Orbán Reps Meeting With Republicans In DC Today To Undermine Ukraine
Hungary has a long sordid history of authoritarianism; it’s part of the national identity going back to the 9th century when the Kingdom of Hungary was established and the monarchs suppressed and flicker of dissent including religious dissent. After the Battle of Mohács in 1526, Hungary was split between the Ottomans and the Hapsburgs. From 1867 to 1918, Hungary was part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire with strong centralized power in Vienna with some Hungarian autonomy, but ultimately subject to the Emperor's rule. After WW I, the Hapsburgs were deposed and in 1918 fascist Admiral Miklós Horthy established a monarchy without a monarchy. He ruled and allied the country with the Nazis. Needless to say, his regime was marked by reactionary and nationalist policies, including severe restrictions on civil liberties, a cult of personality and deadly anti-semitism. After the war, Hungary was occupied by the Soviets and the had a communist-fascist dictatorship from 1949-1989. The transition to democracy after the fall of the Soviet Union was a bust ending in Viktor Orbán’s regime from 1998 to 2002 and then from 2010 on.
He is very much allied with illiberal elements of fascist-leaning movements in the West (including with Republicans like Steve Bannon, Tucker Carlson, Josh Hawley, Tom Cotton, Ted Cruz, Majorie Traitor Greene, Matt Gaetz, Gym Jordan, Trump Jr, Sean Hannity, Vivek Ramaswamy and Charlie Kirk here)… and with Putin.
Yesterday, Flora Garamvolgyi and David Smith reported that
Orbán allies from the the Hungarian Institute of International Affairs and staff from the Hungarian embassy are in DC to hold closed-door meetings with Republicans today and tomorrow to map out a strategy to end U.S. aid to Ukraine. The fascist-oriented Heritage Foundation is hosting.
Garamvolgyi and Smith wrote that “The first day includes panel speeches about the Ukraine war as well as topics such as Transatlantic Culture Wars. It is expected to feature guests including Magor Ernyei, the international director of the Centre for Fundamental Rights, the institute that organized CPAC (Conservative Political Action Conference) Hungary. Kelley Currie, a former ambassador under Trump, said she was invited ‘but declined.’ According to a Republican source, some of the attendees, including Republican members of Congress, have been invited to join closed-door talks the next day.”
The meeting will take place against a backdrop of tense debate in Washington over Ukraine’s future. Last week the White House warned that, without congressional action, money to buy more weapons and equipment for Kyiv will run out by the end of the year. On Wednesday Senate Republicans blocked an emergency spending bill to fund the war in Ukraine.
A diplomatic source close to the Hungarian embassy said: “Orbán is confident that the Ukraine aid will not pass in Congress. That is why he is trying to block assistance from the EU as well.”
Orbán is a frequent critic of aid to help Ukraine against the Russian invasion. Seen as Vladimir Putin’s closest ally inside the EU for the past few years, he was photographed smiling and shaking hands with the Russian president two months ago in Beijing.
Orbán recently demanded that Ukraine’s European Union (EU) membership be taken off the European Council’s agenda in December. The Hungarian leader posted on Twitter: “It is clear that the proposal of the European Commission on Ukraine’s EU accession is unfounded and poorly prepared.”
The Heritage Foundation… has also been a vocal opponent of U.S. assistance to Ukraine. Last year Jessica Anderson, the executive director of its lobbying operation, released a statement under the headline: “Ukraine Aid Package Puts America Last.” In August, Victoria Coates, Heritage’s vice-president, posted on social media: “It’s time to end the blank, undated checks for Ukraine.”
When Heritage celebrated its 50th anniversary last April, Orbán’s political director, Balázs Orbán (no relation), was invited as a speaker for the event. Heritage’s president, Kevin Roberts, repeatedly praised the Hungarian leader on Twitter: “One thing is clear from visiting Hungary and from being involved in current policy and cultural debates in America: the world needs a movement that fights for Truth, for tradition, for families, and for the average person.”
In recent years Orbán has championed a transatlantic far-right alliance with a hardline stance against immigration and “gender ideology”, staunch Christian nationalism and scorn for those who warn of a slide into authoritarianism.
Hungary has been portrayed by conservative media as an anti-“woke” paradise and model for the United States. Some far-right Republicans, such as Kari Lake and Paul Gosar, said they would like to see the “Hungarian model” transplanted to the US, especially when it comes to immigration and family policies. CPAC went to Hungary for the second time this year, and former Fox News host Tucker Carlson shot multiple episodes in Hungary touting Orbán policies.
Orbán has returned the favour by lavishing praise on Trump. During this year’s CPAC, where Roberts was also featured as a speaker, he claimed that if Trump were president, “there would be no war in Ukraine and Europe”. The Hungarian prime minister has criticised the multiple federal indictments against the former US president and called the judicial procedure a “very communist methodology” in a recent interview with Carlson.
According to the Vad Vashem website “In May 1944 the deportation of Hungary's Jews to Auschwitz began. In just eight weeks, some 424,000 Jews were deported. By the end of the Holocaust, some 565,000 Hungarian Jews had been murdered... [including] thousands of Jews from Budapest [who] were murdered on the banks of the Danube.”