It is hard to love the European Union. Bureaucratic and legalistic, often mired in gridlock, it is little wonder that the EU has such trouble winning over the hearts and minds of European citizens or inspiring confidence internationally. The eurozone crisis has made all of this worse, with skeptics questioning whether the common currency or the EU itself will survive. But the EU’s mounting conflict with the Hungarian government reminds us why this union of 27 democratic nations remains so vital.
European Union test case: stop Hungary from backsliding on democracy
Excerpt Via csmonitor.com 
Media Council plans inquiry into radio caller hinting at assassination of president
Nézőpont: Fidesz loses tenth, Socialists third of supporters in two years
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Wonderfully symbolic picture:
EU-Commission Chief Barroso showing Hungarian PM Viktor Orban where the door out of the EU is, while Orban seems reluctant to take one step closer to it, just looking at Barroso with his big pleading dog-eyes
A real classic..
Well, the Eu and the IMF seem to hold the whip hand. I wonder if there is a way to “force” Viktor out the PMs office. I guess that wouldn’t make any difference since Viktor is FIDESZ and FIDESZ is Viktor and he could run Hungary via Fidesz from any where. Methinks this will be at least a three year battle with the EU but thankfully the EU seems to have identified Viktor’s duplicitous nature.
And here is another wonderful picture on (incredible!) the ‘Women benefit Magazin’ (or how should it be translated?)
(-http://www.haszon.hu/noknek/images/stories/borito/2012_1szam_.jpg)
The Hungarian caption:
* A Két Nő, Akitől Orbán Sorsa Fűgg
I translate into:
* The two women who decides the fate of Orbán
Well, given the actual photo-montage, can we get some feeling that short men with a too big head are not a big match for two real power-women?
And now I do not buy this type of magazines, but I expect my wife do, then it ended up on my part of the breakfast suddenly…
Perfect picture!!…Says it all.
In the article:
The Orbán government has passed laws attacking freedom of the press, freedom of religion, the independence of the judiciary, and the independence of Hungary’s central bank. They replaced Hungary’s previous electoral system with a new system designed to strongly favor Fidesz.
The future for Hungary looks dark without EU/EMF support which is maybe not coming.(on time or ever)
Why is there not more oppostion?
It is a malaise that infests and dogs and holds back this country as if some sort of a spell has been cast by a wicked witch that cannot be broken.
The country is small with a population of only 10 million at the heart of Europe. Budapest is one of the most beautiful capital cities in the world. Lake Balaton is a popular tourist resort with many attractions and diverse entertainment throughout the summer and winter.
Hungary also has many towns and cities steeped in history and has the architecture,literature,and music to prove it.
What has gone wrong? The answer to that question is: poor leadership, bad government, corruption, and an inability to implement the reforms in education, tax, bureaucracy,
etc that are so badly needed to bring the nation screaming into the twenty-first century!
BTW “Why is there not more opposition?” They’ve all gone abroad to find jobs!
MHL says:
January 26, 2012 at 1:25 pm
BTW “Why is there not more opposition?”
They’ve all gone abroad to find jobs!
—
Well, that is maybe not so bad analyses, given that the ones who move back to Hungary today are types like ‘leto’, for whom there is a cushioned place in Hungary with a company in close co-operation with the Hungarian State
As long we cannot build up an independent middle-class in Hungary, which gets their money on honest work and not public contracts, Hungary will be staying in the gutter
I think I have to try to sell off my house as a Party-office…
@MHL What has gone wrong? The answer to that question is: poor leadership, bad government, corruption, and an inability to implement the reforms in education, tax, bureaucracy,..
I think you forgot one very important things – failure to acceptance personal responsibility & hold people to account. If it were legal to clip someone on the ear every time you heard an excuse, 50% of the problems would disappear overnight. The effort which goes into making an excuse would be expended into finding a solution. Worked in the army!
“Worked in the army!”
How old are you, Curious?
Ninety Eight
Why?
Kidding on the age & ear clipping, but not on responsibility.
