The prime minister of Hungary resigned last week, also giving up his position of party leader for the socialists. It was high time he did, although it would have been a great act three years ago, when he became scandalous symbol of political corruption, and a central figure for distrust. What makes it up to date is the EP election in June – Ferenc Gyurcsány is again trying to save the socialists from sure death.
Still it won’t work.
Ferenc Gyurcsány became prime minister in 2004 without being elected – his ancestor was displaced by his own party after two years of governance, having brought the socialists to zero popularity. Gyurcsány, a young businessman posessing quite a sum of money, amongst the richest Hungarians, was an interesting choice.
A man of such a sum – why would he want to be prime minister?
Well, it hasn’t turned out ever since.
The first two years went seemingly well. Gyurcsány brought the socialists back from their dead and won them the election of 2006. And then gave a private speech at a party congress on how their lied themselves back into the Parliament. After a recording of this speech was published in September 2006, riots occured on the streets for weeks – this didn’t happen even when the soviets were about to leave the country.
The expression ‘Monnyolle!’ - the abbreviated version of ‘call off’ – replaced ‘fuck you’ in Hungarian slang. Still he did not call the whole thing off.
Ferenc Gyurcsány always talked about some great concept of governing, but it dod not show up even until now. His fellows were busy with pouring concrete on any open surface possible and puring money into all of their own pockets. The worst motorways and block houses of history were built on the highest prices ever.
Now the socialist are really deep under – it is even possible, that they make no places to the EP at the June elections. Something really has to be done. And the first good move Ferenc Gyurcsány ever made in his political career, was resigning last week. This might have saved the socialists again from a full scale fall.
The last week was spent trying to find a nominee for prime minister, who would be acceptable for the coalition partner Liberal Democrats, a small neoliberal party. After a finest selection of bankers were refused, they chose the current Minister of Economy, Gordon Bajnai, who has no other thoughts on helping a financial crisis but cutting any social welfare he just can, from pensions to maternity.
A couple of years ago i listened to a lecture by Bajnai, enlighting local govenment leaders about how to apply for EU Grants and how to cheat the Brussels expectations. He cleared it up, that the European Community wants to emphasize enviromental issues and to develop railways rather than motorways. Hungary had already had derogative duties* in 2007, from which we completed nothing ever since. Mr Bajnai, busy in olschool business schools, has only learned the lesson for developing global capitalism, but no-one taught him history of economy, not even New Deal.
Ferenc Gyurcsány, for some still misty reason found it important for the past six years to save the socialist party form total depresion and falling apart. For this reason he resigned and also gave up his position as party leader.
Still it seems, the socialists and way too suicidal to learn the lesson.
Replacing one no-vision neoliberal with an even harsher one, which only knows to proceed what’s written in thirty-some years old books of business studies – this is no good choice.
I am no cheerer for the local right wing, and am not looking forward to a 16 years’ Orbán** Kingdom, where the noble nominee would preach two hundred years old national thissandthat instead of a progressive ethnic policiy, would glady ban human rights and promote desperate housewives’ lives as a positive choice for intellectuals, and would send anyone to jail for smoking a joint, whilst heavy alcoholism is familiar with his party members as well.
It is scary to see, the retrogrades are even more progressive, than the so-called socialists, who lost touch with society some 60 years ago.
I am sad, very sad to have no choice but a bad choice.
*This means we would have had to fall into line with the EU minimum in enviromental matters. The state of the Hungarian state was derogatory to Europe then already.
**Viktor Orbán is the one emblematic person of the biggest Hungarian right wing party, FIDESZ, very likely to win any elections coming.
(15 votes, average: 4.40 out of 5)
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Great story. What a pity it seems like some European countries are moving more and more in a neo-liberal direction just as neo-liberalism has been comprehensively thrown into disrepute in western Europe and the USA.
sure. english second hand clothes, english second hand ways of operation.
a fellow i just found
http://esbalogh.typepad.com/hungarianspectrum/2009/03/the-rise-and-fall-of-ferenc-gyurcs%C3%A1ny.html
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