The left commits political prostitution. In other words, he sleeps with someone from whom he hopes to benefit more. As he said, this also applies to neo-Nazis. But they are doing at least as much as telling their voters that they have not changed, said András Gerő in an interview with Magyar Nemzet. In the same place, he also criticized Mazsihisz.
Mazsihisz should have spoken up - the historian stated when asked why the Association of Hungarian Jewish Communities (Mazsihisz) is so conspicuously silent about the scandals of right-wingers exposed as Nazi sympathizers on the left-wing alliance's list.
The ELTE BTK professor believes that it is a stupid decision of Mazsihisz not to have expressed himself in this scandal, because this is not a campaign issue, but a question of European culture. The historian pointed out that previously the organization emphasized that they do not manifest themselves in campaign issues. - They should have a say in this - emphasized András Gerő, speaking to Magyar Nemzet.
The historian also emphasized that the issue of the scandals of the Rightists is not simply a Jewish issue. He believes that it is not so important whether Mazsihisz speaks on the subject, although he thinks it should, but it is not so important. As he put it, the important thing is that
are left-wing people tolerant of gestures linked to the neo-Nazi worldview? "In other words, will they hold their noses and vote for the left-wing coalition on April 3," added András Gerő.
In contrast to Mazsihis, the United Hungarian Israelite Faith Society and the Magyarhoni Jewish Imaegylet have already made their voices heard regarding the scandals of the Jobbiks. At the same time, Mazsihisz had previously presented itself as a vanguard in the fight against anti-Semitic public manifestations. Although not on behalf of the organization, one of its own chief rabbis, Zoltán Radnóti, also spoke. Among other things, he emphasized that "After the Holocaust, we don't wave our right hand up, we don't draw a cross or a swastika, and we don't say words of appreciation about Hitler, Szálasi, or Goebbels."
However, he did not demand what the other Jewish organizations did, that the two right-wing politicians be removed from the joint left-wing list. This was immediately mentioned by the commentators under the chief rabbi's Facebook post.
According to András Gerő, it is honorable that Zoltán Radnóti took this step, that is, with this post, he did what he was supposed to do and what his church did not do at the same time.
It is not acceptable for the left to team up with neo-Nazis
Referring back to a similar statement he made in a previous interview, the ELTE BTK professor emphasized now: his opinion has not changed, he still believes that it is not acceptable for the left to team up with neo-Nazis. But the question arises as to why he did this.
According to András Gerő, the simplest reason is that it was done for political gain. On the one hand, this can be based on the fact that they achieved partial success in the 2019 municipal elections. For example, with left-wing support, right-wing candidates could win several positions, including mayor's seats. On the other hand, they may have thought that if the political arithmetic is the same as the traditional arithmetic, then if they add up the left-wing votes, they can count on success. - This is a very partially verifiable claim - András Gerő pointed out.
András Gerő believes that left-wing politicians are unable to say that Nazi arm-waving is intolerable.
He emphasized: this shows that the left is committing political prostitution. In other words, he sleeps with someone from whom he hopes to benefit more. As he said, this also applies to neo-Nazis. But they are doing at least as much as telling their voters that they haven't changed, the historian emphasized. To the question of whether Dániel Z. Kárpát and György Szilágyi will remain without consequences and become a point of reference in Hungarian politics, András Gerő said: the fact that we are talking about this is already a consequence.
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Source: Magyar Hírlap
Featured image: MTI/Szilárd Koszticsák