Péter Dósa (@peterdosa)
No, Mr. Netanyahu, Hungary Is Not That Kind of Country Anymore
At today’s press conference, Magyar Péter faced a question with real teeth: Was Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, invited to the state commemoration of the 1956 revolution’s 70th anniversary? If so, how does that square with Tisza’s insistence that Hungary remain a member of the International Criminal Court?
His answer was revealing and encouraging.
Magyar replied that invitations had gone out widely, including to Netanyahu. More importantly, he stated that a Tisza government would halt Hungary’s exit from the ICC before the June 2 deadline, keeping the country within the court’s jurisdiction.
Then came the sentence that actually mattered:
“If a country is a member of the International Criminal Court and a person who is subject to an arrest warrant enters its territory, then that person must be taken into custody.”
And, just to make sure nobody could pretend not to understand him, he added:
“I do not think I need to explain that further.”
That is as close to clarity as Hungarian politics ever comes. No fog, no acrobatics, no effort to keep every faction happy. If Hungary remains within the framework of international law, international law applies, even when it is inconvenient.
This does not, by itself, vindicate every hope one might harbour about Magyar or Tisza. Politics, after all, remains a sewer in the borrowed clothes of public virtue. Even so, it was telling. In a country where principle is usually a matter of convenience, there was something bracing about hearing a politician say, without embroidery, that rules apply even when they chafe.
It was the strongest moment of the press conference, not for any flourish or drama, but because it hinted at something Hungary has lacked for years: seriousness. The kind that recognises law is not a costume to be worn for Brussels and discarded among friends.