Hungarian Politics

[The Minsky Moment]

Yeah read a story about that just before the election.  Said that is Fidesz lost, Orban would force through constitutional amendments to neuter local government.

[Tamas]

Yeah read a story about that just before the election.  Said that is Fidesz lost, Orban would force through constitutional amendments to neuter local government.

Will see.

I am genuinely surprised they didn't doctor the results.

I mean, whether Karacsony will actually use his considerable new powers to build a hinterland for the opposition to build on, or instead to establish himself as an integral part of the Orbanist World Order, remains to be seen. If he does the former, then I am sure Orban will retaliate.

But the loss of face for the government is undeniable. This is the first major defeat for them since they came to power in 2010. More importantly, it shows that proper opposition cooperation CAN work.


And the homemade orgy video guy actually retained his mayorship Just barely, with 600 votes, but still it is disgusting that in one of the major cities, having a coke-fuelled orgy with two local oligarchs proven literally by the mayor's naked ass, is not enough to lose the election.

[The Minsky Moment]

He may be corrupt, but he can't be knocked for lack of transparency.

[Tamas]

So, apart from winning the city mayor title, the opposition alliance has wrestled control of almost all district councils in Budapest.

Which makes those districts showcase what would happen on a countrywide scale if Fidesz were to lose the national elections as well.

It's scorched earth.

At most districts (but especially the ones with the biggest corruption-suspicious business deals), they have attacked the results on court, thus delaying the new council members and mayors taking up office, while simultaneously, their people in offices/organisations/businesses performing council functions are resigning, and they are also trying to force council workers to holidays/sick leaves. Basically, they are grinding everything to a halt. The new administration cannot take up work, and the old one has abandoned ship.

[Tamas]

Actually, one of the newly elected council members in one of the Budapest districts busted and videoed a literal truckload of documents in cardboard boxes being transported out of the district mayor's office the night after his electoral defeat.


Shows the scale of corruption that must be prevalent everywhere

[Valmy]

I am kind of amazed Orban wimped out and did not just steal the election. He must not be in as strong of a position as I thought.

[HVC]

maybe he just didn't ballet stuff enough.

[The Brain]

maybe he just didn't ballet stuff enough.

Thanks for that image.

[Tamas]

I am kind of amazed Orban wimped out and did not just steal the election. He must not be in as strong of a position as I thought.

I could be mistaken but I think the organisation of these local elections is much less centralised than the national one.

But it did surprise me a bit as well, to be honest.


I still have not entirely given up the idea that the 2018 national results were tampered with. And I am convinced they will cheat national results if they would lose otherwise. If they can't control the legislature and the chief prosecution office, they won't just fall out of power. They will go to jail.

[Tamas]

Just so you get a good idea of how Hungary operates in practice:

A Portugese paper had an interview with the one-time (2013-24) Portugese coach of Orban's second favourite Hungarian club Videoton. This is local big team for Orban (and for me), with quite a bit of history.

So, this coach mentioned that he had a lot of issues with communication within the club, and couldn't really get the changes he wanted to.

But this wasn't a big problem, because he could always count on the prime minister. He would just visit him at his village home, they'd "eat some ham at the larder", he told Orban what he needed, and he saw to it being done.

[Duque de Bragança]

Do you have a link to the original paper Tamas? Should be interesting.

[Tamas]

Do you have a link to the original paper Tamas? Should be interesting.

Only that it's https://tribunaexpresso.pt/

[Duque de Bragança]

It's here:

https://tribunaexpresso.pt/a-casa-as-costas/2020-03-01-Jose-Gomes-No-Benfica-o-Camacho-quis-testar-me-mas-eu-percebi-e-pensei-Vinhas-tu-de-Espanha-enganar-um-gajo-de-Matosinhos-

It's only a small part of it:

Como o receberam no clube?
A minha entrada foi muito bem aceite, a forma de jogar, o cariz ofensivo da equipa, a liberdade dada aos jogadores, o espaço para mostrar o que cada um tem de melhor como jogador foi muito bem aceite. Tivemos quase de imediato resultados muito bons. Depois na época seguinte houve uns problemas no clube. No primeiro ano quando eu tinha um problema conseguia resolvê-lo com alguma facilidade, porque por trás do projeto do futebol, não só dali mas de todo o país, estava o primeiro-ministro e eu morava a pouco mais de um quilómetro da casa dele. Quando tinha algum problema ligava-lhe e ia ter a casa dele, reuníamos na copa dele a comer um presunto, explicava-lhe as coisas e ele conseguia resolver-me os problemas.

Por que razão tinha de recorrer ao primeiro-ministro?
O clube tinha um investidor que era um homem de negócios e tinha entre o investidor e a equipa profissional um diretor que era um homem de atividades ao ar livre e natureza, fazia escalada, montanhismo, não percebia nada de futebol. Depois este foi substituído por um economista que jogava ténis com uns amigos ao fim de semana, também não percebia nada de futebol. Quem me resolvia os problemas era o primeiro-ministro porque conseguia fazer-me explicar ao dono, que não falava inglês, e dizer como é que as coisas tinham de ser resolvidas. Na segunda época quando há uns conflitos na Ucrânia e há uma ameaça de corte do fornecimento do gás para a Hungria, o primeiro-ministro tentou acautelar essa situação negociando a entrada de gás pela Polónia e portanto estava muitas vezes na Polónia e muitas vezes ausente quando eu tinha problemas. Há uma altura em que, apesar de ter mais um ano de contrato, digo para eles pensarem em quem queriam que viesse para o meu lugar na época seguinte que eu só ficaria até final da época.

Second paragraph, after asking why he have to resort to Prime-minister Orban states that due to Ukraine and gaz issues, involving negotiations for transit through Poland, he lost that critical support of Orban. There is another part about somewhat problematic working conditions inciting him to leave and then the coach moves to Saudi Arabia for the biggest cultural shock. I guess that explains why he's not very critical of Hungary.  Plus no presunto cured ham to discuss problems over in Arabia. 

[Tamas]

Thanks Duque!


There's been a lot of anger over the brand new national education plan.

It seems chaotic, not well thought out, obsolete, and too much about preaching propaganda.

The literature parts especially stand out. Imre Kertesz is out of required curriculum, and in are various far-right hacks of the WW2 and interwar periods, reverred by fascists but ignored by everyone else.

Basically, the untalented hacks of the far-right have now their chance to take over the education of the next generation and they are going at it with all the vengeance of a no-talent frustrated assclown.


One of them got interviewed in a pro-government newspaper, and one of the -dangerously provocative, I guess- questions was "does he think the required reading at school should help make kids come to like reading?" He said "school isn't for the needs of the children".

[MadImmortalMan]

He said "school isn't for the needs of the children".

You rarely see that kind of honesty.