January 10th, 2018
A pro-government columnist suggests that the liberal writer is advocating violence when he projects a future scenario in which the PM may have to choose between quitting or being killed. An alt-left commentator thinks the scenario Mr Konrad sketched is mistaken, but non-threatening.
In an interview with Heti Világgazdaság, 85-year-old liberal writer György Konrád said that Hungarians prefer the European Union to “their own dictators”, and speculated that if these trends prevail and discontent mounts, “the Prime Minister may be forced to resign and leave, unless he is ready to face the fate of Nicolae Ceausescu”.
Magyar Idők’s János Dénes Orbán accuses Mr Konrád of threatening the Prime Minister with execution. The pro-government pundit finds it absurd that the left-wing opposition, in unison with Jobbik, liken the Orbán government to a dictatorship. He also finds it outright frightening that they may go so far as to resort to violence and “liquidate their political adversaries” in order to restore what they see as democratic rule.
In Kettős Mérce, András Jámbor thinks that Mr Konrád did not call in any sense for violence, but finds his parallel between the Orbán government and Nicolae Causescu’s dictatorship unfounded, clumsy and even outright ignorant. The alt-lft blogger sees in Mr Konrád’s statements a sign that left-wing liberals nurture illusions rather than face political reality and offer a credible alternative to the current government. Jámbor however also dismisses the accusation that Mr Konrád advocated violence. Nonetheless, regardless of Mr Konrád’s intentions, his ‘thoughtless words’ play into the hands of right-wing propagandists who can use them to vilify the opposition, he concludes.
Tags: democracy, Left, Orbán
