Tag Archives: Vladimir Putin

The Orbán media is stunned—Putin says Biden is “totally on the ball”

Back in Moscow after his one-on-one meeting with Joe Biden, Vladimir Putin had a chat with graduates of the College of Public Administration, during which he announced that “the image of President Biden, which is portrayed by our and even the American press, has nothing to do with reality.” Putin called him a “skillful professional” who is “completely at home with the material.” He is so good at what he does that “you need to work very carefully not to miss something,” and “he doesn’t miss anything, I assure you.”

The Washington Post took over the report of the Associated Press, which briefly summarized Putin’s opinion of the American president as “fully concentrated” and somebody who “knows what he wants to achieve. And he does it very shrewdly.” The New York Times called attention to the Russian state news media, which for months had ridiculed President Biden “as bumbling, confused and well past his prime” and noted that the mood had shifted, partially due to Vladimir Putin’s public admission that the negative portrait painted of Biden “has nothing to do with reality.”

Last fall I devoted a post to “Biden bashing in Budapest,” which described the government media’s treatment of Joe Biden just before the presidential election. Origo and other government papers described him as a tottering idiot who “is showing increasingly obvious signs of dementia.” In brief, the Fidesz media followed in the footsteps of the American right and the Russian media when it came to the assessment of the U.S. president. Biden bashing has continued in Hungary to this day. I suspect, however, that, following Moscow’s lead, this is going to change.

Why do I think that the Orbán government has decided to put an end to the incredibly vicious attacks on the U.S. president’s mental powers? The first hurdle foreign news items normally must overcome in Orbán’s Hungary is Magyar Távirati Iroda (MTI), the official state telegraphic agency, which often either doesn’t report on news the regime doesn’t like or calls on its censors to rewrite stories it receives. Thus, independent news sites get the bulk of their information on foreign affairs from foreign press agencies such as Reuters, AP, and AFP or from reliable foreign newspapers. This time, however, MTI gave a full account of Vladimir Putin’s correction of the Russian perception of President Biden’s mental abilities, which I think is worth quoting in full.

“The image that our press, and even the American press, paints of President Biden has nothing to do with reality,” Putin said.

The Russian president described his US counterpart as a professional and said they understood each other on key issues and found points on which cooperation was a priority for both sides at Wednesday’s summit in Geneva “in an atmosphere of goodwill.”

“We have to work very carefully with him so that we don’t miss anything. He is not missing anything, I can assure you,” the President told his audience.

“Biden looks fresh. We talked with him for two and a half hours and he’s totally on the ball. He looked at his notes from time to time, but we all do,” he said.

He pointed out that the US President had already been travelling in Europe for a week in a different time zone before the Geneva summit. As for the fact that Biden sometimes mixes things up, he said that his spokesperson Jen Psaki does it much more often.

He argued that this is not because Psaki lacks training or has a poor memory, but because “when someone thinks something is second-rate, they don’t focus on it.”

“And Americans think that there is nothing more important than themselves. That is their style,” the Russian leader said.

“I repeat once again: he (Biden) is focused and knows what he wants to achieve. And he does it very skillfully. You can feel it immediately,” he added.

He expressed his hope that the US President would be “left to work in peace,” unlike his predecessor.

Putin expressed his readiness to continue to cooperate with the United States to the extent that the US side is willing. He stressed that for his part he would defend Russian interests.

The editors of Híradó must have been taken aback by this MTI report because their headline for the story was “Putin gave a surprising description of Biden.” This is certainly true compared to the tone of earlier articles on Biden.

Doug Mills/The New York Times

But what is even more remarkable is that, alone among pro-government papers, Magyar Hírlap reprinted the full MTI report from Moscow as opposed to Magyar Nemzet, which decided to offer their “own” analysis, basically a cut-and-paste job, of the outcome of the Biden-Putin summit. The quotations come primarily from Fox News, and the article reaches the conclusion that “Putin has achieved more than expected.” The paper even quotes Donald Trump, according to whom “it was a good day for Russia, and we got nothing.” Nonetheless, right after this Trump quotation, the article took a sharp turn and added: “Nevertheless, Putin noted the day after the talks that the ‘somewhat discouraging image’ of Biden painted by the media has nothing to do with reality. The Russian president described his US counterpart as a professional and said they had understood each other on key issues at Wednesday’s summit. You have to work very carefully with him.”

Despite the best efforts of the unnamed staff member who wrote the article, it is impossible to successfully dovetail two contradictory assessments within the same article. One cannot insist that Biden lost the encounter and that Biden’s “stubborn optimism” might be chalked up to a “worrying naïveté” while at the same time, however abbreviated, including Putin’s positive assessment of his adversary as a tough negotiator.

