The scene at Budapest’s Keleti train station is returning to normal. Trains are running again, and most of the thousands of desperate people stranded there last week are on their way to other, more hospitable countries in Europe. Hungary, a country rarely in the news, is already fading from the headlines.
The challenges facing Europe from the largest refugee crisis since World War II, however, have only just begun. And the example of how and why the Hungarian government detained and harassed these people, mostly from Syria but also from Afghanistan and North Africa, should continue to be a worrisome factor.
To understand the logic behind Hungary’s recent actions, it’s helpful to know something about its powerful leader, Prime Minister Viktor Orban.
Mr. Orban came to power five years ago in a landslide election, winning more than two-thirds of the seats in Parliament. I was the United States ambassador to Hungary at the time, and I witnessed the first years of his so-called Two-Thirds Revolution. My fellow diplomats and I watched as Mr. Orban and his Fidesz party voted in 700 new laws and adopted a new constitution. Laws governing virtually every institution — the media, the courts, universities, local government, religious institutions — were rewritten, most at lighting speed and with little or no input from opposition parties or civil society stakeholders.
The United States was the first country to raise concerns that the radical reform process was weakening the independence of Hungary’s democratic institutions, concentrating power in the hands of fewer people and eliminating important checks and balances. In 2012, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton warned Hungary against “democratic backsliding.”
Mr. Orban’s reaction was to double down. In a speech last summer, he declared that European-style “liberal democracy” had failed. Instead, Hungary would pursue “illiberal democracy,” he said, citing Russia and Turkey as role models. With this speech, Orban dropped all pretense that he valued the basic principles of Western-style democracy.
When I last visited Budapest, in June, I asked Hungary’s ambassador to Austria about the government’s proposal to put up a fence on the border with Serbia.
“It’s going to happen,” he told me with certainty. Being accustomed to the definitive way that Fidesz officials spoke about policy, I understood. If Mr. Orban had decided, it was done.
What is notable is how early Mr. Orban prepared for an influx of refugees. Three months ago, the government posted signs with messages like “If you come to Hungary, you cannot take the jobs of Hungarians!” Since the billboards were in Hungarian only, it was clear that this was a message not for immigrants, but for Hungarians. Mr. Orban was laying down the groundwork to inoculate the Hungarian public against feeling sympathy for these supposed job-stealers.
When the crowds of desperate people at Keleti train station began to grow, many people in Hungary did come to help, bringing food, water and clothing. Thousands more gathered in front of the Parliament building demanding more humane treatment for the newcomers. But as the days unfolded, the authorities remained unmoved. The world watched, aghast, as police officers tried to trick, or forcefully move refugees into camps, some of them far out in the countryside.
Finally and with little fanfare, Hungarian buses appeared late Friday night at Keleti station to take the immigrants, now determined not to cooperate with authorities there, to Austria.
Through all the drama of the Hungarian refugee crisis, the biggest question was this: If Hungary didn’t want the refugees, why go to such lengths to detain them? Why not just let them go to Germany, which promised to accept 800,000 asylum seekers?
As an answer, Mr. Orban hid behind European Union protocols, which require member states to register asylum seekers at the country of entry. But the truth is Mr. Orban does not only want to keep these refugees out of Hungary. He wants to keep them out of Europe. If razor wire fences don’t work, perhaps intimidation and detention will.
“Let us not forget, that those arriving have been raised in another religion, and represent a radically different culture. Most of them are not Christians, but Muslims,” Mr. Orban wrote in an article published in Germany’s Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung. He went on: “Is it not worrying in itself that European Christianity is now barely able to keep Europe Christian? If we lose sight of this, the idea of Europe could become a minority interest in its own continent.”
If Mr. Orban’s method of dealing with Europe’s refugee crisis was limited to the way he is handling the situation in his own country, it would be worrisome enough. But far more troubling is the possibility that his political views could gain ground elsewhere in Europe.
