The Imrédy Government already took steps to join the Anti-Comintern Pact at the end of 1938. However, the Pact was signed by Pál Teleki who replaced Béla Imrédy in the post of the prime minister. The Hungarian leadership considered it important to commit itself even in an agreement for the German and Italian foreign policy in order to strengthen the trust of the Axis Powers. They expected from this act that Berlin and Rome would finally support the Hungarian claim concerning Subcarpathia. This closer relationship with Germany and the open standpoint represented against the communist efforts seemed to be suitable even for neutralising the anti-government critics of the Hungarian extreme right wing. In addition, Teleki hoped that the symbolic step against the Soviet Union is welcomed by British politics. Thus, Hungary can take advantage of the Western powers against Czechoslovak leadership, which signed a military agreement with Moscow. The Western Powers did not show serious interest in relation to this Hungarian action. The Soviet Government harshly reacted. It froze diplomacy relationships. However, it was not primarily because of Budapest’s anti-communist announcement, but because of the Hungarian action’s precedent character so that the rest of the small states in Eastern Europe would not follow it