The last time I checked the other propaganda outlets, no one had yet dared to stick their necks out, but sooner or later they will have to follow the independent news sources which have widely reported on the Russian reassessment of Biden’s mental state and his diplomatic skills. Because, let’s face it, neither the Russian nor the Hungarian media presented the portrait of a dotty Biden on their own initiative. The directives came from above, and now the communication/propaganda department must reformulate its media policy as far as the U.S. president is concerned. It will be fun to watch the process, the speed and manner in which it will be achieved. Because I assume that Viktor Orbán, the great friend of Vladimir Putin, cannot ignore the Russian president’s reassessment of Joe Biden.

June 17, 2021

Viktor Orbán’s infatuation with his EU veto power

Countries taking advantage of their veto power in the European Union is a well-entrenched practice. It was only a few days ago that we talked about Greek and Bulgarian vetoes against accession talks between North Macedonia and the EU. People with a good memory surely remember Slovenia’s veto of accession negotiations with Croatia over a border dispute in the area of the Gulf of Piran, which, after 11 years of deadlock, was finally resolved through international arbitration.

Normally, countries use their veto power in cases of perceived or real self-interest, but the Orbán government often uses it for the benefit of others. Even the repeated vetoes that Hungary employed against Ukraine’s forging closer relations with NATO, although on the surface serving Hungarian interests, were actually more useful to Moscow than to Budapest. Hungary also assisted Vladimir Putin when it blocked united action by EU member states in condemning the use of force by Russian law enforcement against protesters and journalists covering anti-government demonstrations. Hungary also helped out Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan when, in October 2019, the European Union was unable to condemn him for his unlawful actions during the Syrian offensive because of Hungarian objections.

Now let’s see some of the most recent Hungarian vetoes which prevented joint action by the European Union. One involves China. A week ago, EU foreign ministers gathered to adopt a text that would condemn China’s disregard for democracy in Hong Kong. This was not their first meeting to address the issue. The first attempt failed because of Hungarian objections. Therefore, in an effort to appease Hungary, the text was greatly watered down and brought to the council of foreign ministers again. And once again Hungary vetoed it. German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas found the veto “absolutely incomprehensible.” But between the two meetings, Viktor Orbán received a telephone call from Chinese President Xi Jinping and an invitation for a visit to Beijing. For Viktor Orbán, this kind of gesture means more than the odium of taking the side of communist China against the people of Hong Kong, who are fighting for the survival of democracy.

The EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell is still hopeful. He wants to make a last-ditch effort to achieve unanimity. But, as Politico predicts, “it is unlikely that even a new draft would be acceptable to Hungary.” The Hungarian justification is that earlier “declarations and conclusions have produced nothing but a further deterioration of relations with China.”

Currently, we are in the midst of a serious conflict between Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories. Josep Borrell made a statement on May 12 expressing dismay at the large number of civilian deaths and injuries. “While recognizing Israel’s legitimate need to protect its civilian population, this response needs to be proportionate and with maximum restraint in the use of force,” he said. He announced a call for an immediate end to the ongoing violence.

European countries have sharply different opinions about the Israel-Palestine situation. Germany, largely because of its past, wholeheartedly supports Israel. Heiko Mass said that “Israel has the right to self-defense. This escalation of violence can be neither tolerated nor accepted.” Although France “strongly condemned” rocket fire from the Gaza Strip “in violation of international law,” it also denounced the forced evictions of residents in East Jerusalem as “illegal.” Belgium, Ireland, Sweden, and Luxembourg are among those most critical of Israel. On the other hand, the countries of Eastern Europe, especially Hungary, Romania, and Bulgaria, are among its strongest supporters.

The virtual meeting of EU foreign ministers took place today. Israel’s deputy ambassador to the European Union announced that Israel will be monitoring the meeting, “but we are not stopping, we are going until we put an end to this attack by Hamas.” Reuters reported that 26 member states agreed to call for a ceasefire between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist Hamas and to boost humanitarian aid for Gaza but failed to reach unanimity because Hungary declined to join.

Again, the others “vowed that the EU would try to relaunch the peace process along with the United States, Russia, and the United Nations.” According to The New York Times, President Biden is “said to have warned Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel that he would put off growing pressure from the international community for only so long.” As for the participation of Russia, at least for the time being I don’t see any desire on Putin’s part to get involved.

