March 19, 2010, 11:15 CET
Political Pest
Bajnai to save Ft 12 earned as PM, use Ft 12 billion looted from state treasury to buy Caribbean island
Just kidding: As far as Hungarian politicians who made it big in business while leaning on their left-leaning friends in power, Gordon Bajnai is probably among the least crooked. Still, it's hard not to be cynical when thinking about the Ft 1 token salary he has been getting since becoming prime minister last spring. (The whole issue was in the news yesterday when he said in an interview with tabloid Blikk that he would be holding onto the Ft 12 he's racked up as a keepsake rather than spending it.) More specifically, here are my complaints with this whole token salary business, or, as we Americans like to say, my "two cents" (approx. Ft 4):
- What about the other money, dude? Does Bajnai actually think anyone really thinks none of the millions/billions he's sitting on came his way because of his political connections? If he does, that's pretty lame, and if he's doesn't, it's pretty outrageous.
- And this is social democracy? How frigging' ridiculous is it to have a Socialist-led government led by people so rich that they don't need to be paid? We're talking three in a row here, people.
- It's an insult to normal wage-slaves. This is sort of a subset of gripe #2, but it's important enough that it's worth the potential repetition. When you brush off a salary, you are insulting people who actually need one. More than anything else Hungary needs people who work for a living, and this doesn't send a very good message to them.
- Isn't it illegal? From what I recall there is a minimum wage here in Hungary, and it's a whole lot more than Ft 1, even taking into account all the social contributions and taxes. Either that, or somehow they've reclassified the job of prime minister as not being a job, which I suppose is fair enough.
- You get what you pay for. The prime minister of Singapore earns roughly S$3 million (Ft 400 million, give or take Ft 12), and it may be no coincidence that the per-capita GDP of Singapore is more than twice that of Hungary (roughly $50,000 to around $18,500).
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"How frigging' ridiculous is it to have a Socialist-led government led by people so rich that they don't need to be paid?"
-I agree with this.
"It's an insult to normal wage-slaves."
-
I don't agree with this. As a person who works really hard for every dollar I'm paid, I think it's only fair that some rich bastard who wouldn't know what work was if it bit him in the face should get paid a shit load of money for sitting around doing his best corpse impression. Perhaps it is just a token gesture, but at the very least, it's money that could be wasted, err spent, somewhere else. Let's face it, it's not going to win the guy any extra real votes, so at least he's not costing the country anything extra while he's 'house-sitting'.
-
One thing I do agree with the right on is that these guys should be paying back personally all the loans they took from the west when they were 'real' communists.
-
"You get what you pay for." True, but at least in this case nobody is getting ripped off.
What a disgusting display from these billionaire Communists. First, they called themselves Socialists but the latest is that they are the only DEMOKRATÁK. Wait another month and they will claim to be KERESZTÉNY DEMOKRATÁK, especially Bauer and Lendvai.
Gyurcsany speech was something else. It is not what he said that matters because he is a liar, a self admitted liar but there were two things that was a must see.
One was his comment that LIBATOLVAJ Bajnai was honest and decent. Gyurcsany would probably call Al Capone honest and decent.
The strangest part was Tamás Bauer introducing Gyurcsany and talking about democratic values, the democratic values he learned from his father Miklós Bauer (körmös bauer).
The audience was also very special. They trucked out those half-dead old Communists and filled the place with them. It was obvious from their empty stares that they had no clue what Gyurcsany was blabbering about. Some of them were old enough to have served in that dreaded Rákosi ÁVO but the most disgusting thing about the meeting is that they displayed some Hungarian flags. Whatever happened to their red flags with hammer and sickle?
"Whatever happened to their red flags with hammer and sickle?"
I shoved them up their wrinkled corrupt arses.
Party people: red letter days are just around the corner.
Hungarians have put up with 20 years of corruption. This applies to when Fidesz had the reins too.
Don't presume it is going to be any different this time around unless Jobbik can win some seats and exert pressure on the old brigade.
It is the political mafia the state has to combat.
The grubby little tykes like Bajnai and Gyurscany
are the plasticine that is moulded by far more sinister characters.
The police and justice system will have to improve 100% before things can get better.
How will this happen?
Answer: It won't!
Just curious. What island was he considering?
Jackson! You've arrived in the "hot zone"? Many people here would like to "talk" with you!
@Jackson. TREASURE ISLAND.
"The Isle of the Dead", depicted by Swiss painter Arnold Böcklin:
http://www.stmoroky.com/reviews/gallery/bocklin/iotd.htm
Amazing painting! I forgot how great Bocklin was!
I thought I would check in and see what I've been
missing over here; couldn't stay away!
Thanks again FL for taking the time out for my
questions before! You are a voice of reason --
Guess I'll check back soon around election time...
Thanks Bystander!
Besides a great work of art, in this context it was a wry, pointed piece of political satire as well.
@ Bystander
Please wait - don't leave yet.
Were you in that Israeli airplane threatening Hungary when Prince Charles and Camilla were visiting? I heard Curious George was there (he now writes messages to me in Hebrew)
If you have no idea what I mean ( pretending you have no idea) then please read the thread
"Mystery over Israeli aircraft causes political squall in Hungary" - and get back to me with THE TRUTH (regardless what you say, it will be a lie of course. I don't have to explain why, right?)
@FL:
Thanks! I hadn't realised that Roger Zelazny's sf-novel of the same name (one of my favorites) was based on this painting ...
@bystander @Olga:
Let's all meet in the Wild West next week. Nowadays most hotels have internet access, so I'll be looking in from "God's own country" ...
A collegue of mine once said on a business trip to SFO and LA: The US would be a marvelous place - if it weren't for all tose stupid rednecks ...
@Olga,
Yes that was me flying the plane! I think
everyone wouldn't have overreacted if only my
"Szebb Jövőt!" banner hadn't fallen off over
Bulgaria... But of course you already knew that,
having been previously briefed in Tel Aviv!
@FL, I did somewhat get the joke, thought maybe
you were gonna go in a "Island of Dr. Moriarty"
direction but after that horrible Marlon Brando
movie, I think you made the right call... Hope
all is well!
@Wolfie,
Enjoy the trip... stay close to the coast... at
least in Northern California you should have
yourself a thin strip of Sanity, just at all
costs, avoid attempting to break through to the
East through the State of Utah!! If you make it,
I'll see you at Wolfie's on Miami Beach!
@bystander:
Well I asked my wife if she would mind me becoming a mormon in Utah - at least some of them believe that having many wives is ok - but ...
It seems Hungarian women don't want to share ...
So we'll go see the Grand Canyon and then return to freaking 'Frisco ...
Maybe on the way we'll win a few million $$$$ in Vegas ...
Probably will see a lot of "white trash" on our journey.
Enjoy the trip Wolfi! If you see anybody wearing
Palin 2014 T-shirts, cross to the other side of the
street... it doesn't pay to take any chances!
Let's do lunch! We can meet somewhere central...
maybe Mark host us in Texas... I'll pretend like I
keep kosher to make him crazy looking for non-pork
liver sausage recipes!