Buoyed to power in Hungary through his nationalistic messages and policies, Mr. Orban is attempting to bring his star power to a much larger stage. And it’s not a message that reflects the fundamental values behind the European Union.
Mr. Orban argued in the Allgemeine Zeitung that “People want us Europeans to be masters of the situation, and defend our borders …”
In contrast to his muscular, aggressive tone, European Union leaders seem to be struggling to find a unified approach in dealing with the refugees, now numbering more than 250,000 so far in 2015. There has been a vacuum of leadership — not only to take action and provide aid, but simply to articulate a response. In what is clearly a state of emergency, the European Union as a body has appeared paralyzed, with outdated protocols and plans that fail to account for the enormity of the problem.
European Commission President Jean-Claude Junker is preparing to address the European Parliament this week, and lay out a plan. It is expected that its cornerstone will be a quota system to relocate asylum seekers throughout Europe. But Central European countries — including Hungary but also Poland and the Czech Republic — have already vowed to oppose this.
The question is what European leaders will do now. Can they work together, through the architecture of the European Union to devise a set of principles, and act in a cohesive and effective manner to deal with the humanitarian and political crisis gripping the continent?
Or will Mr. Orban’s xenophobic platform and his advocacy for harsher methods of dealing with refugees be allowed to fill the vacuum?
Recently, Austrian authorities found a freight truck abandoned by human traffickers along the highway from Budapest to Vienna, in which 71 refugees died of asphyxiation. When I saw the images, I couldn’t help thinking of the cattle cars used to deport 440,000 Hungarian Jews to Nazi death camps in World War II.
It was a chilling reminder of Hungary’s, and Europe’s, tumultuous pasts. Today, while the world watches, Europeans generally and Hungarians in particular have the opportunity, and the obligation, to stand up and show the compassion and humanity that exists within us all.
Eleni Kounalakis, the United States ambassador to Hungary from 2010 to 2013, is the author of “Madam Ambassador, Three Years of Diplomacy, Dinner Parties and Democracy in Budapest.” – The article was written on 6 September
Thank you Hungary. Keep the jihadis out. Stand tough. They ceased being refugees after leaving the safety of Turkey.
#RepealSchengen #NoMuslimEurope
Thanks to Hungary and Orban, for not giving in to political correct western european politicians. And for maintaining integrity and honesty with a straight face. You are being noticed and your rock solid politics will be acknowlished in the aftermath.
As an American, I do NOT share the former Ambassador’s view. I see Hungary’s response as a normal, natural response to what is – in any sense of the word – an INVASION. Germany really messed things up by ringing the dinner bell and now all the neighboring countries have to seal with the fallout. All I will say is this… Hungary, you are doing the RIGHT THING, and I applaud you for dealing with this crisis realistically instead of subjecting your people to servitude to assuage some globalist pipe dream. The rest of Europe will follow your lead once they decide to embrace reality instead of globalist fantasies.
there will always be racists, who hiding behind religion when they want to harm other people, as I said, it’s easy to be smart, it’s hard to be human in the twenty-first century tell a story about religion and forget the story of humanism is the official policy of the Hungarian today, clerical and regressive
The Ambassador couldn’t be more wrong! Hungary is the only nation that has been pragmatic and reasonable enough to call the liberal fools that run the EU on their bull malarkey! When faced with an invasion of riotous people – who by the way, share none of your nation’s values – fight back! Put up the fence, make it taller and longer, pass the laws to protect the nation and keep Hungary Christian and for Hungarians.
Hungary wants to put a yellow star on each migrant? What a shame, children and mothers tear gas and rubber bullets, what a shame, I still can not believe the comments I read here.
We can’t believe yours, get some psychological help before it’s too late, actually maybe it is…
@ Igor…It was very sad about the women and children. It is one thing I have noticed consistently in all pictures. No such thing as women and children 1st, or protecting them. They get trampled on by all the men. There was one pic of 2 little boys reaching out hands for food, and the men behind them were pushing them aside and going over them to get the food first! It made me so angry and disgusted. If not for the police picking up and holding the children, some would be trampled.
