I spent much of my work life in Europe, with more time logged in London than New York, both for Seagram and then GE Capital. I came to have real affection for and understanding of cities like Prague, Bucharest and Warsaw. One always said “Central Europe” because Eastern Europe was icky. I fought my most protracted propaganda battle against the Hungarian Parliament over GE’s purchase of Budapest Bank. The post-Soviet era was difficult for many of those countries because, whilst Communism was a tatty and barbed blanked, it was a blanket. Capitalism offered no such comforts. Widespread social disruptions over soaring food prices were anticipated; as a colleague in Central Cracow told me, a farmer’s child never starves. This brings us to Viktor Orbán, the current Prime Minister of Hungary, who, like The Criminal Donald John Trump, prefers power over democracy.
© 2024 John Oliver
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