5:25 pm
Sep 9, 2011


Hungary’s Government Seen Cementing Its Power

    • In 2010 Fidesz won the elections without any campaign promises. The previous Gyurcsany government was so unpopular that it was obvious Orban would win, and even the two-thirds victory seemed quite likely.
      In opposition, Mr Orban kept criticising the Gyurcsany government for not lowering the VAT on gas at the peak of the crisis, and seemed to favor the poor in general.
      Now, in the specter of a double-dip recession, Fidesz is planning to levy a “luxury tax” on gas, which is the exact opposite of what he said in opposition.
      The flat income tax may make the tax system simpler, but most Hungarians don’t really gain much, if anything.
      Imposing a “crisis tax” on banks is popular among Hungarians, but in the long run it may backfire.
      Mr Orban was lucky in 2010, because he got to power without a campaign. But if he does the exact opposite of what he stood for in opposition, his luck may run out in the next election.

    • This is a very good description of what is happening Hungary. Viktor Orban rules Hungary autocratically. Not only is it perfectly legal, but the Hungarians seem love it. The only opponent Mr. Orban has is the EU. Should they decided to penalize Hungary (for whatever reason) by withholding public projects funds, unemployment would sky rocket and then the people might turn on Fidesz.

    • It is precisely a democratic system and democratic elections that gave the Hungarian government power to do what it’s doing. Just because someone is not in agreement, it does not mean that it is at the expense of democracy. Those are unfounded statements that claim the Hungarian government is working against democracy. They are making changes (which are liked by some and disliked by others) empowered by and within a democratic framework.

    • The two-third house majority rule required to make changes is not Fidesz doing. This law was implemented by those in the past by shrewed Socialist politicians in the hope that no party can make any changes to their outdated and discreditable constitution shaped by the old guard under Soviet occupatiion. However, those politicians underestimated the Hungarian people looking for changes. They had enough of the past and they chose Fidesz to make the necessary changes required to their fundemental priciples and they charged Viktor Orban with that mandate.
      Probably Hungary is the only country on this planet where the government enjoy more than two-third majority. Consequentl, those foreign negative comments made about Orban is perhaps partly based on lack of knowledge of Hungarian history, or themselves are left wing socialists, or they are just simply jealous of Orban’s huge majority.

    • As we can see in a history Hitler made changes empowered by and within a democratic framework in 1933 , too.

    • When the socialists (for the record: whom I do not favour) had 2/3 majority about a decade ago, the first thing they did was to promise not to misuse their power and not the change the consitution in their favour. They kept that promise.

      Being democratic is not about acting within the legal framework (like if you are allowed to drice 50 km/h but there are children playing at the side of the road, would you go with 50?) but to do things that help the country in the long run. Fidesz is doing just the opposite.

    • Henka, are you serious? You compare Orban to Hitler; his next move will probably be to start the Hungarian struggle for world domination :) That could be scary news for the US…
      Perhaps anyone who earns too many votes is a danger to democracy then, except, of course, if he is a liberal.
      Don’t you think Hungarian voters’ decision should be respected now just as much as after previous elections?

    • Hungarians made their choice so now they have to live with it. Maybe they learn something for a change after they have nothing left but debts and a theocratic laughable constitution.

    • If you do not know the background of this story, if you do not see the effects of his politics every day, you might likely misunderstand this article. During the last 8 years of left-wing struggle, (2 terms of MSZP) Fidesz did nothing to help the country, they just helped ruining MSZP’s remaining bits of supporters, for the sole purpose of winning the 2010 elections with such a majority (By the way, 2/3 in the parliament doesn’t mean they got 2/3 of the votes – as far as I know, they received 54% support, but they calculated 2/3 out of it..) Orbán is a populist, not a democrat. When MSZP made changes to the health system during its term, requiring non-regular visitors of hospitals to pay about 1.50 dollars worth of HUF per visit, the healthcare has never been better, but of course, some people were grumbling about it. So Fidesz started fighting against this little change (not against much bigger problems) and eventually, “won” so this little thing (which most people only paid about 2-3 times) stopped, and healthcare became crap again. When the 2010 elections started, they put up billboards saying “We’ll make healthcare great again!”. Another thing: They were flexing their muscles and shaking the iron-gloved fist, saying “We’ll restore order in two weeks!”, talking about the horrible crime rates which they will supposedly fix. After a year of Fidesz, the crime rates increased by 150% (!) and yet they claim nothing is wrong. And they are once again making tax changes benefitting the rich and they are making terrible decision after terrible decision. Currently, Hungary has no good choice between MSZP and Fidesz, as in the last 20 or so years, they learned both of those bigger powers are no good for the country. Meanwhile, the nationalist party Jobbik is gaining popularity as it is currently the only party which is actually ATTENDING the parliament regularly and making sensible ideas, and the only party that is addressing the gypsy-crime issue (while other parties banned the word altogether…) which is becoming more and more pressing. Jobbik is also pressing an early election – as the same requirements the Fidesz claimed to have happened during the MSZP reign happened again during the Fidesz reign: The governing party is not doing the politics they were promising and doing irresponsible decisions that are leading the country to bankrupcy. Fidesz claimed the same things a few years ago, now Jobbik is doing the same. It’s a stormy period in Hungary, so don’t comment if you do not know what you are talking about!

    • This article clearly shows how little you know about the big picture. What Orban is doing at the moment is trying to save the country form the international bankers who consider it to be nothing else but a junkyard of their own. Once totally exploited, they can move on. Who else wants to erease Hungarians from the planet? Our dear neighbours: Slovakia (a non exsistent nation created from North Hungary), Romania (whose half polulation and territory has been the very heart of historical Hungary, actually for about 12,000 years as archeological evidences show), Serbia (again, big part of it inhabited by the rest of Hungarians who survived the 1944 mass massacre by Tito), and Ukraine (again significant part of it is Hungarian land). It is clear that these countries obtained Hungarian territories in a completely illegitime way after the 1920 Paris war contract, and they are afraid of losing what is not their own. But there are other factors too: In the process of building their world empire, the masters of the global financial kingdom dislike anybody who tries to become indipendent. With Orban as a leader, Hungary tries to seize independence again. Obviously a diffcult job, as enemies of Hungary are everywhere inside and outside. It’s stomac turning to read about “democracy defficiency” in Hungary, while we have the strongest democracy in Europe with about 60% votes. You critisise a nation which was the only one trying to fight for democracy in 1956 (and was left alone to bleed out by the western world). You are lying, as all of your liberal media soulmates do. You are all pathetic lyers… You do nothing but harm to this planet.

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