A U.S. Ambassador Finds Himself on Hostile Ground in Hungary

JOHN GREEK

NYT WORLD: A U.S. Ambassador Finds Himself on Hostile Ground in Hungary
By Andrew Higgins
Section: World
Source: New York Times
Published Date: February 2, 2023 at 02:00AM

David Pressman, a gay human rights lawyer, has been accused by pro-government media in Hungary of undermining traditional values, violating diplomatic conventions and meddling in the judiciary.

BUDAPEST — David Pressman, a gay human rights lawyer, knew he was in for a rough time even before he arrived in Hungary with his husband and two children to take up a new job in September as the United States’ ambassador to Europe’s self-declared citadel of traditional Christian values and friend of the Kremlin.
As his confirmation hearing began in July in Washington, a rubber dinghy carrying a warning appeared on the Danube River near the U.S. Embassy in Budapest. On a black banner emblazoned with a skull and crossbones was an anti-L.G.B.T.Q. message in English and Hungarian: “Mr. Pressman, don’t colonize Hungary with your cult of death.”
Mr. Pressman hung a photograph of that “welcome to Hungary” message on the wall behind his embassy desk. “That,” he lamented, “was before I ever stepped foot in this country.”
And it has been pretty much downhill ever since.
The ambassador, whose predecessor, appointed by Donald J. Trump, delighted his hosts by praising Viktor Orban, Hungary’s illiberal prime minister, has been savaged since his arrival — along with the Biden administration — by government-friendly media as a menace to Hungary, its people and their values.
Mr. Pressman has been accused of violating diplomatic conventions, meddling in the judiciary and trying to silence conservative voices. PestiSracok, a belligerent, pro-government news portal, denounced the appointment of a man it described as “an expert on L.G.B.T. rights” as “an obvious diplomatic provocation.” A guest on a government-controlled television talk show referred to him as “Madame Ambassador.”

Read More at: https://www.nytimes.com/2023/02/02/world/europe/us-ambassador-hungary-david-pressman.html


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