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Polish-Hungarian relations have reached an all-time low after Hungary granted "asylum" to a Polish ex-minister wanted for embezzlement as a "political refugee." Prime Minister Viktor Orban is open to more similar cases. For more than 150 years, Poland and Hungary have been linked in a remarkable way. Both nations supported each other in their efforts for independence. Freedom fighters from both countries rushed to help each other in existential historical moments, such as during the anti-Habsburg revolution of 1848. In 1956, when Hungary underwent an anti-communist revolution, Poles spontaneously organized blood drives for the victims of the Soviet invasion. "Pole and Hungarian brothers be" is a well-known proverb in both countries. Since 2007, there has even been an official day dedicated to Polish-Hungarian friendship, March 23. Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban admired the Poles' deep desire for freedom and their anti-communist struggle so much that he wrote his thesis as law student in 1987 on "Polish social self-organization using the example of the Solidarity trade union." However, Orban of all people has now caused an all-time low in the countries' relations. On December 19, he granted asylum to the former Polish Deputy Justice Minister Marcin Romanowski, who is wanted on a European arrest warrant . Political collision between Warsaw, Budapest This decision promptly led to a political head-on clash between Poland and Hungary, whose relations have already been dire since the change of power in Poland in December 2023. Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski described the move as "an action contrary to the fundamental principle of loyal cooperation" as laid out in the EU treaties. He also recalled the Polish ambassador to Hungary for "indefinite consultations" and summoned the Hungarian ambassador in Warsaw to give him a protest note. This kind of diplomatic escalation is extremely rare between EU countries . Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk also compared Orban's Hungary to the regime of dictator Alexander Lukashenko in Belarus. In May, a Polish judge who is under investigation for abuse of office and leaking state secrets fled to Belarus . "I did not expect corrupt politicians escaping justice would be able to choose between [Belarusian President Alexander] Lukashenko and Orban," Tusk said. 'Liberal rainbow coalition' The Hungarian prime minister had already indicated on December 19 that he would grant asylum to "Polish political refugees." In an interview with the conservative pro-government Hungarian news portal Mandiner , he also called the current Polish government a "liberal rainbow coalition" that "uses the rule of law and legal means to get even with its political opponents." Polish-Hungarian relations are "at a low point because the liberal Polish rainbow coalition is unable to distinguish between party and state politics," Orban said. In reality, however, the governing coalition of the liberal-conservative Polish prime minister is trying to do exactly the opposite. It wants to untangle the nexus of party and state politics that existed under the previous national-conservative government and to investigate its corruption scandals. One of the people at the center of the investigation is the former deputy justice minister, Romanowski. Romanowski charged with 11 criminal offenses Between 2019 and 2023, Romanowski was in charge of the Justice Fund which was designed to support victims of crime. However, the public prosecutor has charged the politician with 11 criminal offenses, including membership of a criminal organization, embezzlement and manipulation in the allocation of money from the fund. The sum of the disputed funds amounts to around 112 million Polish zloty (approx. €25 million/$27.3 million). The 48-year-old lawmaker from the former ruling and now opposition Law and Justice party (PiS) was briefly arrested in July, but was later released. As a member of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, he enjoyed immunity. However, this immunity was lifted by the body in October. On December 9, a court in Warsaw ordered Romanowski to be remanded in custody for three months. Only, by then, he had already gone into hiding and fled to Hungary . On December 20, Romanowski posted on social media that asylum for a member of the Polish opposition was a "strong warning signal for Tusk's regime." He said he wanted to continue working from Budapest for a "sovereign, Christian and strong Poland," with his goal being to "abolish the Tusk regime." 