Departing US ambassador says relations have improved
October 22nd, 2020Mr Cornstein said he leaves bilateral relations in a better shape than they were at the time of his appointment.
In an interview with Mandiner, US ambassador David Cornstein (82), a Trump appointee says both the president of the United States and Prime Minister Viktor Orbán of Hungary are straightforward men and both say what they think. He believes Hungary is grossly misrepresented abroad and blames the government’s poor PR for that. Life in Hungary is much better than it is perceived abroad, Mr Cornstein suggests. Not that he never has complaints, he adds, but he voiced them behind closed doors, as he believes this is how a diplomate must act in a constructive spirit. ‘Sometimes I succeeded, other times I didn’t’, Mr Cornstein added. When he arrived, he recalls, relations between the two countries were tense, but since then, confidence has been restored and a series of cooperation agreements have been signed and put into practice. His successor will be in a better position than he was two years ago when he arrived in Hungary, Mr Cornstein says.
In a previous interview with Népszava, the ambassador said President Trump and Prime Minister Orbán are on good personal terms with each other.