Just like German Foreign Minister Maas, Josep Borrell said that “he honestly doesn’t understand how a country can disagree with the statement on a ceasefire, but this is the situation. But I have reminded my colleagues that the Council of Foreign Ministers is responsible for the development of the common foreign and security policy, and this is not some whim, but a mandate from the EU treaties that all member states contribute loyally to the common policy.” With, it seems, the exception of Hungary.

May 18, 2021

Hungarians on the European Union, the Orbán government, and Russia

The European Commission just published the Winter 2020/2021 Standard Eurobarometer 94, measuring public opinion in the European Union. The study was conducted by Kantar, a large data, insights, and consulting company based in London. The fieldwork took place in February and March of 2021.

The first question Kantar asked the respondents was to judge the situation in general in their own countries. The  countries that got very good or rather good ratings on leadership are the ones we are familiar with from other surveys: Belgium, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Luxemburg, the Netherlands, and Sweden. The countries that got the worst ratings, very bad or rather bad, are Bulgaria, Greece, Spain, Croatia, Italy, Romania, and Slovakia. Hungary did not fare especially well. It seems that the population is not so satisfied with the Orbán regime as the Hungarian opinion polls would suggest. An absolute majority of Hungarians sampled, or 57%, consider the general situation to be bad.

When it comes the economy, Hungarians might not be as unhappy as the French (79%), the Bulgarians (82%), the Greeks (90%), or the Spaniards (91%), but 63% of Hungarians find the economy, which even today is being touted as one of the success stories of the Orbán government, nothing to brag about.

Another indicator that one ought to pay attention to is the perception of employment opportunities. Here again Hungarians belong to the group that find job opportunities limited. Hungary’s 64% can be compared to figures in Slovakia, Romania, Poland, Austria, and Latvia. The next question was “What are your expectations for the next twelve months: will the next twelve months be better, worse or the same, when it comes to your life in general?” About half of the population of the member states believe that life will remain the same for them in the next twelve months (51%), but 64% of the Hungarian respondents think that life will remain the same. When it comes to “the situation in the country in general,” only 21% believe that the country’s situation in the next twelve months will be better, 33% think it will be worse, and 45% think it will remain the same. As for the economic situation, 21% of Hungarian respondents think it will improve (the hard-core Pollyannas), 38% think it will get worse, and 39% think it will remain the same.

These findings speak to the overall mood of the country. The pollsters then asked a specific question concerning “the most important issues facing the country at the moment.” People could pick two from the following list: crime, the economy, inflation, taxation, unemployment, terrorism, housing, government debt, immigration, health, the education system, pensions, the environment and climate change, and energy supply.  Uppermost on the minds of Hungarians is health (50%). They are also concerned with inflation (37%), the state of the economy (30%), and unemployment (20%). Despite the rapidly growing national debt, only 9% consider it one of the two most important issues facing the country at the moment. And the incredible campaign against immigrants no longer resonates: only 7% of the population are worried. As for the sorry state of education, 7% of the Hungarian respondents put it in the top two; 10% chose low pensions.

Although all these and many other issues are fascinating in this very detailed survey, the real reason that I decided to cover it was the questions on popular views of national governments and the European Union. Here is the question as it is posed in the survey: “How much trust do you have in certain institutions? For each of the following institutions, do you tend to trust it or tend not to trust it?” Few people in the European Union truly trust their government. The exceptions are Denmark, Germany, Estonia, Luxemburg, the Netherlands, Finland, and Sweden. In Hungary 56% mistrust the government, which is still better than the situation in the Czech Republic, Spain, or Croatia. The same is true about the Hungarian parliament.

As for the European Union, here Hungarians surprise us. The EU27 average is 49% to 43% in favor of the European Union, with 8% having no opinion. In Hungary it is 56% to 36%. That approval rate more or less matches Sweden, the Netherlands, and Denmark. Support for NATO is also high in Hungary: 54% to 34%, a level that is practically the same as that in Germany or Poland. It is hard to imagine, but even the “Brussels bureaucrats,” i.e., the European Commission, is trusted by a majority of the population (62%) despite years of a government campaign against it. The European Parliament is also trusted by 64% of the population, which is higher than their trust in the parliament in Budapest.

In brief, the majority of the Hungarian population tends not to trust the government, worries about the economy, inflation, and jobs. The sorry state of healthcare (or perhaps, in the minds of the respondents, the government’s response to the pandemic) is the most serious concern of the population. What is especially striking is that trust in the institutions of the European Union is a great deal higher than in the national ones.

