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What I don't understand is what Hungary gains from splitting with the rest of the EU and NATO to help Russia. Doesn't seem beneficial to them.
by fallingknife 4y ago
What I don't understand is what Hungary gains from splitting with the rest of the EU and NATO to help Russia. Doesn't seem beneficial to them.
- rich_sasha 4y agoThe very short answer is that Hungary benefits both from membership in the Western block and from being Putin's friend inside it. So they presumably don't want to go as far as leave, but rather use that as a credible threat for leverage.
- teknopaul 4y agoIf hungry tried to veto, Nato could evict them, then they would be facing Putin on their own. Nobody is Putin's friend. When you join his club he send the military in to make sure it goes his way.
- nathanm412 4y agoIt's not how it benefits Hungary, but what benefits Orban. He's playing the playbook we're all to familiar with lately of antagonizing allies while warming up with Putin. It allows him to solidify his base while attacking the principles of democracy that might threaten his position.
- JumpCrisscross 4y ago> what benefits Orban Orban’s party won reëlection. Orban is popular [1]. We can crib about disinformation and this or that, but holding Hungary accountable for his decisions is perfectly acceptable. [1] https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-viktor-orban-europe-hungary-budapest-6480ac99541044d6ff08d8005cf725ca https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-viktor-orban-europ...
- ebruchez 4y ago> reëlection I love the use of the diaeresis.
- sangnoir 4y agoThey are snooty as hell, and I'll forever associate them with The New Yorker[1]. That said, I love them too! Now, if only we could do the same for awry and other words that trip up voracious readers. 1. https://www.newyorker.com/culture/culture-desk/the-curse-of-the-diaeresis https://www.newyorker.com/culture/culture-desk/the-curse-of-...
- gsinclair 4y agoThey were once coming in English-language publications but now are seen in only The New Yorker, The Economist, and one other. Can anyone recall which?
- eru 4y agoInterestingly, they seem to survive most in naïve than in words like coöperate. Co-operate is much more common than na-ive (which I've never seen). But both cooperate and naive seem reasonably well accepted.
- nradov 4y agoIt's more about Hungarian domestic politics. The Orban administration has alienated much of the EU leadership, and is (arguably) in violation of the EU treaties. So they're looking to Russia as a backup option, and as an implicit threat to the EU over having their funding cut off.
- bonzini 4y agoHungary is by far a net receiver in the EU budget.
- nradov 4y agoRight, and as I stated above, Hungary can threaten to establish closer ties with Russia if the EU cuts off their funding. This is a way to resist EU demands for internal political reforms and play towards the Fidesz party base.
- Veen 4y agoHungary gets 60% of its oil and 85% of its gas from Russia.