- Hungary’s lack of invitation was a surprise, especially since leaders of openly non-democratic countries from Asia and South America would be involved in the stitching.
- US official: Other countries do not appear as insistently as Hungary in expressing their opposition to democratic values in word and deed
- Hungary blocked the possibility of participating in the union as an organization, citing the fact that not all of its members participate in it
- In Hungary, there is a sense that Orbán has so far distanced himself from other democracies, and that the White House’s exclusion from the top is not a cause for concern.
- “I have noticed that the international community is treating Orbán like a virus,” commented Peter Markie Zay, who will run in next year’s election as a joint opposition candidate for prime minister.
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Original article on POLITICO.eu
This prestigious click isn’t necessarily a surprise – Orbán has faced international ostracism for years due to media muzzling, judicial interference, and restriction of LGBTQ+ rights. In addition, there is his intimate relationship with Moscow and Beijing, which worries Hungarian NATO allies.
The Hungarian corridor has generated much controversy, fueling speculation about what Washington is trying to achieve and whether this is the best approach. While this decision highlights Hungary’s actions so far, even some of the prime minister’s critics are questioning whether it also fuels Orbán’s regret over the unfair treatment.
Others question whether Orbán cares about this at all, given the extent to which he has departed from the political mainstream.
Geza Jessinzky, Hungary’s ambassador to the United States from 1998-2002, during Orbán’s first term as prime minister, said the ostracism was “humiliating” but “not surprising”. However, he added, this approach “makes it easier for the Hungarian government to say ‘well, that’s double standards’.”
Why weren’t they invited?
The guest list for Biden’s Democratic summit has been a source of speculation since he first mentioned the idea during his campaign. With the release of the final list of participants, the Americans faced difficult questions about their ambiguous intentions.
“The United States has transformed the diverse regional democracies whose progress and commitments can contribute to the development of a more just and peaceful world,” said Ezra Zia, Under Secretary of State for Civil Security, Democracy, and Human Rights. Meeting with journalists.
Regarding Hungary, a US official said his government’s harsh rhetoric may have played a role.
“At some point, you look at where you can move forward effectively in accordance with the shared values that underpin liberal democracy,” Politico said. – Other countries do not appear as cruel as Hungary in expressing their opposition to these values in words and deeds.
Publicly, the Hungarian government responded to the American humiliation with a mixture of trolling and obstruction.
“Hungary does not have serious democratic problems like the United States,” Orban’s chief of staff, Girgili Golis, told reporters last week.
It has reached a particularly sensitive point in the cultural fabric of America – Donald Trump’s continued efforts to convince his supporters that the 2020 election was stolen, is wrong.
“If we can help and America thinks it can ask us for advice, we’re ready,” he said sarcastically. In Hungary, we are not at the stage where nearly a third of the electorate believes that democratic elections have been rigged.
More formally, Hungary argued at a meeting of EU ambassadors last week that the union could not officially attend the summit as not all members were attending, prompting diplomats to abandon a draft joint written statement.
However, since the EU treaties contain a commitment to the Declaration of Principles of Democracy, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and European Council President Charles Michel still plan to speak at the event.
The rest of the article is below the video:
Guilty affair with Trump?
Hungary’s foreign minister, Peter Szijjarto, dismissed the summit as an “internal political event,” telling reporters last month that it was clear that countries with good relations with Trump were not invited.
Szijjártó failed to notice that even Hungary’s close allies–including Slovenia, whose prime minister is openly under Roman protection–were able to win the invitation, while only Budapest was excluded.
In addition to the publicly expressed cynicism, some Hungarian officials seem to take this omission seriously.
“I think this is a completely wrong decision based on a completely wrong concept that divides the world into teachers and students, including NATO allies,” said one of the senior Hungarian diplomats.
– This proposal is also incomprehensible in view of the fact that Hungarian soldiers served alongside their American colleagues in Afghanistan, Iraq or Kosovo – the diplomat added. NATO needs cohesion and unity in the face of the security challenges of the twenty-first century, not division initiatives.
Politically, however, there is a sense in Hungary that Orbán has so far distanced himself from other democracies and that excluding the White House from the top is nothing to worry about.
One politician at Fides, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said he did not think Orban and the party were concerned about the omission. The politician said – they think they are on a different path, on the path of illiberal democracy.
Orbán’s domestic opponents say the prime minister has isolated him.
“I note that the international community is treating Urban as a virus,” Peter Markey-Z. wrote in a short message, The conservative mayor, who will run against Orban in next year’s election as an opposition candidate. “He’s worked hard for it for a long time,” Marky Zay added, recalling a list of controversies over Orban’s government’s close relationship with Chinese, Russian and Azerbaijani authorities, as well as Hungary’s decision to grant asylum to Nikola Gruevski, the fugitive former North Macedonian prime minister.
However, Jeszynzky, the former ambassador – who is now critical of Orban’s government – argues that keeping Hungary aside could be a “missed opportunity” for dialogue.
– The Hungarian Prime Minister must face a choice: Are you still a member of NATO and a member of this democratic society, or will you link the fate of your country with Russia and China? – said Yeszenszky, who also served as foreign minister in Hungary’s first democratically elected government.
He added that not allowing Hungary “would isolate Orbán even more, which is not in the interests of the United States and NATO.”
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Editing: Mishaw Bronatowski
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