Finally, I would like to add another recent survey by Globsec, which is headquartered in Bratislava. In the East and Central European region are some countries that are traditionally pro-Russia, such as Serbia, Bulgaria, Slovakia, and Montenegro. At the other end of the scale are countries like Poland and Romania that look upon Russia as a threat. Other nations in the region, including Hungary, don’t consider Putin’s Russia a direct threat to the country, but 53% of the Hungarian population consider Russian behavior too aggressive toward its neighbors. They also see Russia as a country that tries to weaken the European Union and NATO.

I suspect that Putin’s quick retreat under U.S. and EU pressure will have an impact on Russia’s standing in the world. It is also possible that Viktor Orbán will lose a close political friend, Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić, who the other day praised Joe Biden as “the best prepared politician he has ever spoken with…. He always had good judgment and always wanted to listen to us.” Vučić is courting the United States in preparation for renouncing the Serbian claim to Kosovo. If Orbán doesn’t watch out, he may remain isolated in the Visegrád 4 as well as in the region as a whole.

April 23, 2021

Russian “snap inspection” of Crimea and the Ukrainian-Russian border is coming to an end

The welcome news of the day is that, despite Russian President Vladimir Putin’s earlier saber-rattling remarks, Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu announced that, starting tomorrow, Russia will begin to withdraw its troops from the Russian-Ukrainian border and Crimea.

The amassing of perhaps as many as 120,000 troops for what were called “snap readiness exercises” was met with widespread condemnation outside of Russia. Over the past couple of weeks the number of troops in Crimea near the Ukrainian border kept growing steadily, according to U.S. military observers. Russia also had military hardware, tanks, artillery, helicopters, and fighter aircraft positioned along Ukraine’s borders and in Crimea as well as naval ships in the Black Sea. Sergei Shoigu had earlier justified the troop buildup by citing “threatening activities by the United States and its NATO allies.” But now, The Moscow Times reported, the Russian minister of defense believes that “the goals of the snap inspection have been fully achieved.” Apparently, “the troops demonstrated the ability to reliably defend the country.” The ruble and Russian stocks responded positively to the news.

Two days ago, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky invited President Putin to meet in the Ukrainian Donbass. He told him that “Ukraine and Russia, despite their common past, look to the future differently,” which shouldn’t be a problem but rather an opportunity “to stop the deadly mathematics of future military losses.” Zelensky received support from French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel. He also got the backing of NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg, who said that the “allies fully support Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.”

Volodymyr Zelensky inspecting the war zone

Many analysts interpreted the build-up of troops as a signal to Kiev, Brussels, and especially Washington that Russia is still a force to be reckoned with. But they warn that this Russian gesture doesn’t mean the end of tension between Russia and Ukraine because Sergei Shoigu still insists that “Russia is taking measures in response to threats from NATO.” However, Putin seems to be more willing to cooperate with the West and the Ukrainian government. Right after the announcement of the troop withdrawals, he said that, as far as bilateral relations were concerned, Russia was “ready to welcome the president of Ukraine at any time that is convenient for him” in Moscow.

Actually, Putin’s offer was not as generous as it appeared at first glance. Although he is ready to sit down with Zelensky, “if the Ukrainian president wants to negotiate a settlement in the Donetsk region, he should meet with the leaders of the Donetsk and Luhansk republics and only after that with the leaders of Russia.” Zelensky still welcomed the news and thanked Ukraine’s international partners for their support. He also welcomed the removal of the large contingent of Russian troops because their presence raised tensions in the Russian-Ukrainian border regions.

The Hungarian government said absolutely nothing about the end of the Russian military “inspection” in Crimea and along the Russian-Ukrainian border. However, a careful reading of today’s Magyar Nemzet reveals a possibly important shift in Russian-Hungarian relations. I think that the passage deserves a verbatim translation. After the announcement of the Russian troop withdrawal, the paper continued:

Since the beginning of the year, 26 Ukrainian soldiers have been killed in the armed conflict in the Donetsk region, which Kiev is fighting with pro-Russian separatists, presumably backed by the Russian military. So far, Moscow has explained the troop withdrawals by saying that they were justified by events in neighboring Ukraine and that the increased military presence poses no threat to anyone but is purely defensive.

Recently, the EU called on Russia to immediately withdraw its forces from the region. U.S. President Joe Biden expressed his concern and commitment to Ukraine’s territorial integrity during a phone call with Vladimir Putin last week. “Russia must stop its provocative actions and do everything possible to defuse the Russian-Ukrainian tension without delay,” NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said at a press conference with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmitry Kuleba last week.

With tensions rising, Ukraine turned to its Western allies for help, but Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky even told his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin that they should meet on the front line to avoid a diplomatic escalation of the war.

