Hungary’s NATO membership at risk? German-French démarche after PM Orbán’s political director’s cowardly words – UPDATED
Balázs Orbán, the prime minister’s political director, suggested in an interview shared last week that the Orbán cabinet would not fight against a Russian invasion like President Zelensky’s Ukraine. Today, the French and German ambassadors sent a démarche to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, writing that Orbán’s words were outrageous to the entire NATO. German Ambassador Julia Gross said yesterday that the Hungarian government had disembarked the road of the two nations’ friendship.
Would Hungary fight against Russia?
According to Szabad Európa, German and French ambassadors in Budapest submitted a joint démarche to Hungary’s foreign affairs ministry today. The step came after Balázs Orbán, the prime minister’s political director, suggested in an interview that his government would not defend the country against Russian aggression like President Zelensky does. He said they would not have recommended Zelensky to lead his country and nation into a “defensive war” against Russia. He said we [Hungarians – ed.] learned that in 1956: Hungary grasped that “we must be cautious with Hungarian lives”. We covered the story HERE.
Some insiders said Balázs Orbán can become Hungary’s next foreign minister. Photo: FB/Balázs Orbán
Orbán’s thoughts resulted in an outrage in Hungary. Heroes of the 1956 revolution and freedom fight rejected his suggestion that their brethren died in vain, and politicians and other members of public life demanded Orbán’s immediate resignation. However, PM Orbán called his namesake’s words only an error, and the political director remained in place. Balázs Orbán’s first reaction was a communication offensive against the leftist politicians and influencers. Later, he apologised for his “ambiguous” words and said he would fight against Russia in case of a war.
On Thursday, Gergely Gulyás, the Minister of the Prime Minister’s Office said that the government considered the issue as closed. That means PM Orbán does not mean to replace Balázs Orbán and he will remain the prime minister’s political director.
German-French démarche followed Orbán’s words
However, his thoughts stirred up a lot of dust even abroad. Germany’s Ambassador in Hungary, Julia Gross, said the Hungarian government got off the road of the friendship of the two nations at the Memorial Day of the German Unity celebrated yesterday in Budapest.
Julia Gross and Jonathan Lacôte submitted a joint démarche writing that the thoughts expressed by Orbán are insulting and contradict the spirit of NATO and the joint defence.
Photo: FB/Germany’s Embassy in Budapest
Szabad Európa says that a démarche is the mildest form of expressing protest in diplomacy. However, it is unfamiliar between allies. Based on the information of Szabad Európa, a diplomat handed over the demarche to the Foreign Minister of Hungary, but he was not welcomed according to the protocol. Regularly, the minister or one of his secretaries receives such diplomatic documents.
German Ambassador Gross slammed the Orbán cabinet
It was also unfamiliar between theoretically allied countries how Julia Gross, the German ambassador, talked about the German-Hungarian relationship in Vigadó yesterday. She slammed the Hungarian government’s pro-Russia policies and criticised the Orbán cabinet for the more than one-year-long delay of Sweden’s NATO accession.
That was the first time that no Hungarian government official was present in the celebration of German unity. The official explanation is that the government held a meeting in Geszt’s renewed Tisza Castle, accepting Minister János Lázár’s invitation.
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- Photo: FB/Orbán
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- Photo: FB/Orbán
Szabad Európa added that PM Orbán met with the leaders of German carmakers active in Hungary in the last few weeks. Márton Nagy, Hungary’s national economy minister, also held talks with them. The German carmakers did not support the EU’s Chinese car tax but also expressed an explicitly pessimistic opinion about the future of the European carmaking industry.
Szabad Európa asked the Foreign Affairs Ministry for comment but has not received an answer.
UPDATE: German envoy ‘encroached on Hungary’s domestic affairs’
Hungary’s foreign minister has summoned the German ambassador to Hungary in connection with a speech which “grievously encroached on Hungary’s domestic affairs” in a way that “violated” its sovereignty.
Péter Szijjártó added in a Facebook post on Thursday that the envoy’s speech yesterday was “completely unacceptable”, adding that “we always expect respect from ambassadors serving in our country.”
“We have called the ambassador into the ministry of foreign affairs and trade in the afternoon,” the minister said.
