Hungarian Politics

[Tamas]

The higher education thing is still in full swing.

Governmential efforts to put the fire out escalated it 

Here is a brief timeline of said reactions:

-it is not a fee. It is a contribution
-"I don't understand why the college students are demonstrating. This decision only affects the ones coming after them, the current high school students" - said by two prominent FIDESZ members
*high schoolers start joining the occassional demonstrations, planning a full-blown "strike"*
-Orban asked about this back in Brussels: "the matter will be handled by the weekend"
-he comes home, refuses to meet with the student organizations, rather pulls a cringe-worthy stunt of having a coffee with some young people in a posh pub, all pre-arranged (bodyguards sealing off the pub in advance, only letting these "random youth" in etc)
-he throws the previous concept out the window announces a radically different one (where everyone would get state sponsorship if they manager good enough -still not determined- entry scores). Gives the ministry 3 days to come up with a plan
*queue in biggest demonstration yet*, yesterday

Yesterday, several thousand protesters, after the end of the official demo, go to the state radio's building (like anyone still listens to that), demands that they get to read their 6 points in the 9PM news.
Radio agrees. But ends up not letting the student rep read it, instead they made the demonstration their first news, read SOME of the 6 points. 10PM news does not feature the demo at all.

This morning the relevant minister met with a student delegation, with the loud promise of 40k paid college/uni places, but the actual criteria on how to get those are missing, and the students quickly leave, saying that for them the government appears to be in complete disarray over the issue, as none of their questions could be answered and the minister was in no shape to brief them on details, let alone negotiate them.

EDIT: also today, several parents reported to a leftie newspaper that their high school students in a town where separately interviewed/interrogated by the principal regarding their take on these demonstrations, and wether they know anything about any plans for the school. She logged the answers, and allegedly will send them to the government's office in the county.

[Tamas]

A few student leaders were taken away by the police tonight, since they took charge of the couple hundred protesters, who -at the end of the organized demonstration- went to block one of the Danube bridges, and this was not announced previously.

Not a biggie I think, I mean, the police was obliged to do so, but still a nice pic on how you run a full circle in politics:

[Tamas]

Couple of days ago the finance minister causally mentioned that half a million Hungarians are working in other countries ("we will get them back!"). This is way over what people thought before.

And it looks like it wasn't just something he made up. His ministry actually quotes a gathering of estimates from embassies. That says about 300k are in the UK, most in London, 100k in Germany, 50k in Austria, the rest dispersed throughout the EU.

That's like 1/7th of the entire active-age population 

[Valmy]

I wonder what percentage of all working Eastern Europeans are in London.

[Syt]

"Viktatura - putting Viktori into Diktatur!"

[Martinus]

I wonder what percentage of all working Eastern Europeans are in London.

For Poles, it apparently dropped sharply recently. It seems it's easier to find a job in Warsaw than it is in London.

[Tamas]

Should I be: thinking twice before I comment on the Hungarian Internet?

Mr. Papcsák is an important member of the FIDESZ family. He is a go to guy when it comes to corruption, cheating on an election (he is the only MP evah, to have the court determine his staff cheated), or putting his name on shady bills.

His loyalty is only overshadowed by his sense of pride.

So when he discovered this thing called the Internet, and how blog comments on the online edition of the lamest left-wing newspaper (Népszava) say bad things about him, he turned to the police in search of justice for his damaged ego.

The police asked Népszava to hand over their server logs so the identity of the commenters could be revealed. The newspaper declined.

HOWEVER, looks like SOMEHOW the police did find at least some of the commenters. The newspaper could only interview one so far I think. She was called to appear at the police, as a WITNESS in this case.
Now of course as a witness you cannot say falsehoods, so she admitted that she was the one telling all that crap about Mr. Papcsák.

I am not sure how this will proceed, but it does raise some questions: how the fuck did the police get their hand on the commenter's identify? Népszava, and the person's ISP both decline that they would have given the info away (the ISP never ever got a request even, IIRC).
Also, is this an indication of things to come? My Internet post happen to find a FIDESZ functionary in a foul mood and I am off to the police station answering questions?

WTB job on the North American continent. kthxbye

[Martinus]

Now of course as a witness you cannot say falsehoods

Uhm, at least here you can refuse to testify as a witness if it could incriminate you or your close family/partner.

[Tamas]

Now of course as a witness you cannot say falsehoods

Uhm, at least here you can refuse to testify as a witness if it could incriminate you or your close family/partner.

yeah turns out its the same here.

Isn't that kind of shooting yourself in the foot tough? "I am not testifying, because, actually, I am the perpetrator!"

[Neil]

Yeah, I don't think that the point is to use the law to punish the perpetrator, but rather to identify them so that the can be assaulted by paramilitary thugs.

[Sheilbh]

It sounds like defamation or libel, which surely isn't a criminal issue?

[Tamas]

so there were these college/uni student demos against a bunch of stuff like the sudden drastic cut to the higher education budget, or that to solve the problem of fresh graduates mass-exodusing out of the country, the government introduced a rule that if you got your diploma on a state-sponsored spot, you ought to stay 2 years in the country or pay the whole thing back.

So short timeline:

-demonstrations start
-country and government surprised and shocked - non nazi youngsters have voice and determination?!!
-routine bullshit by the government fails to slow down the demos, which are organized by the "official" countrywide student council body HÖOK and un-official smaller but more radical organization HaHa
-government tries to negotiate, main effort seems to be on turning HÖOK and HaHa against each other
-HaHa is not allowed into the negotiations, HÖOK is fine with that
-HÖOK and the government make a preliminary deal about future negotiations, main point is that the government would not make any final decisions on the above issues until then.
-HÖOK stops with demos, HaHa tries to keep the flame alive but with very limited success
-this week, government declares it will put the "stay home for 2 years or suffer the consequences!" idea into the constitution
-HÖOK leader is "confused"
-government:

[Syt]

it will put the "stay home for 2 years or suffer the consequences!" idea into the constitution

Oh yeah, that's definitely something that needs to be enshrined in the constitution.

[Tamas]

it will put the "stay home for 2 years or suffer the consequences!" idea into the constitution

Oh yeah, that's definitely something that needs to be enshrined in the constitution.

well, this is the kind of people who rule as with a 2/3rd majority.

They have all kinds of shit in the constitution now. They change something in it every other month.

[The Larch]

I doubt that the EU would allow such a blatant restriction on the movement of workers.