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Hungary
匈牙利
Viktor goes to war
維克托陷入沖突
The Hungarian leader squabbles with some in his party and with America
匈牙利領導人與其政黨成員和美國發生爭吵
THE new year has not started well for Viktor Orban, Hungary's pugnacious prime minister. Support for his ruling right-wing Fidesz party is sliding. A recent poll by Median showed a drop from 38% to 26%, representing a loss of some 900,000 voters. Mr Orban's personal popularity plummeted by 16 percentage points. Other pollsters find similar results.
對好斗的匈牙利總理維克托·歐爾班來說，新年伊始一切并非那么順利。其統治的右翼政黨青年民主黨的支持率下降。Median的最新民意調查顯示，其支持率從38% 下降到26%，這意味著喪失了900,000張投票。歐爾班的個人知名度驟降了16個百分點。其他民意調查的結果相差無幾。
The immediate cause for the discontent was a planned internet tax, which was hastily withdrawn after a demonstration in late October brought tens of thousands of protesters onto the streets of Budapest. Yet instead of placating angry Hungarians, the government's retreat—the first of any significance since its most recent landslide election victory in April 2014—seems to have galvanised them. Their growing anger has deep roots.
公眾不滿的直接來源是早已計劃的網絡收稅法案。該法案于10月底宣布后，受到了強烈的抵制，成千上萬的人們走上布達佩斯的街頭對此表示抗議。然而，匈牙利政府的撤退非但沒有撫慰憤怒的匈牙利人—自2014年4月壓倒性選舉勝利之后的第一件大事—相反更加激怒了他們。匈牙利人愈演愈烈的憤怒源泉由來已久。
Stories about the luxuries and fancy properties enjoyed by some government ministers and their friends, even as poverty is rising, are causing fissures within Fidesz. Zoltan Pokorni, a former party president and education minister, who is now a district mayor in Budapest, called for an end to the “flamboyant lifestyles” of government members and “leading politicians”. Mr Pokorni was slapped down by Janos Lazar, Mr Orban's chief of staff, but his remark was given wide publicity.
關于某些政府官員及其親友掌握大量的奢侈品和財富以及窮人數量上升的消息都導致青年民主黨內出現分歧。前青年黨主席兼教育部長，亦即現任布達佩斯的某個區長Zoltan Pokorni呼吁政府官員和“領導政治人物”停止“奢靡的生活”。 Pokorni 遭到了來自歐爾班的辦公室主任chief of staff的瘋狂鎮壓，但是其言論也因此被大加渲染。
Concern is also growing within Fidesz that a row with the Americans may develop into a full-blown diplomatic crisis. Six Hungarian officials have been banned from entering the United States on suspicions of corruption, a highly unusual sanction against a NATO ally. The United States is refusing to name them, citing privacy. However, Ildiko Vida, the head of the tax authority, has admitted to being on the list, and she strongly denies any wrongdoing. Encouraged by Mr Orban, she is suing Andre Goodfriend, the American chargé d'affaires in Budapest, for defamation. The lawsuit is unlikely to go anywhere, since Mr Goodfriend has diplomatic immunity.
此外，越來越吸引大家注意的是，青年黨與美國人愈演愈烈的爭吵可能惡化為一場外交危機。六位匈牙利官員因懷疑受賄禁止進入美國，這是對北約盟國成員非常的懲罰手段。出于隱私考慮，美方拒絕透露姓名。然而，稅務機構的負責人 Ildiko Vida承認自己也在其中，并強烈否認有過不良舉動。在歐爾班的指示下，她正在起訴美國駐布達佩斯官員Andre Goodfriend誹謗他人。這場訴訟不太可能有結果，因為Goodfriend享有外交赦免權。
The holiday offered a chance for tempers to cool and for revisions to Hungary's foreign policy. A turn towards Moscow has backfired after the Ukraine crisis and the collapse of the rouble. Hungarian officials have told Western ambassadors that a much-vaunted “eastern opening” has failed to bring as much foreign trade and investment as they hoped. President Vladimir Putin's cancellation of the South Stream pipeline project, backed by Hungary, was a blow to its energy strategy.
此次假期可讓那些憤怒的人們冷靜下來，修改匈牙利外交政策。隨著烏克蘭危機惡化，盧布貶值，匈牙利倒向莫斯科反而適得其反。匈牙利官員告訴西方外交官之前大加炫耀的“向東方敞開大門”并未為其帶來所希望的外貿和資金。弗拉基米爾·普京總統取消了匈牙利支持的南部天然氣管道計劃，沉重地打擊了匈牙利的能源政策。
Yet instead of patching up relations with the Americans, Mr Orban and his ministers have launched an attack. He dismissed the claims of corruption as a “cover story” for American attempts to increase influence in the region. The United States was interfering in the domestic political affairs of central European countries, he added. The driving factors were the conflict in Ukraine and the negotiations between the European Union and the Americans over free trade. “They want to draw us into a conflict, which can only have a bad outcome for us.” America was just conveying concerns about democracy and the rule of law to the Hungarian government, retorted a State Department spokesman.
歐爾班和屬下非但沒有極力修復和美國的關系，反而策劃了一場襲擊。他認為賄賂事件不過是美國試圖提高在該地區影響力的一個借口。他表示，美國日前正在干涉中歐國家的國內政策。誘因就是烏克蘭語沖突和歐盟與美國的自貿協議。“他們想把我們拖進沖突，這對我們有害無益。”美方發言人表示，美國只想對匈牙利政府的民主法治表示關心。
Aggressive claims about America's behaviour have now been made by Mr Lazar, by Antal Rogan, Fidesz's parliamentary leader and by Peter Szijjarto, the foreign minister, all of whom have given interviews to pro-government media. Mr Szijjarto told Magyar Nemzet that “external and internal” powers wanted to “destabilise” Hungary. The rift with America dates back to the passing of a controversial media law, says Zoltan Kovacs, a government spokesman. “There is a visible and tangible dislike of the US administration towards us since 2011.” Such sentiments may play well with Fidesz's base, but they are unlikely to expand it.
當前，匈牙利青年黨領袖人物Antal Rogan，外交部長彼得·希賈托和拉扎爾對美國的言行做出了強烈譴責。他們都接受了親政府媒體的采訪。希賈托向匈牙利民族報表示，“不朽的內部”力量將“動搖”匈牙利。匈牙利政府發言人Zoltan Kovacs表示，與美國的間隙可追溯至頗具爭議的媒體法案。 “自2011年以來，美國政府對我們的不喜顯而易見。”這種情緒在青年黨基層非常常見，但是他們不愿意將其擴大。譯者：毛慧
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