Yesterday, the independent and objective media put the Hungarian Prime Minister on trial as one person, because he was so angry that he did not applaud the Ukrainian president who marched onto the main stage in Brussels as a Marvel hero.
Here's a small selection of Thursday's headlines:
Here is the video, Viktor Orbán didn't even bother to applaud when Volodymyr Zelensky arrived (Népszava)
Viktor Orbán did not applaud when Zelensky arrived and seemed to avoid eye contact - video (HVG)
Orbán is almost the only one who does not applaud Zelenskyi when he arrives for the joint photo shoot (444)
Not only was there no applause, Orbán didn't even greet Zelenskiy (Voice)
Almost all EU leaders greeted Zelenskyi with applause in Brussels, Orbán did not (Telex)
Viktor Orbán did not applaud Zelenskyi in Brussels either (Index)
To applaud or not to applaud, that is the big question here.
Solzhenitsyn described the following story in his book about the Gulag. It just came to mind, and any cross-talk is purely coincidental:
"Here, here is a picture from those times, how all this used to happen. Somewhere in a district of the Moscow Region, a party meeting is taking place. It is chaired by the new district party secretary, who took the place of the recently arrested one. At the end of the meeting, there will be an expression of devoted love for Comrade Stalin. It goes without saying, everyone stands up (as during the meeting they all jumped up whenever His name was said.)
In the small hall there is thunderous applause, which breaks into cheers. For three minutes, four minutes, five minutes, they break into increasingly stormy cheers. But their palms are starting to hurt. But the more lively ones are already panting. But even those who sincerely deify Stalin see this as unbearably stupid. But who dares to stop first?
The district secretary, who is standing on the platform and just now said the aforementioned declaration of love, could do it. But he is a new man, he has replaced an arrested person, he himself is afraid! After all, here in the room there are even guards standing, clapping and watching to see who stops first... And in the small room, which neither the dog knows about nor the leader himself, the applause has been going on for six minutes! Seven minutes ago! Eight minutes ago! They are finished! They are lost! They can no longer stop until their hearts quit serving and they collapse!
At the back of the hall, in the crowd, you can still blitz, hit less often, not so strongly, not so unrestrained - but in the presidency, in front of everyone?! The director of the local paper mill, an independent, strong man, stands in the presidency, and although he sees through the whole falsity and hopelessness of the situation, he also applauds! Nine minutes ago! Ten minutes ago! He looks sadly at the district secretary, but he does not dare to stop. Madness! Abomination! Glancing at each other with faint hope, but with rapture on their faces, the leaders of the district will applaud until they collapse and are taken out on a stretcher. But the others won't let me...
In the eleventh minute, the director of the paper mill puts on a matter-of-fact expression on his face and descends to his chair at the president's table, and behold, behold a miracle! Where did the general, unbridled, indescribable enthusiasm go? At the same time, everyone stops and sits down. They are saved! The squirrel managed to jump out of the ferris wheel.
But hey, that's how you get to know who an independent person is. That's how you stand out from the crowd. And the director of the paper mill was arrested that night. They easily slap ten years on him, with completely different accusations."
Featured image: John Thys/AFP
