CSANAD SZEGEDI'S ACTAEON MOMENT

August 17, 2012

Csanad Szegedi was the champion of the far right in Hungary, complete with the swagger and anti-Semitic rhetoric. He was prominent in the Jobbik Party, with its neo-Nazi connotations and he is a Member of the European Parliament (MEP). He was unassailable really, like a hunter with his dogs; Acteon thirsting for his game...

Oops! No it was not a bare, bathing Diana he stumbled upon, but his own naked history. The encounter was equally karmic and he was turned into his prey.

After the Second World War, many Jewish survivors kept their identity secret for fear of further persecutions. So it was one hell of a surprise when Csanad Szegedi recently discovered that his grandmother was a Holocaust survivor. The 30-year-old politician disclosed his background in June and since then he has apologised profusely to the Jewish community. He has also been spending time with Rabbi Schlomo Koves in order to learn more about his roots. Now he is planning a trip to the Auschwitz extermination camps where many of his relatives died.

Mr Szegedi has already had to quit his party and he is being pressured to resign as MEP. It is yet to be seen how deep the fangs will go, but the chances are that they will go for the jugular.

Is it not sad, though, that so many of us need a slap on the face to be able to empathise? And is it not sadder still that most times that slap is nowhere to be seen?