September 26th, 2017
In a first comment on the impact of the German elections on Hungary, a pro-government columnist believes that threats of financial sanctions to punish Hungary for its rejection of migrant quotas should not be taken at face value now that the campaign is over.
In Magyar Idők, Zoltán Kottász believes Mrs Merkel, as well as her potential rivals within the Christian Democratic Union and in the Social Democratic Party, follow a tradition of Realpolitik in international relations. They know perfectly well that it is not advisable to isolate Russia ‘excessively’ and that in the long run it would not be profitable to punish Hungary. Mrs Merkel has been reelected because she represents that kind of stability, he thinks, and suggests that threats against Hungary made by Mrs Merkel ‘in the heat of the campaign’ should now be forgotten. Germany, Kottász predicts, is to move forward along a path of cool pragmatism.
Tags: elections, Merkel
