Poland’s International Minister Radosław Sikorski trolled Orbán over the footage, asking him whether or not zebras are “conventional cattle” in Hungary.
From Budapest to Grozny, from Moscow to Pyongyang, strongmen leaders have lengthy turned wild animals into political props, as symbols of wealth, virility and energy. In mild of Orbán and the zebras, POLITICO took a take a look at a number of the world’s different controversial animal aficionados.
Shark story
Georgian oligarch and de facto ruler Bidzina Ivanishvili resides in a neo-modernist steel-and-glass fort above Tbilisi — along with his own shark tank. In recent times, his Georgian Dream celebration has pivoted away from the EU and towards a extra pro-Russian pathway.
A recognized collector of unique crops and animals, Ivanishvili had amassed a powerful private zoo in his mansion, together with penguins, zebras, lemurs, a kangaroo and, sure, a shark. In a 2014 interview, he modestly described the shark as small, “only a meter and a half.”
“Lemurs roamed free in my yard like cats,” he added.
Ousted ostrich connoisseur
Ukraine’s former Russian satrap Viktor Yanukovych additionally had a zoo in his mansion that includes peacocks, pheasants, deer and bears. He additionally as soon as owned three kangaroos, however one froze to loss of life, one escaped and the third was launched within the hope they’d return — which didn’t occur.