I swear, if this group had been on the Titanic, all the men would have gotten in the life boats first, and the women & children would have gone down with the ship.
I do hope that Hungary will see fit to take in some refugees, maybe some of the orphans still in the camps….there are so many. And there are also many Christian and other minority religious people that have been treated horridly. Then people will truly see Hungary’s heart.
But the EU should not demand they take people they do not want. That EU has become a monstrous beast. I hope the European Nations all get out, b/c it seems Juncker is intent on creating the United States of Europe. He wants his own police now, and navy, and on and on it goes. Scary.
@Mel,
Ignore the Igor the unlucky troll.
Hungary has so far taken in 44,000 young children who the migrants delivered to them, and are taking very good care of them and keeping them. They also took in 1000 Egyptian and Iraqi christian asylum seekers quietly. So far the EU has given money to the surrounding countries in the form of 60Mil EUROs to one unnamed and 40 Mil EUROs to another unnamed, and 4 Mil EUROs to Hungary who hasn’t asked for it. So in the end Germany who’s looking for cheap labour is going to pay BIG time for it in their own infrastructure, because Hungary already has 800,000 Gypies on top of this, low wages, unemployed, and there is no way they will take any quota system or any Econo migrants back.
P.S. – @Igor , dont know what train you fell off, but coming from your stupidity, it must have hurt big time.
razor fence for mothers and children, what a shame for the Hungarian, what a shame
I recently read an old Russian proverb..goes like this..”its easy to sit on a hedgehog with a bare arse..as long as its someone elses arse”
And what about more that 200.000 decided leave Hungary in late 1956? Yes, they were refugees!!! They knew what does it mean open arms, humanity and welcome at this painful time by others countries.
Yes, I do agree with you Igor. Hungary authorities and Hungarian people want to put a YELLOW STAR or better than that they have already put it on each refugee, each migrant :(((((. Yes, that a SHAME :((((
HUMANITY means let them go. They do not want to stay with you. Unfortunately they have to ask you to leave them go, because they have to pass through your “door”. Nothing more than that and this could be truly easy to you if you decide to be!!!!
I was one of those 200,000 and we registered as refugees at the first country we arrived at..we did not trash borders and laws to get to an over generous welfare system…we just needed to get out of a war zone.You are not recognizing that most of these migrants today have left the safety of refugee camps for Germany s welfare system.Hungary is a small country,less than 10 million population,with a piss poor welfare system.Do you seriously believe Hungary is in any position to take in millions.Just passing thru is fine until the Austrians shut their border.
Hungary has,over the past decade taken in thousands of asylum seekers from the middle east,and in response to the anti-semetic tag you ve attached,I d like to point out that since 1490 Hungary s constitution guaranteed freedom of religion,which is why so many jews flocked to Hungary over the centuries..to avoid persecution.There is anti-Semitism all over the world[probably in Israel too].Pathological altruism may have a place..but not here…get real please.
The problem is: Germany is not much better, altho it appears to be. There are about 8 mio. unemployed at the moment. The German government has installed various measures in order to hide a huge chunk of that 8 mio. Remember: This is in a moment when the economy seems to be in rather good shape. This will change. How on earth is Germany supposed to create jobs for a couple of more millions. Sure, there is this “Syrian doctor”, but how many “Syrian doctors” are we going to welcome? People forget that a huge number of Alevite Syrians are still living in the Syria of Assad, and they will continue to live there. Why not?
Forget the symbolism of the German government. It’s worth nothing. Even officials have now stated that maybe only every tenth of the regugees is going to be employed. The rest – the other nine – is going to live off social welfare.
