Upheaval in Hungary about gay US ambassador

Last week, US ambassador David Pressman, who is openly gay, criticised the Hungarian political leaders for defending the same conservative policies as Putin does. That was reported by Politico.

Respect

In response, the Hungarian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Péter Szijjártó, said at a press conference that the US ambassador "has no business interfering in Hungary's internal affairs", Hungary Today reports. Szjijjártó added that these sorts of statements would make the cooperation between the USA and Hungary difficult. "We do not welcome governors or magistrates, who, I assume, are sent here to tell us how to live in our own countries", he stated. Instead, the Minister pleaded for more "respect for Hungarians, even from the ambassador."

The only ones authorised to decide about internal policies are the Hungarian people, Szijjártó added, according to Hirado.hu. "The Hungarian people will decide whether the government is working well or not, and they will pass judgment on this at the next parliamentary election, as has happened in recent years."

Interfering

Hungarian media have also condemned diplomat David Pressman, Valeurs Actuelles reports. Conservative news outlets in Hungary accuse him of interfering in the judicial system, violating diplomatic conventions and undermining traditional values.

Pressman started his office in Hungary last September. Already before he arrived in the country, there were some protestors who opposed his installation. They carried banners that summoned the diplomat not to "colonise Hungary with his cult of death", a statement that referred to his homosexuality.

The New York Times did some research on the opinion of Hungarian media on the ambassador. The newspaper found out that Hungarian media consider the diplomat as a threat to the country.