To be a Hungarian diplomat in the United States is not an easy task. Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, who is called by his subordinates “The Boss” referring to his Sicilian methods, told them in no uncertain terms to do everything to get him an official invitation to the White House.
Hungary’s “Viktator” is upset because he was ignored by the Obama administration. After a brief courtesy phone call with President-elect Trump, Mr. Orbán announced that he had gotten an invitation to Washington. “I told him that I have not been there for a long time as I was regarded as a ‘black sheep’,” Orbán was quoted as saying. Trump laughed and said so was he.
Orbán’s bluff did not work, apparently Trump has no plans to see him. Then Orbán dispatched ex-Ambassador Réka Szemerkényi to find US politicians to support his visit. She did not succeed either.
Now it is the turn of 61-year-old UN Ambassador, Ms. Katalin Bogyay. She practices “cultural diplomacy,” which is basically influence peddling while listening to classical music. Bogyay targets and befriends people around Trump, like one of his ex-wives, Marla Maples. Marla has no Hungarian ancestry yet she attends Hungarian National Day and other UN events. She tweeted: “Last evening at the UN with the lovely Katalin Bogyay Ambassador of Hungary to the United Nations discussing the importance of having interfaith dialogue while being entertained by the sweet smiling musical artists for the Hungarian National Day celebration.” Cute!
The two became “friends” and Bogyay makes sure that she regularly posts photos with her new influential (?) connection. Tiffany, Marla’s daughter with Trump, even visited Budapest last year.
Will Bogyay’s friendship and “cultural diplomacy” yield an Orbán invitation to the White House? I don’t think so, but you never know. One thing is for sure, Bogyay’s maneuver shows that Hungarian diplomacy is desperate and willing to try anything to please “The Boss.”
Don’t you just love politics?
György Lázár