We did get clipped (to put it mildly) ONLY once in the army – during our first night infiltration exercise where we had to make it to a particular location. We were set up to fail by the terrain, and destined to be caught by the enemy (our instructors) at the only possible water crossing point. We got a first hand lesson on what an enemy could/would do to us if we were caught. We didn’t really have a choice, since our orders were not to attempt any other dangerous water crossings. The lesson was not so much training in military maneuvers, but to teach us taking responsibility for our actions, and not to make excuses. To get across, we had to break one order (ie either cross dangerously & be punished at the end, or be killed/caught at the only logical point where any enemy would ambush us, and be tortured). Either way, we learned that we have to take responsibility and face the consequences of our decisions & actions, and that excuses don’t make a difference. That’s a lesson which stays with us for life.
@98. And still young at heart! The following is a non sequitur for which I am famous. In other words: I supposed to be working but am indulging in trifles. Quite literally!
There are those that make their bed and lie in it uncomfortably and then attempt to build a bridge that will transport them from a miserable existence to Shangri-la but, halfway across they falter, stumble, and then, fall! Pity really.
The ice cream has gone again after only half a day. A one liter tub demolished in record time. Could you blame me? Super premium quality vanilla ice cream, drenched in a rich, rum and blackcurrant sauce, with Belgian chocolate scattered liberally on top! It’s gone. Along with my hopes of salvation!
Utopia, next time you’ll have to try the “Black Forest Ice Cream” – my wife always buys it when on special offer at Tesco …
It’s almost as good as the real thing in the Black forest where we are staying now, sitting in front of our fire place, drinking my Hungarian neighbour’s dry white wine (leto, do you read me ?) and indulging in Schwab specialties …
Who cares about Hungary’s problems when you got a German holiday home …
Wolfi.Certainly I wouldn’t like to know what you get up to in the Black Forest apart from reading Isaac Asimov books and poring over your rather large collection of \Mad\ comics and drooling over their value on the open market.
I will, however, take your advice and purchase for myself a large chunk of Black Forest gateau with lashings of ice cream. I just love the stuff. BTW. I drink beer mainly, brewed in Germany. The Brit stuff is 90% chemical and 10% E-agents!
Tesco. My goodness, still shopping there along with friend, Sophist?
My track record at Tesco: 2 toasters, both packed up in under two months of use, 2 heaters – both failed after less than 6 months, inner tube – didn’t work at all. Sunglasses well, I lost them so, must blame myself.
Auchan, Aldi, Lidl, all better quality and cheaper!
The Chinese tat/rubbish that is everywhere needs to carry a health warning. Surely the great leader can invest in some factories, train up a workforce and, produce some good quality goods. Or, am I dreaming?
Auchan is definitely not cheaper than Tesco; do you even live in Hungary?
Aldi and Lidl are cheaper, but they have plenty of crappy Chinese goods, too, along with a terrible selection. We like shopping at the local farmers’ markets and market-halls (not the “Big” market-hall, which is for tourists nowadays); support Hungarians!
SE, we not only shop at the market in Keszthely for fresh vegetables etc, we often buy produce directly from our neighbours in the village – we even take a lot of things to Germany for friends and family.
Ten days ago we had a little problem: we wanted to take 60 or 80 eggs to Germany and then two of our neighbours each offered us that number, so we had to ask everybody in our favourite Kneipe (kocsma) to take 10 or 20. That really wasn’t a problem because a friend of ours told everybody that those eggs from free range Hungarian hens are the best thing in the world …
And they are even cheaper than the stuff you get in Germany …
So in our little village near the Balaton we have a choice regarding healthy food, but for stuff like mineral water we prefer the big chains – because a bottle of Theodora costs much less than in the “Hungarian” chain CBA …
Even more OT:
We buy at Tesco only branded products when there’s something like “take 3, pay 2″ going – never those Chinese crappy things …
Although you have to admit that the Chinese can produce really good stuff – like the Apple portfolio …
You just have to pay them accordingly!
PS: The ice cream is of of course “Cote d’or” which is made my Mövenpick from Switzerland – not just any trash …
PS:
It’s really annoying -all my friends and acquaintances ask me what’s going wrong in Hungary – and I really can’t tell them/don’t know what I should tell them …
It’s a sad, sad story …