Hungary to vote against punitive tariffs on Chinese EVs, says FM Szijjártó
Hungary will cast an “emphatic no” vote on a European Union proposal on punitive tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Péter Szijjártó said on Thursday. Those tariffs are “harmful and dangerous”, Szijjártó said at a cabinet meeting in Geszt, in the south of the country. He noted that EU member states would take a vote on the proposal on Friday.
“The bureaucrats in Brussels are preparing for a ritual killing of Europe’s future competitiveness tomorrow,” he said. He added that European automotive industry representatives had protested “tooth and nail” against the measure and pointed to the local industry’s “extraordinarily close cooperation” with their Chinese counterparts.
He said Hungary was the “best example” of that cooperation, a place where partnerships between German car makers and Chinese suppliers were “close and in harmony”. He added that alliances with Chinese suppliers were a “fundamental element” of many big European car makers’ strategies, while they also saw China as a “very important market”, and many had manufacturing facilities there.
He warned that moving forward with the punitive tariffs would result in retaliatory measures, and said Chinese officials had already announced heightened scrutiny for some farm and food imports from the EU. Szijjártó said he had spoken with executives of the biggest German automotive industry companies during the week and they had taken a “unanimous” stand against the proposed tariffs.
Read also:
- Controversy: Putin supporters invited to the 29th Budapest International Book Festival
- Czech President criticises PM Orbán for undermining European unity amid Ukraine conflict
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12 Comments
The Real Person!
The Real Person!
The NATO membership for two years has been dancing around the reality that Hungary is no longer a NATO ally but a Russian ally inside NATO. The demarche will be sent to Szijjarto’s waste bin and Fidesz will continue to do what it has been doing to work against NATO such as holding up Sweden and Finland’s entry for two years. Fidesz will not change. Orban made his decision years ago to ally with Putin. The NATO membership at some point has to “put up or shut up” and put up means exhiling Hungary from the organization. Right now the organization has been reduced to conducting security discussions in a secretive manner without Hungary’s (and likely Slovakia’s) participation to avoid having a Russian mole in their meetings.
The Real Person!
The Real Person!
Concur – Larry.
NATO and the European Union – dislike the term but at times to get a POTENT message out, bit of SLANG can have a POSITIVE effect.
The European Union and NATO – just “pussy” footing around need to show some BALLS and SINK the Orban – Fidesz Government of Hungary who are the “Judas” of these (2) two “supposed” Democratic operations.
You grow tired become overly exasperated watching the “goings on” – that have spanned over the entire 15 years this “Heinous” Orban led – Fidesz Government have ABUSED there membership of NATO and the European Union.
Martin Luther – hilarious somewhat famous quote is :
” A Happy FART 😃never comes from a Miserable Arse.”
NATO & the European Union should continue on and get a load off there MIND’s – and “cleanse there ORGANIZATIONS – of the “Judas” lot under the leadership, the Prime Ministership of the “infamous” – Victor Mihaly. Orban – the betrayer of Hungary.
The Real Person!
The Real Person!
Hungary can purchase weapons on the open market. Hungary does not have to be an EU or NATO member. Hungarian FIDESZ government is right, why make the citizens further suffer because Zelensky wanted to be a war hero.
There is no reason for Russia to invade Hungary or any central EU countries. Peaceful trade is more profitable. Now, Austria, Slovakia and the Czeck republic are voting against funding another 100-year war in Europe. Croatia issued a statement that it will not send troops to Ukraine as part of a NATO force.
Ukrainian forces withdrew from strong hold Vuhledar, the Donesk Oblast Area. That is a win according to Zelensky and von der Leyen. (info from Bing Microsoft)
The Real Person!
The Real Person!
The two Orbáns will soon be in the dustbin of sad Hungarian history. Magyar is coming!
Orban knows what Hungarians want and Hungarians stand by Orban. The EU is very intolerant and because they cannot impose their view on Hungarians it acts against them. Hope the EU becomes a more respectable and tolerant entity for everyone.
The Real Person!
The Real Person!
Oh look, the globalists are unhappy that Hungary would not send its young men to die in a war it has nothing to do with and which the former are intent on prolonging at all costs… – AND then be forced to accept third-world invaders as those young men’s replacement.
Shove your demarches you-know-where and go jump in a lake.
Hungary’s future will not be ruined to fulfill shadowy globalist-socialist elites’ wet dreams.
The Real Person!
The Real Person!
Also an example of inexperience of ‘liberal democracy’ for Fidesz, other parties and voters.
