal NATO member Hungary, it is all beyond me.
Neither Austria or Hungary are in full solidarity with Ukraine right now. The bloodshed in Ukraine is immense and the possibility of Putin playing the nuclear card is on the table. There will be unfortunately no neutrality from a nuclear exchange in Europe, it’s really a nightmare.
Unlike Szijjártó, Schallenberg seems to understand the internationally acceptable premise for successful neutrality. Knowing who your real friends are and maintaining proper communication and representation during times of crisis goes a long way.
The Hungarian wise-guy method of building risky, hostile relations, while under the protection of friends, can backfire badly at any time during a crisis.
I read his comments as an assessment of a lack of security, or political value, behind Orbán’s neutrality stance.