I could hardly believe my eyes. Is this the Magyar Nemzet that normally portrays Joe Biden as a tottering idiot or even senile and Ukraine as the oppressive tormenter of the Hungarian minority? And what is all the talk about the support given to Ukraine by the European Union and NATO? This is something very new, especially if you read another article in the same issue titled “Even rival countries agree to protect the Earth.” In it, the paper expressed its surprise that not just Angela Merkel, Boris Johnson, and Emmanuel Macron took the (virtual) floor but Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping as well. The article quoted Putin as saying that he is “confident that, despite Russia’s size, geography, climate, and economic structure, [Biden’s plan] is a feasible task.” Magyar Nemzet, with a certain satisfaction, noted that “the summit did not discuss the tensions between the United States and Russia, which are mainly fueled by the Russian state’s conflict with Ukraine and the imprisonment and hunger strike of Russian opposition politician Alexei Navalny.”

Democratic Ukraine will be 30 years old in August, which Kiev is planning to celebrate with great fanfare. Among the many politicians all around the world who have received invitations to the Independence Day celebrations are Prime Minister Viktor Orbán and President János Áder, together with their wives. It will be more than a protocol event because the Ukrainians are planning to hold a summit called “Crimea Platform” in order to demonstrate to Russia that the international community stands firmly by Ukraine’s territorial integrity and does not recognize the annexation of the peninsula.

Neither the prime minister’s office nor the president’s spokesman has said anything about the invitation, but, according to the Ukrainian Embassy in Budapest, the leaders of all Visegrád 4 countries received invitations to the event. Given the present relations between Russia on one hand and the Czech Republic, Slovakia, and Poland, on the other, I suspect that, pandemic permitting, these three countries will attend the celebrations of Ukraine’s independence. In that case, if Hungary declines the invitation, or if it sends someone other than the prime minister, it would be the odd man out.

April 22, 2021

Diplomatic turmoil in Central Europe

I certainly wouldn’t like to be in the shoes of the newly appointed Czech foreign minister Jakub Kulhánek, a 36-year-old social democratic politician who earlier held several high-level posts in the ministries of defense, foreign affairs, and interior. Kulhánek, after finishing his undergraduate work at Charles University, attended Georgetown University and received an M.A. degree in Russian studies. According to Aktualne, he is especially interested in the history of the Soviet Union, U.S. foreign policy, and the Visegrád 4 countries. During his first press conference, he admitted that “Czech-Russian relations have entered an extremely difficult stage,” but he expressed satisfaction that the government had “scattered a network of Russian spies out of [Czech] territories.” He also called the NATO ambassador and summoned the Russian ambassador.

President Miloš Zeman appoints Jakub Kulhánek foreign minister of the Czech Republic

Since the new foreign minister is little known, everybody was eager to see what his next steps would be. They didn’t have to wait for long. Kulhánek delivered an ultimatum to Russia, calling on Moscow to allow all deported Czech diplomats to return to their posts by tomorrow noon. If Russia refuses, the Czech Republic will reduce the number of Russian diplomats in Prague to the level of strength of the Czech Embassy in Moscow after the expulsion of 18 of the country’s diplomats. The Russian Embassy in Prague has about 120 employees, and reducing their number to match the Czech Embassy’s strength would mean expelling over 100 Russians. The result might be that the two countries would be left without any diplomatic representation in each other’s countries.

According to Czech sources, President Miloš Zeman and Prime Minister Andrej Babiš agree with the actions Kulhánek has taken. There also seems to be almost complete unity among the different Czech parties, which support Kulhánek’s bold decision despite the risk it carries.

The spokeswoman of the Russian foreign ministry, Maria Zakharova, said that the Czech Republic’s ultimatum is unacceptable to Russia and added sarcastically that Prague should save its ultimatums for NATO discussions. But so far the Czech government is not backing down. In fact, it is also in pursuit of pro-Russian Czech citizens who are suspected of terrorism-related offenses connected to fighting on the side of separatist forces in eastern Ukraine.

Meanwhile, President Putin gave a nationally televised speech in which he claimed that Russia has behaved with “utmost restraint,” yet “there’s been no end to the unfriendly actions against Russia.” His country often responds “not just to these unfriendly actions but also to outright rudeness,” likely referring to U.S. President Joe Biden’s calling him a “killer.” He assured his foreign adversaries that Russia doesn’t want “to burn bridges, but anyone who mistakes our intentions for indifference or weakness and themselves plan to burn down these bridges or even blow them up should know that Russia’s response will be asymmetrical, swift, and severe. The organizers of any provocations that threaten the core interests of our security will regret their actions like they’ve never regretted anything before.”

