Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has been a master of more or less subtle provocation for many years.
He likes to say things that cause offense.
When criticized for his remarks, he admits haunted, misunderstood innocence.
During his visit to Vienna on Thursday, he said that it often happens that he expresses himself in a misleading way.
Of course he is not a racist.
Orbán critics drew this conclusion from a speech last weekend in Romania.
There the Hungarian head of government had warned of the danger of a "mixed race world".
It's good that Helmut Kohl doesn't experience that anymore
For years, many observers have been asking themselves whether Orbán really believes everything he says, or whether "only" cynical political calculations are at work.
Indeed, it is difficult to believe that an intelligent person should believe what Orbán has already said about the investor George Soros.
In any case, Orbán has never regretted the fact that his remarks fell on fertile ground inside and outside Hungary as a “misunderstanding”.
Such an approach is known from populists in many countries.
By his own admission, Viktor Orbán always felt close ties to Helmut Kohl.
It's a good thing that the chancellor of the unit no longer has to see what game his "friend" is playing.