Shortly after World War II, after the Soviet Red Army liberated Hungary from Nazi occupation, the Hungarians held their first election in six years. The November, 1945 vote resulted in an overwhelming victory for a coalition led by the agrarian, anti-communist Hungarian Smallholders Party. This victory at the ballot box infuriated Hungary’s Communist Party and Hungary’s new occupying Soviet overlords. Little by little, in what became known as “salami tactics,” the Hungarian communists chipped away at the ruling coalition – slicing off one piece of salami (coalition partner) at a time until nothing was left. Once accomplished, a new election was held in which the Communists captured power and ruled for 40 years from the barrel of a Soviet tank (literally in 1956).
Thus, having helped liberate Hungary from occupation by a totalitarian power (the Nazis) that forced the Hungarians to obey Berlin, the Soviets succeeded in establishing a totalitarian occupation that forced the Hungarians to obey Moscow. It is little wonder that many Hungarians bitterly oppose foreign meddling in their affairs.
We are told that the United States liberated the Soviet bloc from authoritarian Soviet rule in 1989. Thus having finally freed Hungary from the fascist and communist totalitarians, Hungary might finally be able to exercise its own sovereignty and determine its own domestic and foreign policies.
In reality, shortly after the “liberation,” the US applied the kind of political pressure that was still fresh in the minds of most Hungarians. The first elected government was too nationalist, complained Washington. The US openly favored a return to power of the “reformed” communist party, which with Washington’s assistance was accomplished in 1994. The US meddling in Hungary’s internal affairs has continued nonstop since Hungary’s “liberation” – just like Soviet meddling in Hungary’s internal affairs continued nonstop after Moscow liberated Budapest from Berlin.
Lately the US (and EU bureaucrats in Brussels) have taken to browbeating Hungary and the rest of the “bad boys” in central Europe like Poland, Slovakia, and the Czech Republic for refusing to accept tens of thousands of refugees fleeing from the countries being bombed by the US (with the assistance of EU bureaucrats in Brussels). Don’t make your problem our problem, say the central European leaders.
Who do these pipsqueaks think they are questioning Washington like that, scoff the US power elite. The latest missile fired at central Europe came from former President Bill Clinton, who slammed Poland and Hungary in New Jersey earlier this week over their refusal to obey Brussels and Washington.
Clinton’s message was clear: “we liberated you and gave you back your sovereignty – now do as we say!”
Said Clinton:
Poland and Hungary, two countries that would not be free but for the United States and the long Cold War, have now decided now that this democracy’s too much trouble. They want Putin-like leadership. Just give me an authoritarian dictatorship and keep the foreigners out. Sound familiar?
As he did for much of his eight years in office, Clinton got this one horribly wrong. Hungary has not “given up on democracy” when it comes to accepting refugees. In fact, Hungary has embraced more democracy than Clinton and his wife would ever tolerate from voters on the immigration issue. Earlier this month the Hungarian parliament approved a nationwide referendum on whether Hungary should accept the mandatory refugee quotas imposed by Brussels. Democracy enough?
But to Clinton and Clinton (and her big backer George Soros), allowing the people to vote on a fundamental issue such as refugee policy is not democratic. It’s only considered democratic if the Hungarian government takes dictation from Washington and Brussels and ignores the will of the Hungarian people.
If Hillary is elected, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban should declare both the Clintons persona non grata.
Daniel McAdams is director of the The Ron Paul Institute for Peace & Prosperity. Reprinted from The Ron Paul Institute for Peace & Prosperity.
