President of Momentum, the liberal opposition party, was forced to apologise after a number of liberal intellectuals criticised his use of the Hungarian word “Kitartás” (“hold out”, or loosely translated as “don’t give up”) – writes Mandiner.
Ferenc Gelencsér, the president of Momentum, has recently posted the word “kitartás” on his social media page.
As it is well known among Hungarians, “kitartás” was the slogan of the Arrow Cross party, a pro-Nazi fascist organisation that controlled Hungary between October 1944 and April 1945, and was responsible for the deaths of thousands of Jews.
After a number of liberal and Jewish intellectuals have openly criticised his choice of words, Gelencsér posted the following message on Facebook:
“I think we’d all be better off if we could purge words like this of their negative connotations, but it’s clear that the out-of-context post was a mistake on my part. Of course, there was no bad intention behind it, I simply did not correctly assess how charged this term can be even today. Therefore, I would like to apologize here to everyone whom I offended or insulted with my announcement – against my will and intention.”
Pictured is Ferenc Gelencsér. Photo: Facebook