Even if Hungary were to leave the European Union or NATO in the coming years, the Hungarian people’s European identity would remain intact because its roots go far deeper than any political decision, historian Ignác Romsics stated on Magyar Hang’s program Kompország.
Romsics explained in Kompország that while a political decision could be made to withdraw from Western organisations, such a move would undoubtedly trigger alarm bells in people’s minds. The decision to join NATO and the European Union was legitimised through a referendum. According to Romsics, if Hungary were to consider turning its back on these institutions, the public would have to be consulted again.
“I am convinced that in such a scenario, the majority of Hungarians would choose Western and Central Europe over China and Russia, as that is where we have always belonged in spirit,”
he added.
He further noted that Hungary has always been a part of Europe, even during the 150 years of Ottoman rule and throughout the Kádár era. Despite compulsory Russian language education, people disliked it; they would have preferred to learn English or German. Hungarian youth did not gravitate toward Soviet films, but rather American ones. They wore jeans, drank Coca-Cola, and their behaviour reflected a Western orientation, not a Russian one.
Romsics also expressed doubt that the Hungarian people would embrace learning Chinese, despite the government’s growing ties with Beijing. While economic cooperation with China is possible, it poses challenges. Currently, over 70% of Hungary’s export-import activity is with the West. In contrast, only 1.3% of Hungary’s exports go to China, and 7% of imports come from there. In fact, Hungary’s entire trade with Asia accounts for less than 20% of its total foreign trade, he pointed out.
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From what I have seen the Chinese are quite good at learning Hungarian. They will be able to tell you what to do in your own language. What I would say to Romsics is that Russia is full of people drinking Coca-Cola and buying ever type of Western good you can find and those people have lived their lives in a society that brainwashes them to hate the West. Fidesz is doing the same in Hungary and all it takes is time. You can already see the difference in opinion polling on attitudes towards the US, the EU, Russia and Ukraine. My opinion is that 2026 is the point of no return should Fidesz win the election. The propaganda will continue and Hungarians will be taught that all of their problems are caused by the US, “Brussels” and NATO. Most people don’t access an alternative source of information other than Fidesz controlled media. If you only speak and read in Hungarian your world-view is completely controlled by “The Party”. The opposition will be ever more repressed and I think after 2026 if Fidesz wins you are going to see political dissidents jailed on phoney charges. It might start to happen even before then.
If Mr Trump wins next month, I doubt official Hungary will be blaming The USA for anything either before or after 2026.
Never, ever give into the chinese. I would recommend not to do any business with them. There goal is world domination at any cost.
7% imports from China – into Hungary ?
Kobanya – Chinatown – on the site “in part” – of what was the Ganz Empire – that must be the large proportion of the “claimed” 7% – that over-all in majority is RUBBISH that is sold there.
What therefore, is coming in the “back door” to Budapest, Hungary through arrangement(s) and PALMS being Greased.
arrangement, into Budapest, Hungary.
You should know, if you reside in Budapest, the Chinatown “word usage” just isn’t on Kobanya utca, but “others” of largish size, are in OPERATION, that SELL 95% plus imported from China.
Fabrication of Fact & TRUTH – the “claimed” 7%.
Hungarians have for decades allowed it, and in the 15 years of the Orban – Fidesz Government “feed” into it, agreed, gone along with in, let it GROW, that will EXPLODE larger, under the Orban – Fidesz Governments partnerships and relationships with CHINA.
@ Larry, If the Chinese come and build industries/provide employment opportunities, of course they are entitled to their own management, just the same as BMW or any other foreign company.
As far as state propaganda goes, didn’t we already cover this? July 14, 2023 was when it was on American news that the U.S. would reintroduce state sponsored propaganda to it’s own citizens. Not to mention the government’s involvement in movies, TV and social media; Which country is brainwashing their population and then putting it out to the world?
Why wouldn’t attitudes change towards the BEGkraine? Coke-Z just wants more and more without any tangible results, except for the bank account growth of those invested in U.S. munition manufacturers. Just how many foreign properties does the BEGkrainian leadership have?
As far as the “access only Fidesz news media”, just lol; didn’t the US and EU enact a ban on all Russian media and anyone who posts anything even remotely anti-the BEGkraine get banned or effectively blocked from US social media sites? Isn’t that the pot calling the kettle black.
How many times have the Democrats tried to bring charges against Trump? And you have the nerve to post that Hungary will try to jail political dissidents, look in your own backyard first and the Jan 7th protesters come to mind clearly. Also what is the incarceration rate in the US compared to Hungary per capita?
Your arguments are getting weak Larry.
Uh. January 6 “Protesters”, “political dissenters”. Really? “HANG MIKE PENCE!”. Clearly misunderstood, it was a figure of speech.
This is an older overview – however these people were tried in a court of law for objective crimes and, without exception, were found guilty by a jury of their peers: https://www.newsweek.com/full-list-capitol-rioters-jailed-sentences-january-6-1826075
Re blacking out certain Russian media. As Dr. Who warned in 1977 – it is the “very powerful and the very stupid” who “alter the facts to fit their views”. And, unfortunately, many people can no longer see the difference. A lot of TLDR on this planet, facts, data and sources are less important than clicks and rants.