Needless to say, our ever-alert British MSM barely mention it, but the EU, which includes us, has recently 'enjoyed' six months of leadership by Prime Minister Viktor Orbán of Hungary. However, according to Der Spiegel in an article wittily entitled "The Goulash Archipelago" the danger signs are all too apparent:
Well, you say "strict leadership style", I say 'first steps to dictatorship', so, in the words of the old song, "let's call the whole thing off". Needless to say, Brussels sticks its fingers in its ears and looks determinedly in the opposite direction. However, Der Spiegel, at least, is on the case and these are just the headings to several recent links which provide a rancid flavour of the new Hungarian regime:
- Press Freedom in Hungary: Prime Minister Launches New Offensive against Journalists (07/14/2011)
- Hungary's Rising Right: Roma Defenseless against Extremist Vigilantes (04/28/2011)
- The World from Berlin: 'Hungary Is a Disgrace for Europe' (04/19/2011)
- Hungary Lurches to the Right: Orbán Triumphs in Landslide Victory (04/12/2010)
- Opinion: Hungary Poses a Serious Challenge for the EU (01/06/2011)
- A Slow Poison Attacking Democracy: Facebook Generation Fights Hungarian Media Law (01/04/2011)
- Media Law Outrage: Hungary's 'Orbanization' Is Worrying Europe (12/28/2010)
Of course, one must take care. We all know - do we not? - the way in which Lefties screech at the merest hint of Right-wing authority. I know next to nothing of Hungary but I wish it well and hope that the stories are exaggerated. However, what does get my irony juices flowing is the way that British politicians and civil servants go about in fear and trembling lest they have their knuckles rapped by Brussels for failing to abide by the minutae of EU legislation, but the Hungarians simply tell 'em to 'eff off'! I wonder what that is in Hungarian, and would I be able to pronounce it?
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