Dates have come and gone. “Approval will come soon,” you constantly hear. But then – nothing. When it comes to Sweden’s NATO application, the focus is often on Turkey, but Hungary is also dragging its feet. – It is an international power game, says Tibor Dessewffy, political scientist in Budapest. It was during a visit to Oslo today, for a meeting with his Norwegian counterpart, that the Hungarian defense minister opened the door once more for an approval by Sweden. – We will not be the last country to approve, he told Hungarian journalists. It is a comfortable position for Hungary, one can continue to use the NATO application when negotiating with European countries or the USA. But you can also hide behind Turkey. “Ordinary people have nothing against Sweden” When I meet the political scientist Tibor Dessewffy in a park near his office in Budapest, he begins by apologizing. Everything is about Orbán’s international power struggle, he believes. Even people who vote for Orbán’s Fidesz party did not have much bad to say about Sweden before the NATO process began. – Sweden for us is Ikea, Abba and Björn Borg. We don’t like Zlatan after all the goals against us, but still – people here have nothing against Sweden. For Dessewffy, it’s all about Orbán wanting money that the EU is withholding. Sweden and NATO then become a trump card in the negotiations with the EU’s NATO members. “Sweden says harsh things about us” The latest argument from members of parliament from Orbán’s party is that Sweden has been too critical of Hungary when it comes to LGBTQ rights, democracy and the legal system. In Budapest’s State Park, I look for a long time at a monument honoring the people’s revolution against Soviet power in 1954, before I start asking people what they think. – Sweden says harsh things about us, says Janos Paulik, who is visiting Budapest to see a concert. But Erzsebet, also visiting the capital, says she is ashamed that Hungary is almost the last to approve Sweden’s NATO application. – What is the government’s goal with all this? I have no idea, she says. Sweden’s NATO application is just one in a series of ways in which Hungary is following a different path than the rest of the EU and almost all of NATO. Hungary avoids criticizing Russia too harshly – and in return receives cheap natural gas for the country. Even when it comes to China, Orbán seems to want to play both sides. And a large part of the people seem to think it’s perfectly fine, says Dessewffy. – If Orbán decided that there are UFOs, and that they really threaten Hungary, then he would get support for it, he says and sighs.
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