FT’s fake Hungary claims are another example of London using its media outlets to smear opponents
By Timofey Bordachev, Programme Director of the Valdai Club
FILE PHOTO. © HENRY NICHOLLS / AFP
When you read in Financial Times (or FT to its friends) that the EU wants to destroy Hungary’s economy because of its “recalcitrance,” you should always bear in mind that this is a UK-based newspaper and that the political aim of the publication is to create internal contradictions in the EU after its home country’s exit.
Accordingly, the information given to the newspaper by British officials is primarily aimed at manipulating journalists to create stories that will create additional controversies within the EU and worsen the situation of Germany and France. This is the first thing we have to understand when we talk about political war propaganda.
Secondly, Hungary’s relations with officials in Brussels and the main countries of the bloc are not easy, but they are not linear either. If they were, the Budapest government would long ago have come under more serious pressure, first from Germany, then from France, then from Austria. Together they could have influenced the investment climate in Hungary if they had wanted to. But judging by all their actions, they don’t want to, and there are no examples to the contrary.
Brussels alone will not do anything that Berlin and Paris do not want to do. Indeed, come to think of it, if what FT wrote is true, it is a first in the history of any union – killing a member state to give money to a non-member? It’s completely un-European somehow.
The Hungarians themselves have a normal, balanced attitude towards the EU. They are positive on economic issues – such as the common market, for example. Another thing is that Budapest knows that it can’t dictate overall bloc policy, and they accept this.
On the issue of aid to Ukraine, the Hungarians will stick to their line, as they have been doing for two years, and they have no reason to change anything here. After all, when it comes to fundamental issues, Orban can go for a coffee during the vote and then complain that the others voted without him. Remember, this has happened before.
Also, remember this, when we read FT’s articles on Russia, we know that they are mostly untrue. So why would Hungary and Germany be treated much better? They are also ultimately London’s opponents.
This article was first published by Rossiyskaya Gazeta newspaper, translated and edited by the RT team
