“America is a friend”, conservative philosopher warns
October 21st, 2014Commenting on the unprecedented case of Hungarian officials and businessman banned from entering the United States (see BudaPost, October 20), a well-known conservative philosopher thinks the government should avoid antagonising the United States.
On Mos Maiorum, Ferenc Horkay-Hörcher admits that Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has been successful in using confrontational policies at home and abroad to unite his folks and thus strengthen his position, but this time he advises him to opt for self-restraint and moderation. America is not faultless, he writes, but it is the guarantor of Hungary’s freedom and security and no foreign policy can be successful “with a list of enemies/adversaries including the US”. Hungary cannot afford, Hörcher continues, to be considered in America as a corrupt country. Therefore he suggests that the prime Minister should avoid further confrontation on the one hand and reign in the unruly within his camp on the other. The government should do its utmost to avoid even the suspicion of corruption in its own interest. Meanwhile, Hörcher hopes that the recent conflict can be a starting point to rebuilding Hungary’s relations with America.