When presented with the question of how in the referendum, Free Dem supporters would vote “no” while Socialist supporters would stay home, Prime Minister Ferenc Gyurcsány told tabloid Blikk that staying home is just another way of voting “no” and agreeing with him. Drawing on the same idea as Richard Nixon’s untenable “silent majority,” the prime minister has in this way taken the nation’s apathy and transformed it into widespread support. Unfortunately, despite his best oratorical skills, his wonderful linguistic leaps have failed him before, such as when he claimed the Hungarian economy was great, before later admitting that no, it’s very much not.
Prime Minister believes apathy is a show of support
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I think you’ve got something here… One of the most insightful points I’ve read in days… Thanks for making me laugh (unfortunately, you also made me cry!).
Well, if you do not go and vote, your “abstained vote” actually is regarded by all analysts like a “no”. And a “no” is positive for the Government.
With Fidesz campaigning for 18 months, the result will be regarded as bad if a high degree of eligible voters stay at home. They could not even get them to go and vote…
Reminds me of a case in the UK, where the opposition accused the
government of “going round the country and stirring up apathy”!
I wonder if Comrade Gyurcsany, the Glorious Leader, will take
another page from the Nixon book of politics and tell us all he’s not
a crook? Or a liar, or a thief?
Whatever the result, the ruling kleptocrats will either take it as
approval of their policies, or punish the people for daring to
question their authority. Either way, more bad times ahead I fear.
It seems odd to criticize the PM for this. The best strategy, if you want the referendum to fail, is not to vote, right, and therefore to deny it a quorum.
Clearly not everyone who doesn’t vote supports Gyurcsany and everything he does — but he has to point out that when there are less “no” votes than “yes” votes, he has more supporters than there are “no” votes.
aemann – If you did not know it:
The Hungarian Constitutional Court said that these fees did NOT belong to the State budget (otherwise they would not have allowed to have a referendum about them).
So the conclusion is = You can NOT take money from the State Budget to replace these fees! At least not for the current budget, that would open up a possibility to take the Government to the Constitutional Court.
Next years budget is another story.