The escalation in demands and counter-threats may have serious consequences for EU-Russian relations and possibly for the future of the Visegrád 4. So far, the silence in Budapest has been deafening, but Viktor Orbán cannot continue to act as if nothing of any significance has happened. Viktor Orbán already has the reputation of being Putin’s Trojan horse, and his double-dealing moves have been an irritant to many EU and NATO politicians.

Now there seems to an opportunity, thanks to the Czech response to Russian aggression, for the EU to take up the mantle and answer in an appropriate manner to the proven Russian meddling in the affairs of European countries. The party leaders of the European Parliament expressed their shock over “the involvement of Russian GRU intelligence services in the 2014 explosion of an arms depot in the Czech Republic…. An attack with the involvement of Russian GRU intelligence services on European citizens in any of the EU’s Member States must be viewed as a serious assault on the entire EU. This is an unacceptable act of hostility.” All presidents of European parliamentary groups signed this document with the exception of the far-right Identity and Democracy group, where Alternativ für Deutschland, Matteo Salvini’s Lega, and Marine Le Pen’s National Rally found a home.

The European Parliament is not alone in speaking out. Josep Borrell, High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and Vice-President of the European Commission, expressed full solidarity with the Czech Republic and said he “supports the actions taken by its authorities so far and stands ready to support its further efforts to bring those responsible to justice.” He warned that “Russia must desist from activities that threaten security and stability in Europe and run counter to Russia’s international obligations.”

In Hungary, unfortunately not only the government is silent on Russian interference in Czech affairs. I haven’t heard any opposition party express their strong disapproval of Russian actions in the Czech Republic and Bulgaria. Neither have they inquired about the Hungarian intelligence service’s knowledge of the landing of two GRU officers in Budapest. And yet, what is happening in Prague might be one of the most important developments as far as Viktor Orbán’s future is concerned. The scandal has already spilled over into Budapest, and it might prompt more revelations about Russian operations in Hungary and Orbán’s subservience to Putin.

April 21, 2021

An ill-fated encounter between the Russian and EU foreign ministers

After spending a considerable amount of time on domestic and historical topics, it’s time to take a quick look at the foreign policy scene, which has been altered, even if indirectly, by the change of administration in the United States. President Biden and Foreign Secretary Blinken have initiated a comprehensive review of the U.S. relationship with Russia, and, perhaps not independently of that reappraisal, the European Union also became emboldened, resulting in the ill-fated visit of Josep Borrell, high representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy. Borrell has a fancy title, but, given the absence of a common foreign policy, the European Union is a toothless lion. Borrell’s trip to Moscow was a humiliating lesson, handed down by the supremely confident, long-standing (since 2004) Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.

Borrell apparently insisted on making the trip despite the horrible timing of the visit, immediately after the worldwide condemnation of the Russian government’s decision to jail Alexei Navalny, a political threat to President Vladimir Putin. According to Politico, Borrell didn’t have a well-defined objective for the trip, except for wanting “to put aside negative rhetoric.” Instead, he ended up attacking the United States over its policy on Cuba and praising Russia’s Sputnik-V vaccine. This didn’t save him from a mouthful of criticism from Lavrov over EU’s sanction policy, interference in Russian domestic policy, and the claim of “Western exceptionalism.” Finally, while Borrell was still in Moscow, Russia expelled three EU diplomats—from Germany, Poland, and Sweden—allegedly for attending demonstrations on behalf of Navalny.

Borrell’s unfortunate trip and his humiliating performance at the press conference drew sharp criticism from more than 70 members of the European Parliament. They demanded Borrell’s resignation or, they argued, if he is unwilling to step aside, he should be dismissed. Ursula von der Leyen, however, reiterated her full support of Borrell.

The Borrell-Lavrov press conference, February 5, 2021

In light of these developments, I thought it would be worthwhile to take a look at the Hungarian government propaganda media’s reporting on the same events. To my surprise, Magyar Nemzet didn’t carry the news about Borrell’s sorry encounter with Lavrov. Mandiner, however, did include a few paragraphs in an article titled “Moscow expelled three European diplomats on account of demonstrations.” It reported on the Russian surprise at Borrell’s friendly attitude while in Russia and his sharp condemnation of Moscow after his return to Brussels.