Thanks, Mr. Orban, for doing what is best for Hungary and the EU. Hopefully the EU realises soon that it must emulate the system that exists in Australia. Even if every migrant were a Christian and a legitimate refugee, there are simply too many to accept. The population of Africa, alone, will increase by one Billion in thirty years. Presently, even Germany has citizens who are unemployed. Given that a large percentage of the members of previous waves of migrants have failed to assimilate, it was foolish to invite more from similar backgrounds. An official statement should be made to retract the invitation.
Well well Elani, what a pity you not the US ambasador in Hungary anymore – I am sure you would have accepted all those refugees and let them all in to the US, wouldn’t you? At least the US Home Guards would have some serious work to do.
Your BIASED article made laugh out loud. But now seriously – contrary to your stand I think that Orban is only doing his duty. Well done, Viktor!
And lets not mention the USA-Mexican border…that would be impolite.
Correction to my comment: Your BIASED article made me laugh out loud…..
Josef, Czech Republic
Political Scientists define a nation as a group of people bound by race, ethnicity, language, and culture. I guess the goal is to destroy the individual European Ethno-States. This type of thinking is what Marxism has produced. Please view the Frankfurt School on Youtube.
Hopefully, the European people will wake up and cast off the EU. It was a deception from the very beginning. God bless the Prime Minister. Regards from Texas.
Ms Kounalakis, what strikes me most at times like these, when refugees are pouring into the EU (please remember: The EU ist NOT comparable to the US, Canada, or to Australia, where there are vast open spaces!), is the fact that there are many “well meant” comments from the US. I am sorry to say this, but without the US wars the EU would not be in such a mess at the moment.
It is the EU – specifically Germany (there will be about one million (!) refugees in 2015 – adding families this amounts to about 5 million refugees in 2015. These people will stay.), Sweden, and partly the UK. Just how many Syrian refugees is the US going to take – certainly after very careful inspections? I think it was something like 10.000 over the course of a couple of years. Does that sound like a sick joke? Yes, indeed, it does.
And one question that I would have – maybe you could answer that. If a country decides to take in 1 mio. refugees, the easiest way is to call the UNHCR. They will then send these people over by plane. Why do these “refugees” walk/swim through half of Europe, cross several secure countries (Turkey, Greece, Serbia, Macedonia, Croatia, Hungary) and then come to Germany, Sweden, or to the UK? It’s something I have and will never understand.
But it is a clear sign to me that we are not talking about ordinary ware refugees. It’s something else. Some have signals that show direct links from human traffickers to the CIA. So maybe it’s a self fulfilling prophecy, since the present director of the CIA expects riots in Germany in 2020. He may be right. I would even predict these riots are going to occur within the next two years.
Ms Ambassador what US has done for Syrian refugees? Hypocrisy at the best coming from Washington an it’s apparatchiks…
Is US willing to open it’s borders in South and let anyone in? Before condemning European nations better look at yourself in the mirror please!
Here is a excellent article with common sense
http://hungarytoday.hu/news/useful-idiots-west-creation-chaos-mass-migration-adam-topolansky-65421
I do not agree with Ms. K either, but I do have to stick up for the U.S. on this one point. We have given $4 Billion for the Syrians….far and away the most of any country…including the Gulf states. The UK was next closest at $1 Billion. And this was before the refugee flood began. If more countries had kept their financial pledges, then Turkey would not have drastically cut the food program. Children couldn’t sleep b/c their bellies were empty. The camps were deteriorating b/c the UN money wasn’t there. And that kicked off the mass exodus. I put myself in their shoes, and yes, I’d have left too.
There is plenty of blame to go around here, don’t get me wrong, but due respect to those who have also stepped up. Peace.
