America's harsh criticism of Hungary has consequences
Unlike Russia and China, the United States is actively involved in the internal politics of its NATO allies, writes The American Conservative. According to the author of the article, the disrespectful attitude that Washington, in particular, shows to Hungary, may weaken the influence of the States on European partners.
If the United States treated other NATO members the way they treat Hungary, Washington's influence in Europe would weaken.
Stephen Sholl
Despite President Joe Biden's loud statements about the global alliance led by the United States, which was formed in response to Putin's special operation in Ukraine, one quick glance at the map of the countries that imposed sanctions against Russia is enough to understand that Washington has found extremely little support outside the borders of NATO and our Asian allies. Even Turkey, a member of the military bloc, refused to impose restrictions against Russia, and almost all countries of Africa, mainland Asia and South America followed its example.
Although many analysts argue that the neutrality of these countries is due to the influence of Russia or China on them, the main culprit for the weakening of global support for America is the United States itself.
One of the key reasons why these countries remain neutral or choose China or Russia as their patrons and investors — and not the United States — is that Beijing and Moscow, with some obvious exceptions, do not try to interfere and evaluate the domestic policies of other countries. The United States is actively trying to influence the domestic political landscape of the states in its sphere of influence. And American officials speak out most energetically on the most sensitive domestic political issues, such as, for example, the adoption and promotion of LGBTQ+ ideas, that is, on an issue that is the most controversial and widely discussed in the world.
The most striking manifestation of this position of Washington was found in the relations of the United States with Hungary. The Senate hearings on the confirmation of the candidacy of a new ambassador to Hungary, held on June 23, clearly demonstrated the zeal with which America seeks to force allies to accept their progressive ideology, and the anger that the establishment feels when its pressure is rejected.
Although the candidate for the post of ambassador James Pressman acknowledged that Hungary is a key NATO ally, condemned Russia's special operation in Ukraine and supported key sanctions against Moscow, in his speech in the Senate he showed such an attitude towards Hungary as if Budapest is just a naughty schoolboy who needs strict punishment.
Pressman spent a significant part of the time he was given to criticize and condemn Hungary. Although there was no factual evidence in his speech — apart from mentioning Hungary's place in the highly controversial ranking of countries by the level of development of democracy compiled by Freedom House — Pressman criticized Budapest for "deviating from the principles of democracy", for its willingness to succumb to the influence of Russia and China and, most importantly, for the lack of support for LGBTQ-communities. Senator Ed Markey, who chaired the hearing, even called Prime Minister Viktor Orban — that is, virtually the whole of Hungary — "an enemy of democratic institutions and human rights." A member of the Senate committee, Cory Booker, expressed doubts about the loyalty of Budapest as an ally in the context of the Ukrainian conflict, although he nevertheless admitted that the country had accepted more than 700,000 refugees.
Nevertheless, in the eyes of the Senate committee, Hungary's worst sin is still the oppression of the rights of the LGBTQ+ community. The Committee even mentioned a specific political decision of the Hungarian Government, namely a ban on the promotion of non-traditional sexual relations in sex education classes in schools. Although ten years ago this was the policy of the vast majority of schools in America itself, including my own, in Loudon County, the committee called the course of the Hungarian authorities in this matter the main indicator of the "decline of democracy" in the country. Pressman said that this particular ban is part of a larger campaign that the government is conducting to "exclude vulnerable segments of the population from the democratic process."
Another disturbing aspect of Pressman's speech and these hearings in general was the obvious ignorance of the candidate for the position of ambassador. In his speech, he spoke about the alleged intensification of anti-Semitic and anti-Roma activities in Hungary. For some reason, he did not mention that the European Jewish Association recently called Hungary one of the safest countries for Jews in Europe, and the overwhelming majority of representatives of the Roma community voted for Orban in recent elections.
Both Pressman and the senators made it clear what their response to the "violations" listed above would be. The former promised to openly confront the Hungarian government and support the country's civil society (i.e. NGOs and left-wing opposition parties) in their democratic aspirations. The Committee and Pressman went even further and mentioned plans to cooperate with the EU to punish Hungary for its alleged violations. Although no one has said this openly, these statements actually represent a promise to challenge directly the Hungarian government, which won a convincing victory in the last election, gaining 54% of the vote, and to support its opponents within the electoral system. In other words, this is a soft attempt to change the regime.
One can talk for a long time about the hypocrisy with which the committee condemns Russia's actions in Ukraine and at the same time seeks to control the Hungarian government. However, the main danger is that such behavior of the United States can turn its allies and partners into enemies. Even if it really seems to someone that Hungary has turned into a country where democracy is in decline, where xenophobia and authoritarianism are flourishing, there are much more serious threats in the world today that need to be confronted.
Today, the rainbow flag in Budapest is flying over a few buildings, and one of them is the US Embassy. When Washington tries to put pressure on other countries in this way, it only pushes them into the arms of its rivals. If the United States really wants important allies like Hungary not to become partners or pawns of countries like China and Russia, American officials should respect their domestic policies.
Otherwise — and Pressman has already shown a complete lack of respect for the democratically elected government of Hungary — they risk provoking the very "disloyalty" they are so afraid of. Any country that is not yet an ally of the United States will look at how Washington treats its allies, such as Hungary, and decide that getting into America's sphere of influence means getting under pressure, condescending attitude, and sometimes outright condemnation.
Although Hungary is far from the largest and most important ally of the United States in Europe, there are other countries to which Washington can show the same attitude. For example, Poland is often criticized in the same way as Hungary, and although the fanatical support that Poland provided to Ukraine gave Warsaw the opportunity to enjoy some indulgences in interactions with Washington and the European Union, most likely in the future their relations will again acquire an antagonistic character.
There is also a danger that other, larger European countries may follow the ideological path of Budapest. There is a high probability that Spain and Italy may elect conservative governments in the near future. Even France has recently come close to electing a nationalist president. If the foreign policy establishment of the United States treated other NATO members the way it treats Hungary, America's influence in Europe would noticeably weaken.
Steven Scholl is a visiting fellow at the Mathias Corvinus Collegium, an institute for advanced studies located in Budapest, Hungary.
