After Merkel's withdrawal, we are preparing for a battle with the new left-wing German government

 

On December 8, Angela Merkel resigned as German Chancellor. Part of the lives of Central Europeans will go with it, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán wrote in his 14th essay in the Samizdat series, published on miniszterelnok.hu.

We understood her, she understood us. Soviet invasion, communist dictatorship, resistance and popular movements in 1988-89, victory, freedom, unification and the founder of the new state, Helmut Kohl, the chancellor.

As Prime Minister of Hungary in 1998, I had the opportunity to hold office for several months at the same time as Chancellor Helmut Kohl, a dear, old friend, Christian brother and loyal patron of the peoples of Central Europe.

  For years, Merkel and I had to endure the hardships of being in opposition together. First she became chancellor, then we returned to power five years later. We managed the financial crisis in 2010, we were partners in the struggle to maintain a united European Union, and together we watched helplessly and without concern the European tragedy of the outbreak of the Russian-Ukrainian war.

Loyal and disciplined Germans, rebellious and reckless Hungarians stood together for a common goal: a Europe in which all nations can feel at home.

  And then came the rupture, or rather the fracture, the open fracture of 2015, the migration invasion. The kind of injury from which the athlete's movement will no longer be what it used to be. He recovers, tries, fights, but more than honor. He knows and after a while admits that he can't get back to his old form.

The migration crisis itself was a great ordeal. It became the Rubicon because it revealed the deep philosophical, political and emotional differences between us about the concept of nations, freedom and the role of Germany.

  She revealed that for Hungarians and other Central Europeans, the homeland is essential. The nation is the origin, without patriotism there can be no healthy emotional life. It turns out that the Germans are on the other path of European civilization, to a kind of post-Christian and post-national state.

  We Hungarians have realized that the Germans do not consider this a problem. They do not consider this a civilizational disease to be treated, but a natural, even desirable and even morally superior result. The fabric of European unity was unraveling and there was no way to stop it. Migration, gender, a federalized European Union, the dehumanization of Europe. Restoring European cooperation will require superhuman efforts in the post-secular era.

  Did Angela Merkel open the door to trouble? Or, on the contrary, she tried to stand firm, but the pressure from the left repelled her? Today we still do not know the answer to this question. Looking at the agenda of the new left-wing German government on immigration, pro-gender policy, federalization, pro-German Europe, both answers to Merkel's mystery are possible. Time will tell. My only regret as a former colleague is that the work of her life and 16 years as Chancellor did not give answers even to us, her colleagues. One thing is for sure: the era of ambiguity, stealth politics and drifting is over with Merkel. We are now preparing for battle with our eyes wide open.