I have never seen Hungary more alive, freer, more open than now, says George Pataki. During his visit to Hungary last week, the former governor of New York was asked about the war, the performance of the Orbán government and the future of the American right. Gergely Szilvay's interview in the Mandiner weekly

What did you experience last Friday at the Hungarian-Ukrainian border?
I wanted to see what we Americans could do to help deal with the Ukrainian refugee crisis. I found that the machinery works efficiently and the organization is professional. The Christian aid organizations, the Catholic Caritász, the Hungarian Maltese Charity, the Ecumenical Aid Organization and the Red Cross carry out enormous work with the significant help of the government. I saw reports from the Polish border, there is chaos. It is true that more people arrive there, but Hungary also receives four to five thousand people every day. Hungarians work incredibly well. At the border, I was impressed by the excellent work of the Hungarians, but it is sad that I did not see American organizations"

 It is interesting that you see it this way, because according to the Hungarian opposition, the government is not doing anything.
Unlike him, I was impressed by the excellent work. But the sad thing is that I have not seen any American organizations and the American government does not provide any help.

 What do you think about the war?
What is going on is beyond evil. Vladimir Putin's demonstration of war. He attacked not only the Ukrainian state, but also the Ukrainian people by bombing schools and hospitals. Never before have Americans, right and left, Republicans and Democrats, stood as united against Putin as they are now with the Ukrainian people.

What is the image of Hungary in the United States today?
It's very different from reality. They claim that in the case of Hungary, it is not possible to talk about real democracy, even though there is an election right now, in which Viktor Orbán and the ruling parties may even lose. How is this? I see Hungary as a vibrant, healthy democracy and an open country. The Prime Minister recently showed me one of the Holocaust memorials. I also met with the Jewish leaders here to learn about the refugee crisis. They said it was one of the safest countries for Jews. You don't hear about all this, and certain forces are aggressively destroying Hungary's reputation. The Hungarian government created a strong economy, the country became optimistic"

 How do you evaluate the work of Viktor Orbán and the government?
I have never seen Hungary more lively, free, and open than it is now. I remember when I first came here as governor in 1995 and met the prime minister and many others, everyone was pessimistic. When I remarked what a beautiful day we were having, the answer was yes, but it might rain tomorrow. But now the Hungarians are smiling. This includes the work of the government: it created such a strong economy that the country became optimistic. So people's attitudes have changed! My son also traveled here with me, he is a member of the millennial generation, and he says: everyone wants to travel to Budapest. People don't want to go to Prague, Paris or London, but to your capital. Budapest is more human scale, cheaper and safer than, say, Paris, but it is exciting and beautiful. If you want adventure, but want to feel at home, then you come here. The Budapest brand has become cool! The government also contributed to this with its measures, for example by luring the film industry here. The country's leadership can be proud of the development it has managed to initiate.

We have been living with the coronavirus for more than two years.
As the former governor of New York State, how do you evaluate the epidemic management there? Democratic Governor Andrew Cuomo and state leadership have handled the epidemic very poorly. They made disastrous decisions, for example placing people with the coronavirus in nursing homes, next to the most vulnerable age group. Eighteen thousand New Yorkers died. Many of the restrictions made no sense, could only be interpreted as a political move and only made things worse for New Yorkers. Disappointing, as are the activities of the democratic government.

Democrat Bill de Blasio recently left New York City after eight years. He had mayoral predecessors like Rudy Giuliani and Michael Bloomberg, a Republican who put the city in order. How do you see De Blasio's mayoralty?
It was terrible, and there is a lot of agreement between Republicans and Democrats. De Blasio has done a lot of damage to New York, and the effects of bad city management have been exacerbated by the epidemic. New York City is a great city, but it's not what it was five years ago. However, with a good mayor, it can shine again in five years.

The full interview : mandiner.hu

Author: Gergely Szilvay

Opening image: Árpád Kurucz