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Left-wing media have picked up on a statement made by the Prime Minister’s Political Director during an interview about the current struggle in Ukraine, the Hungarian Revolution of 1956 and the importance and possibility of defense against Russia. Balázs Orbán reacted to the distortion of his statement in a video. Furthermore, Prof. Frank Füredi, Director of the Hungarian-funded Mathias Corvinus Collegium (MCC) Brussels, also responded to it in an X post.
In an interview with the news portal Mandiner, Balázs Orbán pointed out that Hungary in particular, because of the Hungarian Revolution in 1956, knows that it is not worth the risk of war, that it is not worth doing what Volodymyr Zelenskyy is doing:
“Starting from 1956, we probably would not have done what President Zelenskyy did 2.5 years ago, because it is irresponsible, because it is obvious that he is putting his country on the defensive, so many people have died, so much territory has been lost, and I repeat, it was their right, their sovereign decision, they can do that, but if we had been asked, we would not have advised it, because in ’56 what happened happened. Because we have learned that we have to be careful here, and we have to be careful with the very precious Hungarian lives. You cannot just throw them away in front of others.”
Left-wing media portals took this statement out of context and twisted the words of the political director.
The US newspaper Politico claimed that Balázs Orbán had stated in the aforementioned interview that Hungary, unlike Ukraine, would not defend itself against Russian military aggression.
Shortly after the fabricated articles appeared, the political director explained in a video that it is unfortunately common in politics to try to twist people’s words.
I would like to clarify one or two things about this. The heroes of 1956 are national heroes. Their memory is sacred and inviolable, and the heroes of 1956 were right and did the right thing,”
he emphasized. Hungary’s position is clear: “We see no sense in the Ukrainian-Russian war, which has been going on for more than two and a half years, in which hundreds of thousands of people have died, hundreds of thousands of square kilometers of territory have been lost and a country has been destroyed. The war should never have started and should have been ended diplomatically as soon as possible. Comparing the Hungarian heroes of 1956 with the current Hungarian position is a common method of the foreign-funded propaganda press and pro-war politicians, which I find outrageous and reject at every opportunity,” the political director underlined in a Facebook post.
Sociologist Prof. Frank Füredi, Director of the Hungarian-funded Mathias Corvinus Collegium (MCC), published a post on X in response to the Politico article. According to Füredi, Politico deliberately distorted Balázs Orbán’s statement, points out Mandiner.
The main thrust of his arguments in the 1956 Hungarian Revolution and struggle against the Russian invaders is nothing like the current war between Russia and Ukraine,”
highlighted the sociologist.
Politico willfully distorts Balázs Orbán’ statement. The main thrust of his arguments in the 1956 Hungarian Revolution and struggle against the Russian invaders is nothing like the current war between Russia and Ukraine. He is not arguing that it was wrong for Hungarian freedom…
— Frank Furedi (@Furedibyte) September 26, 2024
As Prof. Füredi emphasized, Balázs Orbán is not saying that it was wrong for the Hungarian freedom fighters to resist Russian aggression. The sociologist added that Orbán acknowledged the heroic efforts of the freedom fighters. According to him, the prime minister’s political director “believes that 2024 is not 1956, and given the past experience and the context of the current conflict, only a diplomatic response to Russia’s behavior makes sense”.
Rod Dreher, an American conservative writer and editor living in Hungary, also commented on the distortions of the Hungarian politician’s statement. “I don’t understand the controversy here. Seems clear to me the first time that Balázs Orbán was talking about meaningful historical differences btw 1956 and 2022, and NOT justifying Russia invasion or dunning ‘56 resisters.”
I don’t understand the controversy here. Seems clear to me the first time that @BalazsOrban_HU was talking about meaningful historical differences btw 1956 and 2022, and NOT justifying Russia invasion or dunning ‘56 resisters. https://t.co/ataFhmduZI
— Rod Dreher (@roddreher) September 26, 2024
Via MTI; Featured image via X/Balázs Orbán