Híradó usually relies on MTI, Hungary’s official news agency, which is heavily censored. But this time the article on “the expelled Swedish, German, and Polish diplomats” also drew on reporting by the BBC. The Hungarian article naturally took the Russian side, which insisted that the foreign diplomats’ presence at the demonstrations was “incompatible with their status according to the Vienna Convention of 1969.” On the other hand, it listed all the important EU politicians, most notably Angela Merkel and Emmanuel Macron, who condemned the expulsions. Híradó was most interested in the Polish reaction, which it described in full detail.

As for the Navalny affair, MTI’s article was a surprisingly balanced summary of Navalny’s struggle against the Putin regime. It included information critical of Russia, including that “Western laboratories unanimously asserted that he was poisoned.” It also quoted Tony Blinken’s statement that the United States “will work closely with its allies and partners to hold Russia accountable for failing to respect the rights of its own citizens.”

Even more interesting was an opinion piece by Anton Bendarzsevszkij of the Danube Institute, described as an expert on foreign affairs and security policy focusing on Russia, Ukraine, and Belarus. In his article titled “The Navalny affair excludes the possibility of rapprochement,” he interprets the sentencing of Navalny as reflecting the Kremlin’s single-minded goal of “removing Navalny from politics and the parliamentary election to be held in the fall.” Bendarzsevszkij is certain that this step against Navalny will not be the last because Putin wants Navalny out of the way in 2024, when he can still run for the presidency, according to the latest amendment to the constitution.

Borrell was mentioned almost exclusively in the pro-government press in the context of his praise of Russia’s Sputnik-V vaccine, a gift to mankind, as he apparently put it, manifesting the wisdom of the Orbán government in allowing its first use in the European Union.

To learn anything about the upheaval in the European Parliament over Borrell’s visit or Ursula von der Leyen’s reaction to the demands for his removal, one must visit the independent sites or the foreign press. A thorough article appeared about the visit and its consequences in 444, and Attila Ara-Kovács, DK MEP, wrote an opinion piece in Városi Kurír. In his article, he points out that “Borrell’s presence in Moscow after Navalny’s arrest legitimizes everything that is happening in Russia today.” According to Ara-Kovács, Borrell is not equipped for the job for at least two reasons. Rumor has it that he admitted that he had never heard of the Magnitsky Act, which authorizes the U.S. government to sanction those it sees as human rights offenders, freeze their assets, and ban them from entering the United States. The other reason is his inability to represent the supranational interests of the European Union. The Spanish Borrell is a social democrat, and the Spanish social democratic party is in a coalition with the far-left Podemos, which, much like Orbán, attacks the EU and favors dictatorial and populist regimes. “Again, this case demonstrates the extent to which small-scale, peripheral nation-state interests can harm the union and hinder integration.” I don’t know enough about Spanish politics, and therefore I don’t know whether Ara-Kovács is correct or not, but Borrell certainly doesn’t strike me as a decisive and determined foreign minister of a political entity representing 446 million people.

February 8, 2021

Háry János’s misadventures with COVID-19

People who called in to Klub Rádió this morning were astonished by the latest statistics on the high rate of mortality among COVID-19 patients in Hungary, especially when they heard that the number of COVID victims per million is higher in Hungary than in Sweden, a country that has been viewed as the poster child of how to mishandle the pandemic. They were also shocked to learn that, according the latest statistics of the Central Statistical Office, last month 15,366 people died in Hungary, 5,279 more than in November 2019. Apparently, these figures are the highest since January 2000, at the height of a serious flu epidemic.

Although Viktor Orbán repeatedly reassures people that the medical community, even if at extraordinary sacrifice, can handle the situation, only today we were told that a hospital in Mosonmagyaróvár had “partially suspended its medical activities due to a lack of minimum necessary conditions.” It turned out that the Fidesz mayor of the town was never informed about the partial closing of the hospital and demanded details. Well, here are a few. If you are expecting a baby any time soon, your doctor should find a hospital in another town in a great hurry because Karolina Kórház can’t take you. The same is true of the departments of surgery and pediatrics.

Getting information about what’s going on in hospitals, nursing homes, and assisted living facilities is almost impossible because their managements are forbidden to release any data. Although Viktor Orbán had no problem dropping in on hospitals, members of parliament are barred from them. Thus, Ákos Hadházy may hear worrisome stories about the COVID-19 section in the Szekszárd hospital, but he was denied entry into the facility to see the situation for himself. He could only say that “if the stories are true, the problem is very serious.”

