July 5th, 2012

Socialists brand gov’t policy on disabled “Mengele plan”

By

The Hungarian government’s plan to draw up a map of disabled people in the country with a view to returning 200,000 of them to the workforce resembles Nazi methods, an opposition Socialist politician told a news conference on Wednesday, branding the scheme as a “Mengele plan”.

Lajos Korozs, a member of the party’s board, likened the plan to conditions in the death camp Auschwitz, where “people without limbs were classed as suitable for work with a flick of the fingers”.

He said that the government’s Szell Kalman Plan for restructuring the economy targeted savings of 217 billion forints (EUR 76m) by returning hundreds of thousands of disabled people to the labour market. He claimed that dozens of disabled people or people with reduced abilities, who had been investigated by the state for their fitness to work, had been driven to suicide.

The party called on the government to apologise to people with reduced abilities and restore the system of disabled pensions which was scrapped from January this year.

Spokeswoman of the ruling Fidesz party Gabriella Selmeczi said Korozs had deeply offended Holocaust victims with his comparison, adding that the Socialist politician “had probably suffered from heat stroke” when he made the comments.

MTI (Magyar Távirati Iroda) is the Hungarian news agency.
Topics
Share
  • Vidra

    Fidesz have got a good point. A lot of those 200 000 “incapacitated” are people who would, in other countries, be included among the unemployed but successive governments refused to do this as it would make the jobless figures look even worse – especially among the over 50s.

    Other countries might embark on a programme of adult education to encourage the long term unemployed/ incapacitated to learn new skills and regain self-esteem but Good Friday will fall on a Wednesday before Orbán thinks improving the knowledge and skills of those beyond university age is a worthwhile area (morally and financially) for state funding.

    “Mengele Plan” is typical MSZP headline-grabbing b-s but I’d be very pleased to learn how exactly Fidesz imagines it will achieved the goals, other than by “finding a way that leads into the future”

  • Leto. مؤدّب

    Vow! “Mengele plan”… How MSZP-esque that is!

    This graph shows the percentage of the disabled, aged between 20 and 65, in various OECD countries:

    -http://outside.mfor.hu/mfor/images/rokkantnyugdijasok_szama_oecd_2011_02_25_600.jpg

    Let’s note the figures for comparable countries like Slovakia (Szlovákia), Poland (Lengyelország) or the Czech Republic (Csehország).

    • mahaszmacoat

      Thank you very much for those figures. Double the OECD average. If, as I suspect, these figures are artificially inflated by the issue of disabled parking badges to which there is no entitlement then this is nothing short of a national scandal. Not only must it have huge economic costs which others must bear the burden of but the moral issues involved are far reaching as well. I find it hard to credit that a fit and active person who is fortunate enough to have full use of body and mind can stoop to such a low level as to “pretend” to have a disability simply in order to park a car. What a world we live in.

  • mahaszmacoat

    A lot of those “incapacitated” in the official figures I would hazard a guess are anything but. In my street, for example, sometimes 4 out of every ten cars has a blue disabled parking badge, display of which means that you can park anywhere without payment. It would be interesting to know whether, if by applying for a blue badge, you are included in the official figures that would calculate the amount of disabled people in Hungary.

    • Leto. مؤدّب

      The goal of reducing the number of the disabled by 200,000 is moderate. Realistically it should be reduced by 400,000.
      MSZP obviously is scraping for the votes of the cheaters.

  • Cnut

    This is a disabled and handicapped government, and I’m sure their implementation of the policy will be corrupt, brutal and reckless, but I agree with their assessment of the situation and the goal.

    • Leto. مؤدّب

      “This is a disabled and handicapped government”

      I’d rather say you’re mentally disabled and handicapped.

      • Cnut

        You’re witty today, Leto.

        So, what’s the end plan here anyway? They take them off the disabled pension, and then put them on the unemployment welfare, and then try to make them work in work camps for our Chinese friends and investors?

        • Leto. مؤدّب

          The work camps sound like a good idea.

  • Nod

    I am familar with a number of people in Hungary who receive disability pensions and are not incapacitated from working. In fact, many of them work on the side anyhow in part-time jobs, sometimes black, sometimes legally up to certain allowed limits.

    I believe there are historical reasons for all of this, right or not.

    Having said all that, these people barely make ends meet, their pensions alone are not enough to live on and that is why they have part-time work.

    Returning these people to the full-time workforce isn’t going to work, because they have been out of it for so long. They are even going to go below the breadline, which creates other costs for society and the state directly or indirectly.

  • Leto. مؤدّب

    The doctors doing the revision demand an apology from MSZP.

    The otherwise so noisy J*wish groups have been silent…
    Using a common Hungarian saying: they are silent like turd in the grass.

    • Leto. مؤدّب

      Gee… I cannot believe this… finally Mazsihisz (Alliance of Hungarian J*wish Faith Communes) also demands an apology from MSZP.

      -http://www.mazsihisz.hu/2012/07/05/-mint-auschwitzban-a-rampan%E2%80%A6–%E2%80%93-mesterhazy-attila-hatarolodjon-el-korozs-lajos-kijelentesetol-5302.html

      • Leto. مؤدّب

        OMG, how tough this letter is towards MSZP… :D

        “the commitment of the Hungarian Socialist Party and its leaders against anti-Semitism and all forms of racism is well known to us and we highly appreciate your courageous stance… however.. please make sure this statement* does not reflect the official standpoint of MSZP”

        Mr. Kórozs, a member of the party’s board, unmistakably spoke in the name of MSZP on yesterday’s press conference.

  • Focus on the bigger picture

    Bringing back a more moral and disciplined society has costs on multiple levels.
    Returning people to full time work – always works.
    It takes them away from loitering days on in, helps them back on a path of self esteem and the quest to see beyond just the immediate. It then makes productive people that want to contribute to the state that their grandchildren will live in.
    Yes, rebuilding sound fundamentals.

    • Ma Jar

      Job creation is most urgently needed in many parts of Hungary. In some smaller cities it is almost impossible to find a job and people leave for other areas and other countries. Sure, people loiter and feel worthless and depressed because others have jobs, some money and independence while the perenially unemployed have nothing.

      • Leto. مؤدّب

        Indeed. The recently announced measures should help a bit.
        However I don’t think big scale job creation is possible until Hungary gets rid of Mr. Simor and his cohorts. Unfortunately that’ll be next sprint only.

        • Leto. مؤدّب

          sprint -> spring
          :D

  • Big Fish

    Mengele? He learned all from the masters of eugenics in 1920′s: UK, US, Canada.

  • Chris Szabo

    Mazsihisz has condemned this statement. Peter Feldmájer and Gusztáv Zoltai has called on Attila Meserházy to distance himself from this statement. Good!

    • Leto. مؤدّب

      What a condemnation that is… :D
      I quoted from their hilarious, sycophantic letter… but my post hasn’t shown up.

More content from Hungary's leading foreign-language media network
About Politics.hu | Become an All Hungary Member | Newsletters | Contact Us | Advertise With Us
All content © 2004-2013 The All Hungary Media Group. Articles, comments and other information on the All Hungary Media Group's network of sites are provided "as is" without guarantees, warranties, or representations of any kind, and the opinions and views expressed in such articles and columns are not necessarily those of the All Hungary Media Group.