Just saw a piece go up over on the Wall Street Journal’s “New Europe” blog with a rather combustible headline: “Gypsies, Jews, Homosexuals Beware: Fidesz Eyes 2010 Elections”. The nut graph is as follows:
If Fidesz cracks down on extreme views then it’ll keep centre-ground voters. If it tolerates them then it risks losing centre votes, but may hold its own better against Jobbik. A difficult calculation.
Well, yes, it would be a difficult calculation, if Fidesz wasn’t leading by about 50 percentage point in the polls. Nice headline, though.
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It is not a difficult calculation if you are not Viktor Orbán. He somehow managed to get it wrong in 2002 and 2006, so there’s every reason to think he’ll misplay his cards again.
Hungary will not be a safe place for foreign investors either under Fidesz, if the goings-on in Pécs are anything to go by. A Fidesz mayor got in and almost immediately renationalized the water company. When are you guys going to report on that?
I agree with the Pecs water company. This has to unnerve a few investors, or more importantly companies looking to invest in the country. They’ll be staying away if this is how Fidesz is already acting in one of Hungary’s main cities. And as far as I know it is only the French that own it, not gypsies, Jews and homosexuals – or maybe it is and this is why nobody is saying anything.
@kincs: Waterworks takover has been mentioned on our business site, realdeal.hu. And yes, it probably would have gotten more press if the owners were some more colorful minority rather than just French… unfortunately, even at the supposedly business-focused Wall St. Journal, the plight of investors seems to take a back seat to culture wars and identity politics.
Erik – It could be because the WSJ is focused on economies which actually make a difference not really whats going on in backwater Europe. She is not even a WSJ reporter, just a local Dow writer. Its just fluff which most likely didnt even make it into print.
@C’est Moi/Erik: The Pécs story is so over-ripe I’d expect Nadler or LeBor to get something publish on it in a week or two.
So Fidesz has renationalised a water company. I guess Orbán has decided to embrace socialism as the cure to Hungary’s woes. If it wasn’t so pathetic it would be funny.
I think taking back strategic industries is quite good. american
mixed breeds, slavs, gypos, jews, latinos has no place and business
in Hungary! Fags pack your suitcases and leave before you flushed
down the toilet with the post commie government you support!
D))))))))))))))))