Guest Post: Chris Finlayson on National Day Celebrations
A guest post by Chris Finlayson:
A few days ago I attended Hungary’s National Day celebration at Victoria University . After the usual formal speeches, there was an excellent concert. Because of my love for Béla Bartók’s music, I made sure I was there. The Hungarians always have a good party.
When I was in the Key Administration from 2008 to 2017, Ministers always spoke on behalf of the New Zealand Government at these functions. Today those speeches are given by some functionary in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. I think Ministers should be present and the decision of Winston Peters as Minister of Foreign Affairs to stop Ministers giving speeches is unfortunate. I don’t know why he changed the practice- perhaps he didn’t want Labour Ministers speaking. I used to enjoy receiving a draft of an insipid speech from MFAT a day or two before the function. These were generally dreadful, full of tiresome banalities and irritating references to rugby. I would delete the piffle and redraft them to ensure I said what I wanted to say. I always enjoyed watching our diplomats squirm as I went ‘off piste‘ , especially at the Polish and Israeli functions.
I was pleased to attend the Hungarian function because it was also the 66th anniversary of the Hungarian Revolution when, in 1956, that country rebelled against Soviet tyranny and tried to jettison Communism. Unlike with Ukraine today, the West did nothing to help other than waffle in the United Nations. Eisenhower was more concerned with the imminent Presidential Election in the United States and the British were preoccupied with the Suez Crisis. On 4 November 1956, the Soviets marched into Budapest and crushed the Revolution. The Prime Minister Imre Nagy was executed in 1958 after a show trial and the Cardinal of Budapest, József Mindszenty, who had helped lead the revolution, took refuge in the American Embassy where he stayed until exiled to the Vatican in the early 1970’s. Some may have seen the film , Children of Glory, which recounts the famous water polo match between Russia and Hungary at the Melbourne Olympics in December 1956. This became known as the Blood in the Water match after after a Soviet player hit his Hungarian opponent. Hungary won 4-0.
New Zealand Government took some refugees and the Hungarian community today is a vibrant one, making a great contribution to this country but also loyal to the traditions of the home of their ancestors. They will never forget 1956 and the sacrifices of their parents. The rest of us should also remember the bravery of the Hungarian people, in the face of Soviet tyranny, who fought for freedom, alone and unaided. Though the revolution was crushed, their spirit wasn’t and they finally expelled the bear in that glorious month in 1989 when the countries of Mitteleuropa escaped Communism and the evil it had imposed for all those years after Yalta where they had been betrayed by the victorious West.
Last week ,there was a poignant reminder of Hungarian valour. In October 1956, Freedom Fighters cut out the hammer and sickle from the Hungarian flag ,restoring it to its traditional self. This became the symbol of the 1956 Revolution and a flag with a hole in it was prominently displayed at the Hungarian function.
I think it is very easy to criticise countries like Hungary. I was disappointed at an article written by Catherine Schaer which recently appeared in the Listener. She asked the question whether we should care about some bolshy Eastern backwater getting bags of EU cash. I wouldn’t characterise Hungary in that way at all. Hungary is a country which bled for the West for many centuries. As I have said, it also endeavoured to face down Soviet tyranny with little help from the West at the time. Given its history, and particularly the tragic events of 1956, it’s not surprising that Hungary has particularly strong views about immigration and outside influences. One may disagree with some of the policies of the current government, but to deride a proud and strong country like Hungary as some kind of bolshy Eastern backwater is extreme and unfair.