Explained: Why Hungary PM's football scarf has led to a diplomatic outrage

Hungary’s Viktor Orban has created a fresh row – this time over a choice of apparel to a football match. The strongman drew fire from Romania, Austria and Ukraine for donning a scarf depicting “Greater Hungary” to a soccer match between Hungary and Greece on 20 November. But what is ‘Greater Hungary?’ And why are these countries so upset? Let’s take a closer look at the controversy: What is ‘Greater Hungary’? Why is this important? ‘Greater Hungary’ refers to the historical Hungarian kingdom that contained almost all of what is today Slovakia and large parts of other neighbouring countries including Ukraine, Austria, Croatia, Serbia. It was broken up after Austria-Hungary’s defeat in World War One and the signing of the 1921 Treaty of Trianon. Because Orban’s outlook towards Russia’s war in Ukraine has been viewed with  suspicion by his neighbours given his long-standing closeness to Vladimir Putin. As per RFERL, Orban earlier this month, marking the anniversary of the Soviet Union’s suppression of Hungary’s 1956 uprising, wrote on Twitter, “They crushed our revolution in 1956.” Orban did not further elucidate. While Orban has somewhat fallen into line with EU support for Kyiv, he has at times struck a neutral and even anti-Ukrainian tone – refusing to let weapons for Ukraine cross Hungarian territory for instance. [caption id=“attachment_11692831” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] People gather their belongings from a damaged house after Russian shelling in the town of Vyshgorod outside the capital Kyiv, Ukraine. AP[/caption] Orban has also opposed EU sanctions against Russia and pursued further energy deals with Moscow even as most of Europe seeks to wean itself off Russian oil and gas. At home, he has cast himself as the protector of stability and has accused the Opposition of “warmongering”. At the meeting of the prime ministers of the Visegrad Four countries — Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Hungary – Slovakia’s Prime Minister Eduard Heger presented Orban with a scarf of Slovakia’s national soccer team. The four countries, all members of the former Warsaw Pact during the Cold War, have historically distrusted and feared Russia after spending decades under Soviet domination in the 20th Century. “I noticed that Viktor Orban has an old scarf, so I gave him a new one today,” Heger wrote on Facebook alongside a picture of himself and Orban with the scarf draped over their shoulders. Before departing for the V4 summit, Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala said that the grouping has seen better days, particularly due to Hungary’s conduct since Russian invaded Ukraine. “I think it’s no secret, and anyone can see it, that the V4 countries … aren’t experiencing the best of times,” Fiala told reporters in Prague. “Hungary’s different positions significantly contribute to this situation and significantly complicate it.” How did Hungary’s neighbours react? Not well.

Slovakia’s foreign minister Rastislav Kacer said the scarf was “disgusting,” as per Euronews.

Politico quoted Ukraine’s foreign minister Dmytro Kuleba as saying Orbán’s neckwear was a “promotion of revisionism ideas, that does not contribute to the development of Ukrainian-Hungarian relations and does not comply with the principles of European policy.” He added that Ukraine was awaiting an official apology. Meanwhile, the Romanian ministry said “any revisionist manifestation, regardless of the form it takes, is unacceptable, contrary to the current realities and the commitments undertaken jointly by Romania and Hungary to build a bilateral relationship.” Romanian member of the European Parliament Alin Mituta on Twitter wrote Orban’s behaviour was “irresponsible” given Russia’s ongoing unprovoked invasion of Ukraine and the “annexation” of some Ukrainian territory.

A spokesperson from the Austrian Ministry of International Affairs told struck a more sassy tone. “A quick glance at historical maps in the Viennese Ministry of Foreign Affairs has confirmed initial suspicions, according to which Translithania (the Kingdom of Hungary) ceased to exist around 100 years ago,” the spokesperson said. “We will inform our Hungarian neighbours of this development at the earliest opportunity,” the ministry added, as per Politico. However, Orban is brushed aside any criticism, saying the “Hungarian national football team is the team of all Hungarians, wherever they live”, as per Euronews. Allies poke Hungary on NATO Prime ministers Fiala, Heger and Polish leader Mateusz Morawiecki each noted during a news conference following the meeting that they had urged Orban to ratify the NATO accession process of Finland and Sweden as soon as possible, and said he had assured them that Hungary’s parliament would vote on the measure soon. Hungary is the only NATO member other than Turkey which has still not ratified the accession of the two Nordic countries into the military alliance, frustrating some allies who believe quickly accepting the countries is a security priority amid the war in Ukraine. Yet while it was expected that Hungary would ratify the two NATO bids before the end of the autumn parliamentary session in early December, Orban said his legislature would take up the matter early next year, “as the other three prime ministers of the V4 have asked Hungary to do.” “We have already confirmed to both Finland and Sweden that Hungary supports the membership of these two countries in NATO,” he said. “The Swedes and the Finns have not lost a single minute of membership because of Hungary, and Hungary will certainly give them the support they need to join.” ‘Will continue to block EU aid package’ Meanwhile, at the news conference following the meeting in Kosice, Orban said that while he agreed with his counterparts that Russia must not be allowed to represent a threat to European security, he will continue to block a European Union plan to provide Ukraine with an aid package worth $18.7 billion in 2023. Instead, the populist leader said, Hungary would provide aid on a bilateral basis to its eastern neighbour**.** “The Hungarian government has already set aside the amount it’s responsible for in our budget, and we’re going to give that money to the Ukrainians,” Orban said. “But we are not going to support any kind of solution that would drive the European Union into joint debt.” With inputs from agencies Read all the  Latest News ,  Trending News ,  Cricket News ,  Bollywood News , India News  and  Entertainment News  here. Follow us on  Facebook ,  Twitter  and  Instagram .