As a compasionate Hungarian, i am standing when i think of the biased BS i just read in this article. First of all Eleni Kounalakis, you are trash in suggesting that Hungarians are not compassionate. Your ignorance to common history very well available shows that your “recollection of how 440,000 Hungarian Jews were sent by cattle cars”, would put you at the age one one years old in 1944, today you would be 71. You sure don’t look it. Read up on your history. The Hungarian government, held the Jews back from the Nazi’s till it’s collapse and German invasion in 1944. You as a former US ambassador to Hungary, clearly are running a smear campaign against Hungary by trying to instill infighting between all the parties. But i guess this is what your Government enjoys doing to other countries right? You sit to profit from your book sales right? If you even had an ounce of compasion yourself, you would look in your own backyard, better the Mexican border and go be an ambassador there. Take your profits and help those poor banditos eek out a new life in your country. Keep your nose out of mine.
Nick said: I am sorry to say this, but without the US wars the EU would not be in such a mess at the moment.
Nick you are mostly correct. Americans in general are geo-politically ignorant so they really don’t understand the reasons. They still believe the “mainstream” media just like many Europeans do.
As for the EU, it was a major step in the creation of one world government. It was a deception from the very beginning. They sold the concept on alleged combined economic strength of the individual member nations. Well that obviously hasn’t happened.
It has created slave states indebted to the ECB. That is the axe they hold over member states. Free and easy money – sure!
Europeans have no obligation to help the world. Close the border and resist the EU at all costs. The rest of the world will have no compassion for Europe if it falls. They are jealous of the accomplishments of Western man. They want to move in.
We have a little, unofficial game we play in the U.S. on message boards, et.al. Who is going to be the first one to play the Nazi card? B/c no matter what the crisis that is being talked about, someone always eventually plays it. It immediately undercuts the credibility of that person.
As soon as I saw the Nazi card thrown down is this article, I couldn’t take any of it seriously. Not only is a totally ridiculous comparison, but I think it is insulting to the memory of those people that lived that horror. Stop being lazy and find a different example. The least we can do is stop hijacking the Jews tragedy to suit our agenda, and stop exploiting the feelings that exist around it so we can claim the moral high ground by invoking those images. Because that is exactly what you were doing, Ms. Eleni. It’s grotesque. As a fellow America, shame on you. Shame.
For a refugee kid, who lost his family at the age of 8 in 1956, and was welcomed to Upstate New York, I was proud each July 4th to recited the the poem at the base of the Statue of Liberty to the entire school. Emma Lazarus, spoke for America “Give me, your tired and huddling masses, yearning to breath free.” I believed it, and still do, though it is American friends who call me Romantic.
But the Ambassador’s letter is old news, Merkel, a rare woman leader of magnanimity risked her career, but avowed the humane conscience of the Germans in opening her borders and then acknowledged it was too much. With ISIS training, recruiting camps just 200 miles south of Hungary, it is serious denial not to worry for “sleepers” among the streaming humanity, and screen immigrants in some orderly manner. Since the early 2000’s, the unusual difficulty of Moslems in assimilating to Europe has been researched by the Germans, who spent lavishly in teaching languages (mostly, the highly practical English) and placing immigrants in jobs, even paying for relocation expenses where work awaited.
The Ambassador writes from a vulnerable point of view, her own state of California, where creative and aspiring writer on death row, seeking to be make amends, touched the lives of youth at risk for prison, and begged they NOIT to follow his criminal example. He was executed. Or, to the point of immigration, where highly productive immigrants in the US are torn from family, and must live in fear of exposure, and Mexcans seeking to cross into Texas are treated much as the Syrians presently.
With deepest respect, the Ambassador and her staff made great contributions to improvements in Hungary along with leaders of her staff, led by Karyn Posner-Mullen and Andre Goodfriend. They corrected historically derived identity transmitted by dangerously revisionist history textbooks aimed for HS youth. She can be very proud that with the facilitation of ME for European Affairs, Takacs Szabolcs, and EMMI Staff, the unusual Tragedy of Aradi, has been augmented as the Hungarian Golgotha. The tragedy of 140,000 Hungarian children decimated in 1944, largely by Hungariian collaboration, has gained truthful prominence. This of self may be enough.
