Hungary Should Be Ousted from the EU and NATO
You don't get to ally with Putin and still reap the benefits of civilized nations
Bisected by the Danube River, Buda lies on one bank and Pest on the other. In 1873, the two were unified, and the Hungarian capital grew into a stunning jewel in the heart of Central Europe. With one of the most challenging languages to learn in the world, Hungary is a mystery to many. One thing, however, that is not hard to understand: Its prime minister, Viktor Orban, is a fascist.
Hungary tried to straddle two worlds in the way its capital city straddles that grand river. One world is a dark and oppressive one spoiled by the disease virus of Russia. A land where the future always becomes the past, and the present an unrelenting hunt for every head that dares peak out from the crowd, Viktor Orban respects Putin’s ability to callously crush his own people under his jackboot for the sole purpose of acquiring ever more of the people’s wealth.
On the other side, however, Orban craves the protection of the European Union and the United States. He understands that the laws of the “other side” are good ones because they will protect him. He understands that if he gets too deep into the debt with Moscow, then Moscow, like a corroding barnacle, will attach itself to the Hungarian ship and push it dangerously off course by wrecking its foundation. Orban is hedging his bets by straddling the two worlds.
I hate betting. I spent five days last year for work at a casino in Las Vegas and didn’t place a single bet. It freaked me out when I saw the same people sitting at the slots and tables at 6 a.m. who I had seen at 8 p.m. That is a culture and a sickness I cannot understand. Viktor Orban is a sick man.
“Hungary has never wanted to oppose Russia and is trying to salvage bilateral contacts,” said Orban.
The Hungarian Prime Minister expressed his efforts to save what can be saved from bilateral relations and showed interest in continuing economic cooperation as long as it’s possible (Orban Meets with Putin).
The kind of fascism that Orban represents is what Trump envisions for America. The only difference is that Americans are inherently more violent than Hungarians, and the Trumpists are armed to the teeth. By letting that fascist Genie out of the bottle, Trump would quickly lose control. This is why Orban’s living and breathing example is a danger not only to Europe but to the United States, which means to the world.
Like Trump, Orban expects the weak-willed intellectuals of the Western democracies not to confront him for his treason. The time, however, has come to snip away that carrot that attracted Hungary and use the whip more liberally. Orban knows that his people enjoy access to Europe, and that is why many tolerate his fascist views. Let’s see how Hungarians will like it if they are suddenly shut off from the West and forced to get visas to cross the border.
Hungary, like Netanyahu’s Israel, stains the West with extremism. We lose our moral high ground. It makes it more difficult to maintain our holier-than-thou resistance to Russia. By being silent about Orban’s snuggling up to Putin and the excessive violence in Gaza, we risk becoming accused of opposing Russia simply because they are Russians.
We risk being called Russophobes. We are not. We are humanists, meaning Orban and Hungary must be given an ultimatum.
Hungary has been opposed to many EU initiatives aimed at supporting Ukraine in countering Moscow’s aggression and receives a significant portion of its crude oil and natural gas supplies from Russia.
Hungary has been nurturing closer ties with Russia compared to other EU member states and is considered a key potential opponent to the EU’s decision to start accession talks with Kyiv, which requires unanimous support from all 27 bloc members (Orban Meets with Putin).
Brussels needs to wake up and grow a pair. Russia-aligned fascism in the heart of Europe must be isolated and forced to wither on the vine.