Viktor and the Hungarians
—Viktor Orbán, the leader of Hungary, is not well liked by Western Liberals. He seems to go against every one of their “Socialist Spaceship Earth” principles. His resistance to the passage of Syrian refugees was one example. For their part, the Western Liberals love to paint him as some sort of Fascist. It is therefore with some interest that I read his address of 23 October 2018. His passion for his nation’s history shines through. It is abundantly clear that he does not want the unique Hungarian nation to disappear into a characterless pan-European nation so that Soros, the arch Globalist of today, might float all-powerfully above it all. He does not want to be run from Brussels. I think it is clear how CNN with its light-pink glasses might see Orbán as a “Nationalist Monster”.
This is not the first time that Orbán has featured in these pages. I wrote about him in relation to the Brexit effort of Nigel Farage and its connection to President Trump, then candidate Trump. Of the various individuals linked in my previous post referred to here, Orbán is the only who has had to actually live under the Communist yoke. He is not about to swap Moscow for Brussels.
For those who do not know, the Hungarians and the Finns are two nations that do not fit into the general groupings of European nations. Their languages are quite distinct from any of the Germanic, Latin, or Slavic languages of Europe. Finnish is not an Indo-European language at all, and was a major inspiration in Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings in respect of the Elven language. Hungarians and their language are similarly odd-fitting in Europe. As with the Finns, their language is Finno-Ugric and related to that of the Estonians. The point is, the Hungarians are rightly proud of their unique culture and language and do not want it submerged in some sort of “Bland Vanilla Europe.”
Further to the above, the Hungarians have played a major role in the undoing of the Soviet Union. Anyone with even a minor interest in the history of the 20th century must know how bravely the Hungarians stood up to the Soviets in 1956 and how terribly they were repressed. They had come out on the side of Germany in WWII. That did not help them with the Russians. They also played a major role in the run-up to the Fall of the Berlin Wall. The Pan-European Picnic comes to mind. Their entire history is filled with failed uprisings and they have shed much blood for their dreams. Save up and take a trip on the Danube to go look at their memorials and statues. It is quite something!
The Poster Boys of the Political Divide in the West
I am an expatriate member of a nation that has been denied its destiny: the Afrikaner, be he White, Brown or Black and irrespective of language. I can therefore understand what is going on in the hearts of the Hungarians. I do not have to agree with everything Orbán says, but I can fully understand “where he is coming from” and why he resents Brussels and characters like George Soros so intensely.
Of course, we need to remember that George Soros is really György Schwartz, who was born in Hungary and survived the German occupation during WWII. “Soros” managed to leave there in 1947, and so he has little experience of the Communist period. So, this contest between the arch-Nationalist Orbán and the light-pink billionaire Schwartz is a fascinating one of much greater significance than just the independence of Hungary. They are in fact two Hungarian poster boys for the two extremes of the current polar political divide in the West.
In my own life, in the very heart of the Cold War around 1976, I managed to communicate on the subject of Physics with a professor in Hungary. To me it was intriguing that the communication could cut through the deepest divide on Earth. I finally managed to visit Hungary very briefly in 2015 and found it hugely interesting, if still bearing the scars and regression of the Soviet era. The picture above was taken on a lightning tour through Budapest. I absorbed just enough to get respect for these folks. This was certainly Europe, but a very different Europe from the one I knew.
— Harry Booyens
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