Is George Pataki denying his Hungarian roots in the GOP race?

Today, no American politician wants to be identified with Hungary; George Pataki, the 70 years old ex-Governor of the State of New York is no exception. His father’s family came from Hungary, while his mother’s parents were Irish and Italian immigrants. He even speaks some Hungarian! Last December at the annual Mikulás dinner of the Hungarian American Coalition, the organization’s president, Maximillian Teleki, asked everybody to join him in encouraging Pataki to run for the US Presidency.

In May, Mr. Pataki announced that he is joining the GOP race. Mr. Teleki was elated: “As a close friend and a fellow Hungarian American, we can be proud of George Pataki. I am very honored to be by his side here in New Hampshire on this historic occasion. I know all Hungarian Americans can take pride regardless of party affiliation.” Mr. Pataki and Mr. Teleki are also business associates, in the past they served together on the board of E-Star, an already bankrupt Hungarian energy company.

Indeed, Gov. Pataki has close ties to Hungary. He owns a vinery there, and in 2012 he announced that he will apply for Hungarian citizenship. His daughter, Allison, is “the ambassador” for the Hungarian ReConnect program and his son (Owen) also visited Budapest recently. (Allison Pataki is lobbying for ReConnect in this video.)

HAC President Maximillian Teleki, Ambassador Réka Szemerkényi and Gov. George Pataki.

HAC President Maximillian Teleki, Ambassador Réka Szemerkényi and Gov. George Pataki.

A couple of weeks ago, Mr. Pataki appeared on the MSNBC TV program with Joe Scarborough to talk about his political agenda and in the show he proudly mentioned his family background noting his Irish and Italian grandparents. How about the Hungarian grandparents?

Pataki conveniently forgot about them.

The Hungarian American Coalition immediately issued a Facebook warning: “Gov. Pataki, you only mentioned your Irish and Italian grandparents on Morning Joe this morning. If you count on Hungarian-American votes, don’t forget to mention your Hungarian ancestry next time!” (Watch Gov. Pataki after 4th minute.)

To be honest, I don’t blame Pataki. He knows well that his Hungarian background won’t bring votes, in fact the Orbán Government’s reputation is so horrific that he might actually lose supporters. His fellow republican, Senator John McCain has called Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán “a neo-Fascist dictator” and Pataki also knows that most Hungarian Americans are registered democrats and they won’t be eligible to vote in closed primary states.

On September 29 the Hungarian American Coalition hosted its annual Gala Dinner in Washington DC at the House of Sweden. Gov. Pataki was there and assured his pals that he is extremely proud of his Hungarian grandparents. Of course he did so behind closed doors, not on cable television in the middle of an election campaign!

György Lázár

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