The Hungarian ambassador to the United Kingdom, Dr. János Csák, sent the following letter earlier today to Philip Stephens, associate editor at the Financial Times.

Re: “Do not blame democracy for the rise of the populists,” Financial Times, May 9, 2013, 7:03 pm FT onliine

Dear Mr. Stephens,

In your above article you state that

“In Greece and Hungary, there is a thin line between rightwing populism and fascism….. Viktor Orbán, Hungary’s prime minister, tilts towards the xenophobic extremism of that country’s Jobbik party with an agenda uncomfortably reminiscent of the 1930s.”

Obviously you are free to express your opinion or criticism towards Hungary and Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, but they should at least resemble facts or reality. And the fact is that Prime Minister Orbán has stated several times that his government has nothing to do with Jobbik, for example in his interview last week to the Tel Aviv daily ‘Yedioth Ahronoth’ when he said,

“We have an extreme right-wing party in Parliament, which received 17% of the vote. Members of Parliament sometimes make unacceptable statements. If I am present in Parliament when such things are said, I always state categorically that we do not agree with them. Our policy towards anti-Semitism is one of “zero tolerance”.

In the interview, Mr Orbán clearly ruled out any possible future cooperation with Jobbik and the possibility of forming a minority government with their support. “I have never been the leader of a minority government and I never will be one,” he declared, adding that

“There is a very strong Jewish community in Hungary - culturally, intellectually, scientifically, and also in sports. I explain to people that we should not look upon the Jews as a threat, but as a gift from God. God created the Hungarian nation to be very diverse and colourful, and the Jews are part of it.”

Your opinion even contradicts World Jewish Congress President Ronald Lauder, who in his closing address to the Plenary Assembly in Budapest last week said that “I would like that to be put in the record that the Prime Minister really did take a stand against Jobbik, and I appreciate that.”

I would really appreciate if you and the Financial Times would, in the future, refrain from publishing opinion pieces which are clouded by personal bias.

Yours sincerely,
János Csák
Ambassador of Hungary

Source: A Blog About Hungary