Three allies, two envoys, one conclusion

Turkey and Hungary are both difficult allies of the United States. Both held up NATO's enlargement just when Washington needed the greatest possible coalition against Russia and maximum support for Ukraine. The leaders of both countries have good relations with Vladimir Putin. Recep Tayyip Erdogan had an open line with Donald Trump when the latter was president and would very much like to see him return to the White House. Viktor Orban calls openly for Trump's election and declares his dislike of Joe Biden. We would expect the United States to be highly irritated by both governments. And this is the case. But the messages that it sends the two allies are completely different. This allows us to see how Washington evaluates each country.

Last Thursday, the US ambassador in Budapest, David Pressman, launched an unprecedented (in its frankness) attack on the Hungarian government...