I’m with you 100% on what you said. Regrettably, as a US citizen I have zero influence over the actions of the EU members and whatever decision making machinery they use to decide on taking such actions as you suggest. I will gladly pass along your comments to my representatives in Congress and urge them to do some arm-twisting at their next European smooze-fest, should such an opportunity arise. Meanwhile I await more installments and will try to swallow my anger long enough to read and digest what you have to tell me.
I did a quick read through most of your first installment on Hungary, but had to stop, as your account of how Orban and Fidesz crushed Hungarian freedoms got me all worked up. Plus, so much tiresome right-wing whinging about how horrible liberal democracies are and how badly they treat dictatorships, all the while the empowered elites are grifting on EU subsidies. What a horrible bunch!
What I'd really like to know is, what steps "we" (the liberal democracies of "the West") can take to push Orban and his gang out of power and into prison (or at least, into exile in Putin's Russia or other dictator-friendly places). My first step would be to lobby the US State Department to withhold a visa for any of the Fidesz crew -- no more cozying up with the CPAC gang!
The EU could have done what it's doing now--saying, "Okay, that's enough money for you until you restore the rule of law"--years ago. But it waited and waited, hoping the problem would go away--and now, Hungary is holding Europe hostage by refusing to agree to send aid to Ukraine, enact sanctions on Russia, and approve Finland and Sweden's entry in NATO.
It's an outrageous situation.
There are lessons we can learn from this, absolutely. I'll get there at the end of this series, but in brief: These figures must be stopped *immediately.* You can't wait for years, expressing "concern." You need to bring the hammer down on them from the minute they start arrogating to themselves power and money they ought not to have. No money, no visas, no prestige--and both NATO and the EU need mechanisms for expelling members who are no longer meaningfully free.
Also, just my opinion, but I don't think they should get invitations to CPAC.
On the more general subject of presidents seizing power, Peru's president just dissolved Congress.
https://elcomercio.pe/politica/en-vivo-pedro-castillo-brinda-mensaje-a-la-nacion-vacancia-cuestion-de-confianza-congreso-destitucion-noticia/
Yes, we're trying to find someone knowledgable to write about that!
I’m with you 100% on what you said. Regrettably, as a US citizen I have zero influence over the actions of the EU members and whatever decision making machinery they use to decide on taking such actions as you suggest. I will gladly pass along your comments to my representatives in Congress and urge them to do some arm-twisting at their next European smooze-fest, should such an opportunity arise. Meanwhile I await more installments and will try to swallow my anger long enough to read and digest what you have to tell me.
I did a quick read through most of your first installment on Hungary, but had to stop, as your account of how Orban and Fidesz crushed Hungarian freedoms got me all worked up. Plus, so much tiresome right-wing whinging about how horrible liberal democracies are and how badly they treat dictatorships, all the while the empowered elites are grifting on EU subsidies. What a horrible bunch!
What I'd really like to know is, what steps "we" (the liberal democracies of "the West") can take to push Orban and his gang out of power and into prison (or at least, into exile in Putin's Russia or other dictator-friendly places). My first step would be to lobby the US State Department to withhold a visa for any of the Fidesz crew -- no more cozying up with the CPAC gang!
The EU could have done what it's doing now--saying, "Okay, that's enough money for you until you restore the rule of law"--years ago. But it waited and waited, hoping the problem would go away--and now, Hungary is holding Europe hostage by refusing to agree to send aid to Ukraine, enact sanctions on Russia, and approve Finland and Sweden's entry in NATO.
It's an outrageous situation.
There are lessons we can learn from this, absolutely. I'll get there at the end of this series, but in brief: These figures must be stopped *immediately.* You can't wait for years, expressing "concern." You need to bring the hammer down on them from the minute they start arrogating to themselves power and money they ought not to have. No money, no visas, no prestige--and both NATO and the EU need mechanisms for expelling members who are no longer meaningfully free.
Also, just my opinion, but I don't think they should get invitations to CPAC.