A few days ago, Viktor Orbán lost his temper in parliament when Zita Gurmai (MSZP) laid responsibility on his government for the extremely high mortality rate and the erratic handling of the pandemic over the last ten months. Although he wasn’t hysterical, as an opposition paper claimed, he refused to take any responsibility for the current medical situation in Hungary because decisions were made by the national task force and medical experts. He said that the government had only a very few responsibilities — to make tests available, to guarantee that there are enough ventilators, and to ensure the earliest arrival of the vaccine. Narrowing the duties of a government in this way is unacceptable, as was pointed out by, among others, János Kis, a political philosopher and a legendary opposition figure from the mid-1970s on, who has rarely voiced political opinions in the last twenty years. In a Magyar Narancs interview, part of which is available online, he outlines Orbán’s responsibilities for the present state of Hungarian healthcare, dating back to when he torpedoed healthcare reform in 2006 with the demagogic slogan that “health is not business.”

Yet, in the middle of this crisis, in which hospitals cannot keep pace with need, the government is thinking of creating a new gargantuan psychiatric, neurological, and neurosurgical center. As usual, professionals in these fields were not consulted. Plans must be quite advanced because by next year, we are told, construction can begin. And Miklós Kásler, minister of human resources allegedly responsible for healthcare, just announced that he is in the middle of “the reorganization of healthcare in all its details,” a frightening prospect given Kásler’s talents. As is the wont of the Orbán government, they are creating a directorate-general of hospitals which, as far as I can figure, will be another instantiation of the government’s centralizing efforts, making the functioning of the hospitals even more cumbersome and depriving hospital directors of any remaining decision-making powers.

The Orbán government’s handling of the economic aspects of the pandemic has been severely criticized by practically all responsible economists, but it is a new phenomenon that Viktor Orbán’s “right hand,” György Matolcsy, chairman of the central bank, raised his voice and criticized the government’s handling of the economic situation that presented itself in the wake of the pandemic. Matolcsy is often described by his colleagues as an overly optimistic dreamer, and he did come out with some far too rosy predictions in the spring. He now admits that he didn’t expect a second wave of the pandemic and that he had hoped that the government would be able to speed up state investments and public consumption. Neither materialized. In addition, the government’s bad decisions in dealing with the pandemic are, in Matolcsy’s opinion, responsible for at least half of the 6-6.5% recession that is currently expected.

While people are suffering economically, the Orbán government, following its earlier practice of giving away billions for sports, churches, and other largely unnecessary projects, took 221.4 billion forints out of the “economic protection fund” to support the tourist industry (42 billion), investments by the Prime Minister’s Office (15.7 billion), assistance for sports academies (11.5 billion), help for the popularization of sports (1.2 billion), money for National Sports Centers (2.6 billion), and assistance in building the National Olympian Center (2.8 billion). The Bethlen Gábor Foundation will receive 7.1 billion forints for grants to Hungarian communities abroad. And the piddling amount of 42.1 million is going to institutions of preventive medicine.

To further irritate the Hungarian public, the government created huge confusion over the future availability of the vaccine. Let’s start with Hungary’s modern Háry János,* Viktor Orbán, who this morning announced that “we’ve figured out how we could vaccinate everybody during one single weekend if necessary.” Anyone who is even slightly familiar with the difficulties of mass vaccinations in countries with superior financial resources and better equipped healthcare systems must realize that what Orbán is suggesting is nonsense.

What kind of vaccine will come to Hungary? This is a question that interests many people. I sense a certain skepticism, perhaps even a fear of not having a choice of vaccine and ending up with a Russian and Chinese vaccine. Over the last few weeks, government officials have made contradictory statements about the availability of different kinds of vaccine. Here is an example from today. János Szlávik, who is often called on to speak about new developments on the pandemic, announced today that Hungarians will get only those vaccines that have been approved by the European Medicines Agency. He indicated that the first vaccines would come from Pfizer/BioNTech and, as soon as approved, from Moderna. On the very same day, Péter Szijjártó talked about a Chinese vaccine which may arrive in Hungary this year, adding that an agreement about its purchase is being negotiated. So far, however, Hungarian authorities haven’t approved this vaccine.

The Hungarian media reported today that the Russians are currently working on 26 different vaccines, which, I think, will not increase confidence in the Russian products, especially after Vladimir Putin said that he would wait to take the Sputnik V vaccine until trials confirm that it is safe and effective in people over the age of 60.

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*Háry János is a folk hero who tells fabulous stories about his adventures as a hussar serving in the Austrian army in the first half of the nineteenth century. The Hungarian composer Zoltán Kodály wrote an opera based on the story and a well-known suite that begins with an orchestral “musical sneeze,” a signifier of disbelief in Hungarian culture.

December 18, 2020