'Hungarian government using refugee protection to save political allies' The affair exemplifies the severe level of problems the Tusk government faces in restoring the rule of law in Poland. Poland's judiciary, including the Constitutional Court, remain heavily dominated by PiS supporters. And President Andrzej Duda, who is close to the PiS, continues to delay all government reforms as much as possible. It's not the first time that a prominent corruption suspect has been granted asylum in Hungary . In 2018, the former Macedonian head of government Nikola Gruevski fled to Hungary where he received asylum. In more recent years, the Hungarian government has also granted temporary refuge to several politicians from the Hungarian minority in Romania. For Poland, however, the escape of a member of parliament is a precedent, commented the conservative Polish daily newspaper Rzeczpospolita . "Romanowski has asked an ally of Putin for help. It is a disgrace to be an ally of Putin's ally ," the paper wrote. In Hungary, the left-wing portal Merce ran the headline "The Hungarian government is using refugee protection to save political allies." Open for more Polish politicians Both Polish and Hungarian media outlets are now speculating which PiS politician will be the next to leave for Hungary. It may well be MEP Daniel Obajtek, former head of the Polish oil company Orlen, who has been involved in numerous corruption scandals.Among other charges, he is facing prosecution for manipulating Orlen tenders. Hungary's Orban vows to defy ICC's Netanyahu arrest warrant To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video The speculation about Obajtek was fueled by Orban on December 22 during his annual end-of-year press conference. After a female journalist specifically asked about the former head of Orlen, Hungary's prime minister — who is known for his misogynistic remarks — said: "I don't know if we're thinking of the same man because you never know which man is in a woman's head." However, as Obajtek is a member of the European Parliament, there is no need to deal with him, Orban said, referring to the man's immunity. "Generally speaking, we have to be prepared for the fact that there will and could be more cases like this," he added. This article was originally written in German.
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Image via Timothy T. Ludwig/Getty Images The holiday season is here and quarterbacks of various teams are busy gifting luxurious gifts to the offense line of their teams. But in the case of Josh Allen, the quarterback of the Buffalo Bills, the situation is different; a video posted by the Buffalo Bills shows that the Buffalo Bills’ offense line presented Josh with a silver necklace that has the word “MVP” and the number “17” embellished on it. While the race and competition between Josh Allen and Lamar Jackson is intense to become the MVP of the 2024 NFL season, it seems like the Buffalo Bills have already declared Josh as the winner. Josh Allen Was Gifted A $50,000 Silver Necklace By The Baltimore Ravens’ Offense Line On the back of this silver chain, the names of the Buffalo Bills offense line is embellished and as per reports, the silver necklace is worth a whopping $50,000. This thoughtful gift presented by the Buffalo Bills’ offense line to Josh reminds the league about the bond and brotherhood amongst the Buffalo Bills’ offense line. Josh is having one of the best years of his life - he recently got engaged to his fiancee, actress Hailee Steinfeld and had one of the best seasons on the field. But he faces tough competition from Lamar Jackson, the quarterback of the Baltimore Ravens, who is also nominated to become the MVP of the 2024 National Football Season. Many experts and former NFL players have commented on this competition and both Josh and Lamar have gotten the same number of votes from people when voting for the winner of the 2024 NFL season’s MVP. Fans Are Divided At This Expensive Gift For Josh Allen However, this expensive gift to Josh by the Buffalo Bills’ has also divided the fans. Many think the Buffalo Bills have overexaggerated Josh’s performance and forgot to take into account how great Lamar Jackson, the quarterback of the Baltimore Ravens, has been this year. As soon as the video posted by the Buffalo Bills where Josh receives this $50,000 silver necklace from his teammates went viral, fans started trolling both Josh and the Buffalo Bills. Many fans commented about how the Buffalo Bills will become a laughing stock if Josh is unable to win the MVP of the 2024 NFL season. An user posted on X, “Now if he don’t win MVP I can’t even count how many times people going replay this video laughing.” Another user wrote, “New meme unlocked 😂 I’ll be back after mahomes win mvp” While fans have to wait for two more weeks to understand who wins the MVP if the 2024 NFL season, it seems like Lamar has a better chance. After winning last night’s match against the Houston Texans, the chances of either Lamar or Josh winning the title are pretty equal at this point. Also Read: "We got you": Travis Hunter receives unwavering support from Colorado Buffaloes and Coach Deion Sanders amidst hate