The “Great Hungary scarf” worn by right-wing Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán during a football match caused a sensation. He is accused of ignoring historical facts and practicing historical revisionism: the scarf shows the borders of the former Kingdom of Hungary, which until 1920 included parts of present-day Austria, Slovakia, Romania, Croatia, Slovenia, Serbia and Ukraine included. While the appearance caused criticism, especially in Ukraine, the Austrian Foreign Ministry joked about it.
The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry immediately demanded an “apology” and a clarification that there were no Hungarian claims to Ukrainian territory. “Promoting revisionist views in Hungary does not contribute to the development of Ukrainian-Hungarian relations and does not correspond to the principles of European politics,” said a foreign ministry spokesman. Relations between Kiev and Budapest are tense as Orbán has long questioned Western support for Ukraine.
No diplomatic moves
The Austrian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, on the other hand, reacted with humor to Orbán’s performance. “A quick look at the State Department’s historical maps confirmed the initial assumptions that Transleithania has not existed for about 100 years. We will inform our Hungarian neighbors of this development as soon as possible,” it said on Tuesday. in a statement Diplomatic moves towards Hungary are not planned because the matter is not being taken seriously, a spokeswoman told the APA.
In our neighbours, however, the matter is still taken seriously by many: many Hungarians are still not at peace with the collapse of the Danube monarchy, which saw the loss of two-thirds of Hungary’s national territory. While Budapest had previously ruled over other peoples in the same way as Vienna, the 1920 Treaty of Trianon made many Hungarians members of minorities in the new neighboring countries.
“Provocative and unacceptable”
The Austrian Greens do not accept Orbán’s actions as calmly as the foreign ministry led by Alexander Schallenberg (ÖVP). At the time of Russia’s offensive war in Ukraine, that was “provocative and unacceptable,” said Michel Reimon, Greens spokesman for Europe. The ruling party is demanding an immediate apology from Orbán and the Hungarian ambassador to Austria, Andor Nagy.
SPÖ Europe spokesman Jörg Leichtfried demanded that Foreign Minister Schallenberg summon the Hungarian ambassador. “This historical revisionism is unbearable,” said Leichtfried. Orbán thus also questions Austria’s territorial sovereignty.
Hungary’s prime minister dismisses criticism
Orbán himself waved away criticism of his performance on Tuesday. Football is not politics, the right-wing politician explained on his Facebook page and advised not to interpret what does not exist. The Hungarian national team is the team of all Hungarians, wherever they live.
Source: Krone
I am Ida Scott, a journalist and content author with a passion for uncovering the truth. I have been writing professionally for Today Times Live since 2020 and specialize in political news. My career began when I was just 17; I had already developed a knack for research and an eye for detail which made me stand out from my peers.
