Hungary's terrorising Twitterer rides again

„Tamás Deutsch, an MEP from Hungary's ruling Fidesz party best known for his exuberant use of Twitter, is going global. The latest target of his ire is Thomas Melia, a deputy assistant secretary of state in the United States government. Like many of his colleagues (including his boss, Hillary Clinton), Mr Melia is worried about the erosion of democratic checks and balances in Hungary since Fidesz took office last year. (...)

This time, however, Mr Deutsch may have cause to regret his haste. As Hungarian Spectrum, a liberal blog, points out, Mr Deutsch and his fellow Fidesz activists owe a lot to Mr Melia. As his biography on the State Department website notes, Mr Melia has more than 25 years' experience in promoting democracy and human rights. He managed the National Democratic Institute's programmes for central and eastern Europe during the crucial years of change, from 1988 to 1993.

He and his colleagues trained Fidesz politicians how to run an election campaign, and even brought some of them to the United States. They did a good job: the young activists, including Mr Deutsch, won 21 seats in Hungary’s first free elections, in 1990. The new MPs were so pleased with their success that they signed a poster and sent it to Mr Melia. Still, at least Mr Deutsch has a self-deprecating sense of humour. Soon after sharing his opinion on Mr Melia, he tweeted one of Bertrand Russell’s best-known quotes: »The fundamental cause of trouble in the world today is that the stupid are cocksure while the intelligent are full of doubt«.”