While Magyar is attracting Hungarians to rallies and undergoing a public process of highlighting key issues, this then compels media to offer some coverage, people get talking and questions of the government, which needs to be aware of the underlying resentment (as Fidesz loses older voters to mortality and more younger people become motivated).
Many nations like Hungary do not have a deep appreciation, history or culture of liberal democracy, more transactional feudalism, which is leveraged by parties/govt., mostly of the right for power, but…. beware of hubris….
They may not be aware of these undercurrents, then a ‘black swan’ event, can tip citizens over the edge ie. hit the streets with a mission (see fall of Romania’s Ponta regime) and government can fall/resign, or simply get wiped out in elections with voters reacting to threats to their (& children’s) future including corruption, allied with dodgy regimes, potentially being kicked out of EU &/or NATO, further decline in economy and govt. services etc.
Then again, that’s for Hungarians, and it requires Hungarians to stop blaming others……and cooperate…
The Real Person!
The Real Person!
The war-mongering bullies in Brussels do not tolerate a member to be independent, despite their charter saying otherwise.
There were NO efforts to negotiate a peaceful settlement prior to the Russian invasion. Instead, Brussels and its actor, Zelensky, just rattled the sabers of war over and over.
Once this war ends, the lines will be the same as what could have been negotiated years ago, except there would not be over 1 million dead citizens that the EU does not care about because they can be replaced with migrants.
The Real Person!
The Real Person!
Larry, Discreditable, Nick, Anonymous, what makes you think Hungary would ever settle for socialism, something that you call liberal democracy.
Now, it is time for you to accept the fact the Hungary has a Christian Conservative Populous government. Do read up on the difference between conservative and liberal administrations. So far even the EU’s liberal so-called democracy is failing. The standard of living in the EU is dropping. Native populations are forced to support uneducated illegal migrants as well as the war in Ukraine.
The war is a double -edged sword; EU borrowed money + interest and individual nations and NATO also supply weapons which will have to be refurbished. The standard of living will drop significantly to pay for re-arming.
China is overtaking most EU industries. The EU relies mostly on the charity of the Americans. EU’s survival’s chances without US backing are nil. In Germany, the great car company Volkswagen is in danger of disappearing.
So, think for a minute, you EU supporters will help the EU to go by the way of the dinosaur. Distinction is a good possibility.
The Real Person!
The Real Person!
Nick
To “mariavontheresa”.
Orbán was a bit of fresh air after the socialists in Hungary, but now he is tiresome as he has been in a job for far too long.
With his not so smart politicians are ruining the Hungarian economics. Just look at the past high inflation due to the HUF continually weakening against the Euro, Pound Sterling and the Dollar.
Hungary needs fresh thinking to stop this continual decay.
The CEO’s of big Companies in the West continually getting changed after about 8 years to get fresh thinking injected for the good and benefit of the company.
In a genuine democracy such as the United States, the President is only permitted to serve for a maximum of two terms, i.e., for a duration of eight years. As Europeans, we should embrace this true democracy.
The Real Person!
The Real Person!
In the US food prices are up about 20%. Daily, 26% of the population cannot guarantee food for the table every day. I would say Hungarians are much better off than many Americans. Inflation would not have been so high if EU would have stayed out of the Russian/Ukraine war. The cost of a 100-year war is expansive. European standard of living would be higher if citizens were not forced to support millions of migrants, in case of Hungary, a southern border.
Let us put the blame on the right organization, the EU Parliament. EU Parliament interfered in the Agricultural sector and practically ruined food production. The EU’s insane green-new-deal makes as much sense as WWI. Participation in the war is the most damaging. The EU borrowed money at fairly high interest rate, and you are all paying for it.
So, stop blaming P.M. Orban, even a brilliant leader like him can only lessen EU deterioration so far and he is doing his best. Just say thank you to him.
The Real Person!
The Real Person!
To: “mariavontheresa”
You are absolutely right about the woke, international socialists Marxist Brussels. But, it was Merkel in 16 years in power was the one responsible implementing this Brussels power base undermining true democratic Europeans.
That’s the reason why all prime ministers, chancellors, and heads of state should only serve a maximum of two terms.
Consequently, Orbán’s tenure of 14 years in power in a truly democratically-governed nation is not truly representative of a genuine democracy, as constant power corrupts.
If only Germany practiced that, then we would not have the present woke run, Soviet style Brussels subjecting the likes of Hungary as well as their own people.