Hungary’s First Man in the army, high-ranking officers out of it

As we wrote earlier, Hungary’s defence minister, Kristóf Szalay-Bobrovniczky, dismissed more than one hundred high-ranking military officers despite the ongoing war in Ukraine. Even government-close news outlets can only guess why. The opposition says the government’s aim is to send away pro-NATO officers, but experts agree that there are no pro-Russia ones in the army and the new generation are much more pro-NATO than the old, so that cannot be a viable explanation. Meanwhile, Hungary’s First Man took the oath as a volunteer reservist of the Hungarian Armed Forces.

Demokrata, a government-close weekly, wrote that nobody knows exactly why the defence minister decided to dismiss so many high-ranking officials. Heti Válasz wrote that the next round of dismissals is on the way, commanders value currently their subordinates. Those receiving 6 or more points out of the maximum 9 can remain in the Army. Demokrata guesses the reason behind the decision is that Mr Szalay-Bobrovniczky comes from the private sector and wants to shape the defence forces alike. The official explanation is that the old generation cannot use the advanced technologies of the new weapons.

Government counting on experience of veterans

The government wants to draw on the experience of Hungary’s retired soldiers and veterans in the work of enhancing the country’s military and the esteem of its troops, the prime minister’s commissioner for priority social matters said in a video message posted on Facebook on Sunday. Zsolt Nyitrai said retired soldiers and veterans would be informed of plans for the future and given a chance to weigh in during a nationwide roadshow. He noted that there are close to 40,000 retired soldiers and veterans in Hungary.

Defence Minister Kristóf Szalay-Bobrovniczky, who also spoke in the video message, thanked veterans for their service and for “building the foundation which today’s generation can advance further in the interest of the security of Hungarians”, MTI wrote.

Source: MTI, Demokrata, DNH