Hungarian politics has made big headlines this week, as longtime leader Viktor Orbán lost his election over the weekend. But on today’s edition of The Editors, Charlie finds this fascination with that country’s politics strange and off-putting.
“One of the inordinate joys of being an American citizen is not having to care about Hungary or anywhere like it,” he says. “And I will confess to being completely baffled by the amount of emotional energy that has been invested in that country and its political leadership in the United States over the last 15 or so years.”
Charlie resents “the assumption that we have things to learn from Hungary and its government when we don’t. Hungary is poor. Hungary is dysfunctional. Hungary is not entrepreneurial. Hungary is not creative.”
“The government of Hungary has not done a good job in running the country and fostering its economy,” Charlie reminds listeners. “And the next one won’t either.”
“If you step back for a moment and you consider how much energy and ink has been spilled on this country, it’s weird.”
The Editors podcast is recorded on Tuesdays and Fridays every week and is available wherever you listen to podcasts.