Brexit’s fallout on Hungary and the V4
July 6th, 2016A left-wing commentator believes the Hungarian government is ’the spokesman’ of the Visegrád 4 in their confrontation with the EU, while a conservative analyst suggests that Angela Merkel is changing her policies and is steering nearer to the V4.
In his Népszava op-ed piece, Róbert Friss calls Foreign Minister Péter Szíjjártó’s latest remark on Brexit an act of ‘blackmail’. Mr Szíjjártó said ‘Brussels must be stopped’ because its policies, especially on mass immigration are untenable. In reality, Friss believes the Minister is afraid of what the commentator sees as the only possible remedy to the Brexit shock, namely even deeper political, economic and financial integration. He accuses the Hungarian government of using the migration issue as a cover-up for its drive to halt further integration. What is more, Friss suspects that the Foreign Minister intended to blackmail the European Union to grant more independence to nation states, lest the central European block follow the British example.
On Mandiner, on the other hand, philosopher Ferenc Hörcher believes German Chancellor Angela Merkel is moving closer to the Visegrád 4 in their dissatisfaction with EC Chairman Jean-Claude Juncker’s policies. Mr Juncker may become the next Brexit victim (after a series of British leaders), as Mrs Merkel is reportedly outraged by what she regards as his reckless treatment of Great Britain. The shift of her own constituency toward more conservative views may also prompt her to tread on the brake and look for a more popular model of EU cooperation, which unexpectedly brings her nearer to the V4 (Hungary, Slovakia, the Czech Republic and Poland).
Tags: Brexit, Juncker, Merkel, Visegrád 4