About a thousand supporters of the far-right Jobbik party have participated in a peaceful march on the 90th anniversary of Horthy’s takeover in Hungary. Hungary has no real historical anti-Nazi and anti-Communist hero. That gives a little credit to the old man who had successfully beaten a Soviet uprising 90 years ago. However, it would be very unwise to believe that Hungary is developing a cult for Horthy or his regime. He is one of the most tragic and least successful Hungarian leaders whose regime casts a long shadow over Hungarians in other Central European countries.

I cannot say anything else against Mr. Van Rompuy’s election to the first first EU presidency except for the fact that he accepted his nomination. Mr Klaus’ artistic performance and Mr Van Rompuy’s elections is the first empirical proof that the Lisbon Treaty was indeed a failure… and we do need a European Constitution.

After all the gaffes of the Czech presidency and national government in general, they have chosen a commissioner who had served as the Czech Republic’s ambassador to NATO, the UK and Lithuania, had been a Europe minister in the current caretaker government and started his career in the Czechoslovak foreign ministry’s department for UN affairs. [...]

Now that Poland and the Czech Republic had their turns in bringing Central European surrealism into the EU, it is Hungary’s turn with naming the oddest Commissioner-in-waiting. Mr Andor’s my prove to become a surprising talent but his past makes him the least likely member of Europe’s (kind of)government, the European Commission.I still hope that Mr Andor will be stage a better act within the Commissioner than Mr Klaus among the heads of states. His nomination is just yet another sign of contingency within the transition elites in Central Europe.

It looks that the funny year of the Czech is over. r Klaus’ behavior and the Czech presidency’s story shows how difficult life can be in a Central European polity and why citizens in these countries trust the EU bureaucracy more than their own governments.