Meet Orbán’s enemy of the week: Romania’s President Klaus Iohannis

Carl Schmitt, the influential fascist German philosopher of the last century wrote that it is a waste of time to conduct politics through discussion, civilized debate and negotiation.  That is a “liberal idea.”  Schmitt believed that politics is a realm of struggle.  As he phrased it, “political actions and motives can be reduced to the struggle between friend and enemy.”

The Orbán government follows Schmitt’s ideas and needs a constant flow of enemies.  Last week’s enemy was Donald Tusk, President of the European People’s Party (Read more here) and this week’s enemy is Romania’s President, Klaus Iohannis.

Viktor Orbán and Klaus Iohannis (right) – the smiles are gone

Hungarian Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Mr. Péter Szijjártó started the attack by posting a video claiming that Iohannis has made a “decidedly uncivilized statement suitable to incite hatred.”  A barrage of articles followed in the pro-Orbán press claiming that Iohannis hates Hungarians, doesn’t respect Hungarians and should resign.

Prime Minister Orbán theatrically declared that he had never heard such horrible statements in Romania, not even “in the most tumultuous anti-democratic times.“ He immediately started backpedaling by saying that Iohannis is an honorable man who stands up for his principles and he respects Romania and its President. “I wait for the situation to be clarified, to understand what happened (…) Of course, if we have to, we’ll take up the gauntlet, but for now I won’t recommend to bend over it.

Just the usual Fidesz theatre: vicious personal attacks followed by Orbán’s wise words and a smiling photo with Iohannis. (Read Orbán’s reaction here in Hungarian)

So, what did Iohannis actually say?   He posted a video criticizing ethnic Hungarian-Romanian politicians and the Social Democratic Party (PSD) for plotting “to give Transylvania to Hungary.”  (Video of Iohannis’s statement in Romanian)

“While we, myself, the government and the other authorities are fighting the coronavirus outbreak, the Romanian Social Democrat Party, the big Romanian Social Democrat Party, is fighting in secret parliamentary offices to give Transylvania to the Hungarians.”  Iohannis addressed the Socialists in Hungarian, saying “Jó napot kívánok, PSD!” and adding, “What did the leader from Budapest, Viktor Orbán, promise you in exchange for this agreement?”

Where is the hatred here?   Iohannis played political theatre and he probably overdid his sarcastic rhetoric, but I didn’t see hatred.  Iohannis rightfully suspected that Orbán is using the coronavirus outbreak to stir up trouble in Romania.  With the help of the small ethnic Hungarian party, UDMR, the Transylvania “autonomy bill” was introduced for the fourth time.  Legislators rejected the bill three times before, but this time tricky political machinations with opposition Socialists allowed the bill to pass without voting in the lower chamber of the Romanian Parliament.

Hunor Kelemen (left), leader of the ethnic Hungarian party UDMR in Romania with Viktor Orbán in Budapest

Romania’s Upper House, the Senate, didn’t fall for the clever trick.  It voted it down with 126 votes against and only 9 (!) supporting it.  The Socialist Senators also opposed it and Iohannis was visibly upset by the murky political trickery.

We may dismiss this incident as part of the ongoing bickering between Romanian and Hungarian politicians although there was a worrisome statement from Szijjártó: “Klaus Iohannis should be aware that the vast majority of Hungarians living in Transylvania and Szeklerland voted for him in the Romanian presidential election.”   In other words, Budapest could order ethnic Hungarians in Romania to vote against Iohannis in the next presidential election. A thinly vailed, unnecessary and unwise personal threat against the elected President of a neighboring country.  It has nothing to with the bill and Szijjártó should apologize.

Iohannis is a moderate center-right politician, and contrary to Orbán, he is widely respected in Europe and the US. The complex issues of ethnic Hungarian citizens of Romania cannot be solved with parliamentary political tricks. Orbán’s divisive policies put UDMR leaders in an impossible situation.  If they don’t break with Budapest their party might disappear just like Slovakia’s pro-Orbán ethnic Hungarian party did.

Open and honest discussions and compromises will be needed on both sides.

György Lázár

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