A thread about Hungarian politics. Make of it what you will. In Budapest last week, I got into a conversation with a service worker at a business that caters to a large tourist clientele. We talked about Viktor Orban. He began by making fun of Orban. It was clear that [more]
he was putting on a mask for the Westerner (me). When I told him that I wasn't going to judge him for his political views, he changed his story. He told me that he was an Orban supporter. Said that he knows that Orban's rule means a fair amount of corruption [more]
(He mentioned the case of the unaccountably rich mayor of Orban's hometown -- something I heard more than once in Budapest.) But the young man said that that was something he could live with. Why? Because V. Orban is the only politician in the country who, in his view, [more]
understands the nature of Hungary's struggles, and is willing to fight for the country. The young man said that he does not want Hungary to be dictated to by Brussels, and to be absorbed by the values of western Europe. He wants Hungary to be Hungary. The fact is, said [more]
the man, Orban is the only politician with the stones and the smarts to stand up to Brussels, on behalf of his people. And that, he said, is why he supports Orban, despite the corruption. What struck me most strongly about this exchange is how afraid [more]
this guy was to be honest with me. He wasn't dependent on a tip from me; he just expected me, a Westerner, to judge him as a bigot and an idiot for supporting the PM. Later, in Vienna, a friend told me that Hungarians who visit there carry a visible weight on [more]
their shoulders, expecting to be mocked by Austrians over Orban. Again, make of this what you will. It was quite instructive to me to watch the mask fall off this young service worker. [end]
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