Her letter will be far better received in Eva Balogh!s, “The Hungarian Spectrum,” where western policy makers of eminence blog. A central figure in foreign policy influencing Hungary, Charles Gati, also a refugee from 1956, a professor who taught me sociology at Union College in New York, has asserted in that forum that new policy makers, close to Hungary and Hungarian needs, should be employed. Charles understands that a viewpoint as hers, reflecting frontal attack, will yield only paradoxic effect, achieving little that is constructive, but strengthen Jobbik.
This is something worth anticipating with urgency. Despite much ado about the Constitution, the wanton criminality of the Socialists have been outlined for her staff via Jeff Hays. The depth of abuse by the Socialists of which people on the street are far more worried, seeing the Constitution as a distant abstraction, can never, and will never, be allowed to loose its ugliness. Unlike the profoundly harmful do-Nothing Congress in the US, inhibiting progress by POTUS, only a 2/3rds Parliament can get things done here. The Super Majority coalition to brace for will be with Jobbik. So more letters blaming Assad (and Putin), and protecting the US, for events in Syria will be helpful.
@Dr. Petro
Nice try. You had me going for a while, till you mentioned “. The tragedy of 140,000 Hungarian children decimated in 1944, largely by Hungariian collaboration, has gained truthful prominence. This of self may be enough.” Wrong century, different topic too i may add. Also, Hungary had no active government in 1944, remember, it collapsed, remember the NAZI’s took over? You really can’t be a prof.
Also, how much of ELENI’s book sales proceedings are you getting out of it, probably for reviewing it prepost?
I love WIKI and GOOGLE
I’m standing in front of a 6.5 m tall and almost 2 m deep fence separating United States from Mexico. The fence is guarded by U.S. Border Patrol and drones equipped with infrared cameras. Most people illegally crossing the border are intercepted, interviewed and promptly deported back to Mexico.
I urge Hungarians to ignore the immature rants by a low level U.S. diplomat. A tall, well defended fence has helped us to reduce illegal immigration for almost a decade and it’s definitely a way to go. Of course this is just part of a solution.
Germany, Holland and Sweden should immediately reduce cash payments to migrants. They should provide housing, dry food, food coupons etc. but very little cash. That should discourage people who had borrowed between 6 and 14 thousand Euros to be smuggled into Europe. Right now it is too easy to quickly recoup that expenditure with generous monthly welfare payments and liberal family reunification policy.
NATO countries have to help Bulgaria, Greece and Italy in securing and sealing their borders. That should include enacting tough prison terms for people smugglers including forfeiture of the equipment used.
A large humanitarian operation is needed to help the real refugees i.e. those who cannot afford the 10 thousand Euros fee. They live in very difficult conditions in crowded refugee camps in Turkey, Lebanon, Jordan and Iraq. Countries willing to accept them should pick the refugees directly from the camps and provide the transportations home.
The root of the problem is divergent demographics between Arab countries and Europe. However, United States bears considerable responsibility in destabilizing Iraq, inept attempts to get rid of Mr. Assad in Syria, and by participating in a disastrous Franco-British operation to get rid of Mr. Kaddafi in Libya.
Perhaps it’s time to realize that trying to impose western style democracy on largely tribal societies is doomed to failure. We have to help these countries to re-constitute in their own ways.
Ms. Merkel and her, now fired, immigration minister provided the final spark that started the Balkan exodus. Her statements sounded very humanitarian, semi rational and completely insane all at the same time. With a very low unemployment Germany does need more workers. Perhaps they should consider recruiting in Central and South America. These people integrated very well with our society and unlike people from the Middle East none of them hold a thousand year grudge against Europe’s ways and traditions.
Ms. Merkel continues to insist that Europe is open to accept up to 500,000 refugees per year fleeing from conflict zones. To me it sounds like an open invitation to start another tribal war in the Middle East or Africa and collect 5 billion Euros in fees to fulfill that quota.
