Comments by "andy99ish" (@andy99ish) on "‘Budapest is teaching Finland and Sweden a lesson’: Hungary becomes increasingly isolated in NATO" video.

Hungary has over and over again fought for values which are at the core of Latin Europe. E.g. 1848, 1956. I am not a fan of Orban but denigrating Hungary as some anti-democratic nation is absurd. Hungary is one of these countries which never can be entirely sure of Western support and therefore needs to make compromises. Even more so, as a large portion of Hungarian electricity comes from a nuclear power plant of Soviet design, for which uranium and spare parts come from Russia. Poland takes a different path. Yet hardly anyone in Poland blames Hungary.
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@bekaugro Wait, I did not blame Hungary for having a Soviet designed nuclear power plant. Poland is taking a very anti-Russian position, unlike Hungary. Yet nearly no one in Poland blames Hungary for acting differently.
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Hungary has over and over again fought for values which are at the core of Latin Europe. I am not a fan of Orban but denigrating Hungary as some anti-democratic nation is absurd. When Hungarians heroically fought in the uprising against Soviet-style communism an 1956, well-fed and secure French intellectuals tried to persuade everyone, that communism is good. Hungary is one of these countries which never can be entirely sure of Western support and therefore needs to make compromises. Even more so, as a large portion of Hungarian electricity comes from a nuclear power plant of Soviet design, for which uranium and spare parts come from Russia. Poland takes a different path. Yet hardly anyone in Poland blames Hungary. Generally West European countries should stop pretending that they are champions of democracy. With some exceptions their more and more dysfunctional democracies were introduced by the USA after WW II or, as in the case of Spain and Portugal, came into being only in the 1970s.
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@bekaugro Yet Hungary takes a much more restrained position towards Russia now. Again - I can understand the reasons. Yet there is no use to act as if there was no difference.
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@dnuno75 The EU cannot be named a European project, as it excluded Russia right from the beginning. And it is not like dancing to the same music with different styles - as there are incompatible ideas about what the music is. Is it a federation under a de facto German-French leadership, as Mr Scholz hinted in his recent article in Foreign Affairs ? Or is it a confederation of sovereign countries, as Poland's prime minister Morawiecki stated yesterday ? Throwing tantrums does indeed not make sense. Yet avoiding debate and democratic consensus what the basic nature of the EU shall be, will no be sufficient.
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Russia: I am referring to the lost decade of the 1990s, when the SU was no more and when the Russian Federation was economically suffering, yet hungry for Western solutions, but ignored by it. Now everyone is complaining that Russia is so un-European. Why Russia by definition cannot be in the EU, but, say the Ukraine can, shows, that the EU is not really European and worse, that it perpetuates the Cold War picture of "Russia the eternal enemy". This is even more striking given that the EU had no problems with accepting post-Franco Spain or post-Salazar Portugal to the EU only some 10 years after they turned into modern democracies. A basic waltz is in place. But its rules are not kept. Worse, some countries are punished for breaking some rules while breaking other rules by other countries is accepted. On top, when it comes to the future, some write a tango, others maintain that it shall be a polka. And I see no fruitful public debate to reconcile the concepts. But only a preconceived notion that "European integration" is good accompanied by the preconceived notion that the closer the integration, the better. So the core issue is not the lack of a solo maestro but the lack of a democratically legitimized process to establish what kind of orchestra should be set up.
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@nyekijudit6272 I am not sure to whose plays with NATO membership you are referring to. But promising the Ukraine NATO membership in 2008 at some unspecified later moment provoked Russia buy did not give the Ukraine protection. So they ended up with the worst combination - an antagonized neighbor but no protection.
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@konanpl8936 Yours is an opinion I rarely encounter in Poland. Especially as most Poles know very well what Ukrainian nationalism has done to Poland. And the Ukraine has not apologized for that yet. Most Poles I know are very well aware that Hungary objectively depends on Russian cooperation when it comes to energy, as the Hungarian nuclear power plant is Soviet built. So it is not bargain hunting, as you imply. Some radical Poles would be well advised to be pragmatic- Poland has no friends in the EU and the standing of Poland in the USA is not really firm. Poland even managed to sour its relations with Czechia. The idea that Poland will be accepted by Lithuania, Belarus or the Ukraine as some form of intermediary to the West has repeatedly failed. If you think that the USA will forever support the Ukraine at all costs, then you are naive. Finally the idea of being strong enough to "confront" Russia alone or with one or maximally two small or medium sized allies is outright crazy. But sure, Romania will accept refugees from Poland just as it did in 1939.
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