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Fico Shooting: An Opportunity For Regional Autocrats To Weaponise “Polarisation” – QUICK TAKE
16 May 2024
In the address marking the centennial celebrations of the Trianon treaty that had reduced the Hungarian territory by two thirds, Viktor Orbán surprisingly hit home a Polish neo-imperial theme: “The people of Central Europe haven’t had a chance like this for centuries – with Polish leadership, they could now be the masters of their fate, from the Baltic Sea to the Balkans.”
2020 was to be a year of recognition and celebration for the Trianon treaty; a treaty which came into being after the tragedies of World War I and in which the Great Powers of this world divided the lands of St. Stephen’s Crown.
However, a hundred years have passed and trauma among Hungarians still remains strong as I wrote about in my latest book. Life, if it needs to be said, pauses for nothing and this year has already added a new chapter to it.
The anniversary celebrations and festivities in Hungary have been somewhat different than expected. The pandemic cancelled the most important one: 4 June, the day the treaty was signed.