As to the Brussels bureaucrats…instead of coming up with rules on how force the refugees to settle in countries they don’t want to go to and which are ill equipped to receive them perhaps they should go back to writing a 2,000 page directive on how to peel a potato. I’m very anxious to read it so please don’t keep me waiting.
With all that in mind Hungarians seem like the last peoples in Europe with common sense and the courage to express it. Perhaps there are some other sane people left in Europe but they seem to be muzzled by political correctness, multi-culti or other new fangled western ideologies.
A humane but firm Hungarian response is probably the best way to deal with the biggest people smuggling operation in history.
Peter Bain, San Diego, California
Well, said.
Hungarians will not be the last people.
Wait until the October elections in Poland and you will see, it will join
Hungary, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Finland and other countries where
people are not without hearts but have also brains.
@ Peter Bain,
“Peter Bain for President!”
A very educatated response. As a Canadian here, it’s good to know there are people out there that can see past the medias pumping confusion out to everyone. I know Hungary’s response will be firm with or without Europe. Hungary wants Europe to stay integrated as it is, they don’t want change, from cultural and social upset. They want and are trying to convince the rest of Europe that the problem needs to be repaired at the source and the US and Russia will most likely be the players able to do this with the help of course of Europe. The US can easily be blamed for starting the destabilization of the M.E., but there were reasons for this and they’re not to blame for those reasons. The blame game will not fix anything, but the US are willing to try to fix things, the Russians want to do the same without creating a bigger mess and have expressed this in trying a co-ordinated effort through the Isrealis. God speed to all, and may the lives of the most affected be brought back to civility asap!!
Well, what a great crisis to improve the sales of the misguided American ambassador’s book. Let me make this as lucid as possible. Xenophobia, a word which the US Greek ambassador should understand, means a dislike of something which is foreign or strange, not hatred. When you raise the word HATE, people conjure up persecution, and other heinous images. However, the Hungarians, in the main, don’t hate these migrants, but wish to maintain the status quo of a people who have suffered through history, and now are settling down to a better way of life. The scenes at Keleti station showed the uncontrollable, uneducated, and despicable actions of people who lack any self-respect or respect for the rule of law. So, madam ambassador when you pontificate what the Hungarians should do from your little ivory, and comfortable tower, who are you to dictate what another nation should or should not do. If this is the only way that you can promote yourself diplomatically, in the hope of being sent to another lucrative diplomatic post, then, you show yourself in your true light, as a low class civil servant.
Eleni, would you mind sharing this videoclip with your friends (Germans pay homage to the Hungarian Prime Minister…)
http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=4e0_1443183325
Josef
“Today, while the world watches, Europeans generally and Hungarians in particular have the opportunity, and the obligation, to stand up and show the compassion and humanity that exists within us all. (Eleni Kounalakis , ex – U.S. ambassador to Hungary). First of all, I am already not a leftist idealistic student to get tricked by this slogan. She labels Orban as a populist, isn’t that typical American idealistic – populistic tone?
Firstly, how dare you to teach Hungary? United States destabilised the Middle East by its wars and how many refugees will the United States accept comparing to small Hungary? 1000 or 2000 for a country much larger than whole European Union ? By the way, I am not anti – American at all, I have family ties with the U.S. and lived there and I think average Americans are great people. It is only their government that is trying to bring democracy with army while democracy is a process originating from civil society.
Poland is sorry for our Prime Minister Ewa Kopacz betraying Visehrad group for her European career. Please be assured that our ruling liberal – left party will be smashed in October elections. The moderate right wing will win with high advantage and Poland
will re-introduce co-operation with Hungary, Czech Republic, Slovakia , Romania and possibly Finfland.
Majority of Polish voters support my view, all polls confirm that. No matter what Mr. Orban had done before, we need people to dedend our borders and security of Europeans.
Thank you Hungary !!!