Hungary is unhappy with Sweden’s public criticism of Hungary’s violations of press freedom, the rule of law and corruption. Sweden has spoken openly about this and, according to the Hungarian government, Sweden needs to back down, says Bos. The top Republican senator on the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee has now faced the fallout from Hungary’s obstruction and halted a planned $735 million arms shipment.
Isolated
“That message hit the opposition like a bomb,” says Bos. The opposition underlines how much Hungary also risks becoming isolated within NATO. According to Bos, however, the country has pulled another trick out of the bag of deceit: the agreement with the Americans was already out of the question anyway. For example, Hungary’s defense minister said the deal had been in place for much longer and that the Americans would miss a deadline in March of last year.
Prime Minister Viktor Orbàn has also had his say when it comes to not accepting Sweden’s membership. According to Bos, the prime minister himself says he is in favor of joining, but it is up to the parliament to agree. “Those MPs from his party make a kind of applause machine and have a majority in parliament. So it might take a while.
Bos also points out that the Hungarian foreign minister said in an interview with a very conservative American television station that he hopes Trump will soon return to the White House because Hungary can do better business with him.
It doesn’t matter that the Hungarians are losing a $735 million pie. Bos defines the missile systems in question as crucial, as they made the Russian advance in Ukraine impossible. “These systems are specifically targeted at NATO’s eastern flank. Poland already received the first delivery of that system last month and Hungary should have received it. So they too shoot themselves in the foot.’
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