Kertész said in the interview that a ?double polarity? was at the heart of the situation in Hungary today.
?I am wondering whether the country has made a choice between Asia and Western Europe. Don't forget that Hungarians are the descendants of Asian tribes who were living at the heart of Europe in the 9th century. At school, Hungarian pupils learn that their ancestors came from the southern steppes of the Ural Mountains to develop the Carpathian Basin. All Hungarians are therefore confronted with this double-belonging game, this contradiction: the norms of a Christian society are different from those of a clan-based society,? he said in a translated extract of the interview published by UK daily The Guardian.
Although conceding he is ?no historian?, Kertész said Hungary was ?a country which has never known democracy?. He explained that the development of democracy in the country was blocked by the growth of the Ottoman Empire in the 16th century, and the delay was never made up for.
Kertész said Hungary had ?tried to play a game? in each ?bloc? it belonged to from the 16th century.
?The current situation is nothing but a further illustration of that tendency to choose wrong. The Hungarian state chooses today to go against Europe in the name of its national interests, which can give the impression of a return to sovereignty. But once again, this is wrong,? Kertész said in the extract of the interview published by The Guardian.
Kertész said Auschwitz and the Shoah were ?pages of history that haven't been explored in Hungary?.
?There hasn't been any soul searching. The country never asked itself why it systematically was on the wrong side of history,? he added.
He recalled a meeting with a young Hungarian student with a German passport on a plane ten years earlier who told him Hungary was the only place he had met ?conformist and fascist youth?, when everywhere else in the world students were leftists.
?We tried to find an explanation for this ? to no avail. Some things cannot be explained, and sometimes one has to accept the facts. Hungary is a casualty which has no sense of explanation, and is unique in Europe. Hungarians are holding on to their destiny. They will undoubtedly end up failing, without understanding why,? Kertész said.
Kertész said the present climate in Hungary hurt him and revealed that he could only contact his few rightwing friends in Budapest in secret.
?There is a sort of embarrassment between us; I put them at risk. It is not well seen for them to be friendly with me,? he said.
Asked if would write about the state of affairs in protest, Kertész said writing was the only way he could act, but he added that ?it doesn't influence things in any way, and only brings me condemnation?.
He conceded, however, that the release in Hungary last year of My Journal had ?for the first time prompted some sympathy?.
Source: Hungarian News Agency (MTI) / The Guardian
