“Some kind of personal mental problem”: why did the Hungarian parliament doubt the adequacy of Zelensky

Hungarian Parliament Speaker Laszlo Köver, in an interview with Hir TV, suggested that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has mental problems.

According to the Hungarian politician, this explains Zelensky's attacks on foreign leaders.

“The statements of the president (of Ukraine.

) sometimes sound very strange.

I don’t remember that the leader of a country in need of help allowed a similar tone in relation to anyone, ”TASS quoted Köver as saying.

According to the speaker of the Hungarian parliament, both in private life and in politics, people usually do not threaten those "whom they want to make their friends."

Based on the behavior of the Ukrainian president, Koever suggested that Zelensky probably faced "some kind of personal mental problem", but "it is not known what can be done about it."

Kiev immediately reacted to Koever's statement.

Andriy Sibiga, Deputy Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine, called on his Facebook * the speaker of the Hungarian Parliament "an under-politician", and his statements about Zelensky were unacceptable and wild.

After that, he said that Köver had a place in the "dump of history", where he would be remembered "as a misunderstanding that barked at the president of Ukraine."

“You recognize a donkey by its ears, and a fool by chatter.

A short mind has a long tongue,” said the deputy head of the Office of the President of Ukraine.

The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry also joined the attack on the Hungarian speaker.

On his Facebook page, the official representative of the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry, Oleg Nikolenko, demanded that Köver provide a mental health certificate.

“The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine is waiting for the publication of a certificate on the state of his mental health by the speaker of the Hungarian Parliament Laszlo Köver.

Further evaluation of the words of Mr. Koever directly depends on the conclusion recorded in the certificate, ”wrote Nikolenko.

According to him, Hungarian politicians persistently continue to "sling mud at Ukraine", which, he believes, is not surprising, since "historically, Hungary has more than once been oriented towards the side of evil."

Presidential familiarity

Recall that at the end of March, Volodymyr Zelensky, in his speech broadcast at a meeting of the European Council, turned to the Prime Minister of Hungary on “you”, putting forward a number of claims related to the issues of condemning Russia for launching a special operation in Ukraine and the need for more support from Kyiv.

“Are you in doubt whether to impose sanctions or not?

Doubt whether to pass weapons or not?

Doubt whether to trade with Russia or not?

There is no time to doubt.

It's time to decide," the Ukrainian leader said.

Orban responded to Zelensky’s words in an interview with M1 TV channel, emphasizing that his country helps Ukrainians in trouble, but on the issue of sanctions and the termination of cooperation with Moscow, the Hungarian authorities defend their national interests and act only on their side.

• Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban

• AP

• © Anna Szilagyi

However, on April 2, Zelensky, during another appeal to the Ukrainians, went even further in the conflict with the Hungarian prime minister, accusing Orban of directly supporting Russian President Vladimir Putin.

“I want to turn to another person who does not seem to fully understand what is happening and what is being experienced.

Not only in Ukraine, but throughout Europe.

To the Prime Minister of Hungary.

Who is almost the only one in Europe who openly supports Mr. Putin,” the President of Ukraine said.

At the same time, in his opinion, Orban allegedly lacks honesty.

“Perhaps he lost it somewhere in contacts with Moscow,” Zelensky said.

After that, the Ukrainian leader accused the Hungarian prime minister of insufficient, in his opinion, assistance to Kyiv.

“We did not ask for anything special from the official Budapest.

We didn't even get what everyone else is doing!

Zelensky said.

“We didn’t get the vital transit of defense assistance, we didn’t see the moral leadership.”

After insulting statements by the Ukrainian authorities against the Hungarian leadership, Ukrainian Ambassador to Budapest Lyubov Nepop was summoned to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Economic Relations of the country.

The Hungarian Foreign Ministry called the accusations by the Ukrainian leadership unacceptable.

At the same time, the department emphasized that by organizing assistance to Ukrainian citizens and refugees, the country is conducting the largest humanitarian action in its history.

Nevertheless, later it became known that the name of Viktor Orban was included in the database of the Ukrainian resource "Peacemaker", where he was called "anti-Ukrainian propagandist."

Recall that the Hungarian Prime Minister was among the leaders of states who refused to impose sanctions against Russia.

He also spoke out against the embargo on Russian energy resources in Europe, despite calls from Kyiv to do the opposite.

In addition, at the end of the elections to the Hungarian parliament, Orban called the President of Ukraine his rival and, unlike a number of European politicians, refused to go to Kyiv to meet with Zelensky. 

"Evidence of Weakness"

As an associate professor at Moscow State University, political scientist Boris Mezhuev noted in an interview with RT, the situation around the mutual attacks of Kyiv and Budapest at such a pace could reach a "global diplomatic scandal."

“The set of accusations is unprecedented, it can be called a diplomatic war between Hungary and Ukraine,” the expert believes.

“The authorities of these states have absolutely opposite views on the political course of their countries: Budapest seeks to defend national interests, while Kyiv, for the most part, serves the interests of Washington.

In addition, the Russian agenda is splitting these countries in a very striking way,” Mezhuev said.

• Kyiv

• AFP

• © Sergei SUPINSKY

According to him, Hungary acts in the European Union as "an engine seeking to push Ukraine away from the central agenda of the EU."

“Budapest, by its statements, wants to make it clear to the European Union that Ukrainian problems are not European problems.

In the EU and Ukraine, Hungary is now perceived as a pariah of Europe, dependent on Russian oil and gas, and also unwilling to give them up.

However, in fact, Budapest is defending its legitimate rights to a normal existence, ”the analyst emphasized.

In turn, Nikolai Mezhevich, chief researcher at the Institute of Europe of the Russian Academy of Sciences, believes that Zelensky’s behavior towards the Hungarian prime minister is a vivid embodiment of how Ukraine, in full view of the whole world, is destroying “what could be called the remnants of the norm in international relations ".

“The Ukrainian state apparatus has degraded.

Kyiv liked that his misbehavior in Europe turned a blind eye.

As was the case, for example, with the story about the German chancellor, whom the Ukrainian ambassador to Germany called liver sausage, ”the analyst said in a conversation with RT.

According to Mezhevich, Zelensky, who insulted Orban and addressed him as “you”, went far “beyond the diplomatic protocol”.

“The president of the state, who feels strong, confident, proceeds from the fact that he is fighting for a just cause, he does not offend politicians of other countries.

The attacks on Hungary by the Ukrainian leader are evidence of weakness, nothing more.

At the same time, Budapest, unlike Kyiv, deserves respect, because it stands guard over its priorities in foreign and domestic policy,” the expert noted.

Mezhevich believes that in the story around Kyiv's accusations against Budapest, "Zelensky's personality traits played a big role."

“A politician is a profession that requires knowledge, skills and experience, including in conducting diplomatic negotiations.

Where does Zelensky get all these three components from, if he is a pop comedian who turned out to be an advantageous candidate for the presidency among certain circles of Ukraine and the West?

And criticizing Zelensky for his lack of political experience is like blaming a domestic cat for not being a lioness.

So Zelensky is a random cat who ended up in the president's office.

And this is proved by his tone and the content of his appeals to the Prime Minister of Hungary,” the analyst concluded.

* Meta product, activity recognized as extremist, banned in Russia by decision of the Tverskoy Court of Moscow dated 03/21/2022.