Poland’s current foreign minister, Radosław Sikorski, does not like Hungary very much.

That’s hardly surprising, considering his extreme pro-Brussels stance and senior role in the Tusk administration. Hungary’s measured stance on the war in Ukraine has seemed to have particularly angered him in recent months, with the politician having repeatedly launched tirades against the Fidesz government on his EU-flag-emblazoned X account.

None of this is really a problem. Sikorski is entitled to his opinion, after all. Even if it is wrong. So long as he is operating in a fair and open manner, there is no issue.

Well, let’s get into that.

Anne Applebaum is an American journalist of the shitlib variety. On 8 November, Applebaum reposted an article she published in The Atlantic earlier this year that denounced Viktor Orbán and his government for allegedly making Hungary ‘corrupt, stagnant, and impoverished’.

Her article runs relatively light on details, with most of the argument resting on a few missed growth projections and documented instances of corruption. She paints a picture of a country ruled by a cruel oligarchy that’s draining its downtrodden proles dry.

Now these arguments are not exactly great. While inflation has hit Hungary hard in recent years, the last six months have marked a considerable strengthening of the local currency against the euro and dollar. Combined with the fact that the country has maintained a pretty low debt-to-GDP ratio—unlike its European peers—growth projections for the nation look good for 2026.

Most laughable is her claim that Hungary is ‘possibly the poorest [country] in the European Union’. The claim is bizarre, with a quick Google search showing that Hungary has a per capita gross domestic product based on purchasing power parity above that of Greece, Romania, Latvia and Slovakia. Most Hungarians know that if you want a cheap holiday, Greece is often your best international bet, as you get good weather for lower prices. How The Atlantic missed such a glaring error is beyond our understanding.

Interestingly, another person who made this false claim was our friend Radosław Sikorski. Curious.

Also curious that a foreign minister of a relatively large European country does not have the staff needed to fact-check his claims. What sort of operation are they running at the Polish Foreign Ministry?

‘While inflation has hit Hungary hard in recent years, the last six months have marked a considerable strengthening of the local currency’

So what about corruption? Well, like in all post-Soviet states, it is an issue. But overall data indicate things are nowhere near as bad as Applebaum claims them to be. Inequality in the country is one of the lowest in the EU, for example. And her claims that manipulated public tenders are some great disgrace are laughable considering how common the practice is throughout the EU’s 27 member states.

And such manipulation is usually done not to enrich people, but to actually maintain basic government functions in the space of utterly unworkable EU tendering rules. Brussels is at fault yet again, folks.

But none of this is very interesting to me. A leftist journo attacking Hungary happens so often that Slop Check would have to hire an army of typewriting monkeys to keep up with it all. 

No, what is interesting about Anne Applebaum’s article in The Atlantic is the fact that it does not include one key piece of information.

Or, should I say, conflict of interest disclosure.

Mrs Applebaum, you see, is not Mrs Applebaum at all. 

She is, in fact, Mrs Sikorski.

Now I have no issue with Applebaum continuing to use her maiden name for her writing. No doubt the US news scene favours maintaining a hard brand for your writing. Perhaps she is still legally Applebaum, having acted as a good feminist by refusing to take her husband’s name at all.

But if you are publishing an article blasting the Hungarian government, you should at least briefly mention that you are married to the foreign minister of a country that has a bone to pick with Budapest. 

And yet, neither Anne nor The Atlantic include so much as a footnote.

Honestly, it is quite insulting. Things are looking up in Hungary, but the current situation is far from perfect. Inflation—driven by the current war in Ukraine and Europe’s COVID policies—is hitting normal Hungarians hard, and housing feels unattainable for many young people here. The government is trying to take steps to fix things, but it will take time to see if those efforts prove successful or not.

But Applebaum’s faux-concern is downright offensive, considering it is coming from someone married to a man pushing the continuation of the Ukraine war. The one thing that is driving so much economic hardship. Not to mention Mr Sikorski and the Tusk government actively excuse attacks on critical EU energy infrastructure by rogue actors, and want Hungarians to pay even more for energy in the hopes of beating Russia.

Adding insult to injury is Applebaum’s continued spreading of the fake news claim that Hungary is the poorest nation in Europe. This claim was already debunked in broad daylight after a post by Mr Sikorski on social media embarrassingly backfired, resulting in the Polish minister having to block a few economists on social media after they called him out on his nonsense.

Speaking of: if either of the Sikorskis is reading this, GDP(PPP) is the metric used to compare the average individual financial welfare of people in different countries. This is the common position of the vast majority of economists. Get with the program.

In short, the Sikorskis are not exactly the kind of people who should be lecturing Hungary on how to run its economy.

Slop Rating:

Related articles: