Both Hungary’s opposition and governing parties have taken the time to congratulate Joe Biden on his inauguration into office as the 46th president of the United States, reports MTI.
Many in Hungary’s opposition describe it as a breath of fresh air and the start of a new era, believing that the newly elected president is on their side.
Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s congratulatory letter, however, informs Biden that he wishes for continued cooperation, informing the president of the considerable benefits positive Hungarian-American relations provide for both nations.
Jobbik
Márton Gyöngyösi, Executive Vice President of right-wing opposition Jobbik, highlighted “common values” between the Biden Administration. While their ideological views may differ, the MEP believes that “there are values such as democratic institutions, the rule of law, and fair politics that bind us.”
Gyöngyösi said the world needs stability, which Jobbik is striving for in order to restore relations between Europe and the US.
LMP
Centrist green party LMP welcomes the upcoming administration’s return to the Paris Climate Agreement, believing that among the multiple decrees Biden will bring into effect within the next ten days, climate action is the most important.
Co-presidents Erzsébet Schmuck and Máté Kanász-Nagy compared the United States’ determination for climate action to the Orbán government’s approach, criticizing it for the changes it is bringing to university level agricultural studies. According to them, these changes “will likely result in environmentally friendly, modern farming practices disappearing from university curricula”.
MSZP
MSZP, Hungary’s socialist party, considers the election of Joe Biden to be the point where democracy is once again able to stand up to authoritarian, right wing, openly populist regimes.
Ágnes Kunhalmi, co-chair of the party, said that Joe Biden and Kamala Harris’ job will not be easy, as Trump may have fallen, but „Trumpism” has not gone anywhere.
Kunhalmi said her party, as “the followers of Hungarian democracy, are fighting for the liberation of our country from the current authoritarian regime, to reinstate democracy and the rule of law, to noticeably deplete societal differences and provide everyone with the opportunity for a better, successful life.”
Democratic Coalition
Hungary’s leftist liberal Democratic Coalition (DK), said that Joe Biden’s victory is “the victory of temperance, gravity, readiness for dialogue and compromise, democratic institutions and respect for traditions over nationalist populism and violent governance” in the US.
They believe the US will restore democracy and the rule of law, once again becoming the leading force of the Liberal International Order.
Momentum
In a Facebook post, leader of centrist Momentum, András Fekete-Győr said the world has made it through a difficult period; that of Viktor Orbán’s role model Donald Trump.
Fekete-Győr said that now is the time for the United States and the world to open a new chapter which is not about oppressing the other side but building a peaceful society which fights for common goals.
Fekete-Győr says the Biden-Momentum alliance will exemplify this, strengthening Western alliances, including NATO, reducing Russian and Chinese influence, to consolidate democratic institutions, and to stop global warming.
Párbeszéd
Budapest Mayor and co-leader of leftist green Párbeszéd, Gergely Karácsony commended Joe Biden’s inaugural speech, and expressed his disappointment of former president Donald Trump.
Karácsony said that while Trump saw success in fueling populist rhetoric and divisiveness, Biden favors cohesion, regardless of disagreements.
The mayor said that Biden’s speech is especially applicable to Hungarians, since the Budapest mayor believes in 2010 Hungary was taken over by a government very similar to that of Trump fueling the aggressive, enemy at the gates mentality of populism.
Karácsony stated that unity can seem like a fantasy in these times, but that one day order will be returned to Hungary, and that solidarity, thoughtfulness, and respect will govern our lives.
Bertalan Havasi of the Prime Minister’s Press Office told MTI that Viktor Orbán wrote a congratulatory letter to Joe Biden, encouraging continued cooperation between the two nations.
Orbán wrote that the past four years shows that friendship and cooperation between the United States and Hungary contains many great opportunities, in fields such as security, energy policy, and the economy.
The Hungarian prime minister assured Biden that the Hungarian government will remain committed to Hungarian-American relations. Orbán said Hungary will continue “to build upon our NATO alliance, our commitment to fight terrorism, and our mutual goals towards sustainable energy sources in Central Europe.”
Orbán also congratulated Biden when he won the election in November, but he told Reuters that he had not prepared for a Biden presidency, since Trump was his “Plan A.”
In the featured photo by MTI/EPA/Michael Reynolds
