In what some observers are seeing as the first concrete sign that the 2010 election season has begun – and what the rest of us just see as another indication of the terminal silliness of Hungarian politics – a “war” has broken out between some local branches of the Socialist Party and Fidesz over allegations involving the handing out of free potatoes and onions.
According to index.hu, the controversy begain when the Fidesz faction in the local government of Budapest’s District XIII (Angyalföld) distributed flyers (inset image) to area voters announcing that the municipality would be giving away free potatoes and onions to local residents. The problem was that the flyers – printed in the Fidesz colors of orange and black and signed by Fidesz Parliamentary candidate Endre Spaller – were written in the name of the Socialist-led local government. Following this, locals received another flyer in their mailboxes from notary Lajos Prehlik (background), who wrote that the local Fidesz faction had distributed a “misleading, unauthorized” announcement in the name of the local government, and that the real time and place of the onion and potato giveaway would only be announced at a later date.
The story did not end here, as Spaller responded on his website blaming the local government for “deliberately creating chaos around the distribution of free potatoes and onions,” adding that District Mayor József Tóth was harming those most in need. By which we assume he meant those in need of free food, rather than local politicians worth taking seriously.
