ADMIRAL MIKLOS HORTHY, Hungary’s controversial wartime leader and an ally of Hitler, is enjoying something of a revival of late. The latest addition to the dozen or so commemorative plaques, statues and street renamings was unveiled on November 3rd at a Calvinist church in a central square in Budapest.Hundreds of protesters, many wearing yellow stars, exchanged insults with those attending the presentation of a new statue supported by the far-right Jobbik party. Under its minister, Lorant Hegedus junior, the church has long been a place of pilgrimage for the far right. The Horthy statue has caused consternation and anger in the church. Istvan Szabo, the local bishop, called for an urgent inquiry. Reform church ministers should refrain from divisive and shocking behaviour, he said.Antal Rogan, the local mayor and parliamentary leader of the ruling centre-right Fidesz party, condemned the statue as “provocation”. But so far the government has hedged its bets. Janos Lazar, the head of the prime minister’s office, said that Horthy’s rule should be assessed by historians not politicians. The government uses double talk about Horthy, says Krisztian Ungvary, a…
