Amerikai Magyar Hírlap, 2017 (29. évfolyam, 1-50. szám)
2017-01-13 / 2. szám
AMERICAN Hungarian Journat Anatomy of Europe’s democracy change Hungary and Poland, once committed to liberal European values, have turned inward and embraced nationalism. Will France follow them? ‘The era of multiculturalism is over ...” This was the proud declaration of Viktor Orbán, the prime minister of Hungary, back in the summer of 2015. One year later, Theresa May, the new British prime minister, took it one step further: “If you believe you are a citizen of the world, you’re a citizen of nowhere.” After the victory of Brexit or, even better, Donald Trump’s election in the US, can we now point to Orban’s Hungary as the opening act of a “cultural counterrevolution” that seems to be taking over the democratic world? Can we still, in Europe, speak of an East-West values divide that is comparable to the North-South economic divide? Did Hungary and Jaroslaw Kaczynski’s Poland, aside from their significant differences, simply initiate what was an inevitable populist cycle? What yesterday seemed marginal and almost of secondary importance can now be perceived as the ultimate warning, or at the very least a premonition of what tomorrow has in store. It is important to analyse the causes of populism in central Europe to understand what could next happen in France, for example, if Marine Le Pen’s National Front comes to power in 2017. If you look at the annals of history, it is ironic to note that during the entire Cold War, central and Eastern Europe — Milan Kundera’s “kidnapped Europe” — dreamed of being included in a Europe they upheld as a symbol of freedom and prosperity. Now, 27 years after the fall of the Berlin Wall, this cycle of liberalism may be ending before our eyes. Europe is no longer the stuff of dreams, as the British referendum showed in a spectacular way. Liberal democracy is in crisis — on both sides of the Atlantic. The market economy is the victim of the brutal rise of inequalities. The Hungarians and Poles wanted Europe, democracy and capitalism. And they got them. But this “trinity” is no longer synonymous with success. Instead, it has become burdened with contradictions that literally exploded when the influx of refugees, real or imagined, accelerated isolationist movements in these countries. Moved by the politics of anger, those disappointed with Europe, democracy and capitalism identified with central Europe’s populist leaders. How else can one explain this “democratic recession”, as the late Hungarian writer István Bibo described it? Democracy is in danger, he said, “when the cause of the Nation seems threatened by the cause of Liberty”. Years ago, the Hungarian nation was under threat from the Ottomans. Now, the menace is the EU’s “open-border policy”. In any case, that’s how Hungary’s prime minister puts it. Can we go as far as saying, as some think, that central Europe is giving Jean-Jacques Rousseau his revenge over fellow French philosopher Montesquieu? Orbán highlights the “general will of the people” in opposition to the “rule of law”, the principle dear to Montesquieu, author of The Spirit of the Laws. Armed with a Rousseauist vision of democracy, Orbán attacks the media’s independence and the neutrality of public administration. The migrant crisis encourages ethnic nationalism, which becomes the main source for democratic legitimacy. After all, doesn’t Hungary defend a certain idea of the European identity, one that is threatened by open borders? Another ironic aspect of history resides in the fact that the current Hungarian and Polish vision isn’t far off from the concept of “Kulturnation” that is at the heart of German identity. And yet it’s Germany that now sets the example of openness, while its neighbours from central and Eastern Europe are the vanguard of ethnic nationalism. Looking beyond values, there is an intrinsic contradiction between the willingness of Hungary and Poland to distance themselves from the EU and their economic dependence on Brussels. There is, more importantly, a contradiction in terms of foreign and security policy. It is one thing to confront Europe — Germany and France in particular — and to denounce the former’s policy of welcoming refugees and the arms deals signed with the latter. But it is another thing to define a coherent policy against Vladimir Putin’s Russia. Can you really reject the “values” of the EU when you most need the EU? For all their talk, the leaders in Budapest or Warsaw alone won’t protect their countries from Moscow’s ever greater ambitions. There was a time when Poland was delighted to be seen as a member of a potential “club of six” inside the EU, alongside Germany, France, Britain, Spain and Italy. At the time, the Weimar triangle (Germany, France, Poland) was perceived by the Poles themselves as the symbol of their new status as one of Europe’s great nations. But by choosing the path of identify over immigration, Poland provoked its own isolation and marginalisation — against the will of almost half of its population. Are we witnessing just a sad “provincial” parenthesis in central Europe? Or will western Europe — beginning with France — join it on the way to democratic recession? Sometimes we see something as “lagging behind” when, in reality, it’s “ahead of its time”. By Dominique Moisi. Dominique Moisi is senior counsellor at Institut Montaigne in Paris. gulfnews.com Government Official Hails Wage Increases And Envisions Thriving Middle Class In Hungary Wage increases will help strengthen the middle class and Hungary’s economy as a whole in the long term, state secretary Csaba Dömötör said. The economy has been on a path of growth for several years and projections show that the growth rate could reach 4% taking into account European Union tenders, he told public news channel Ml. This is a guarantee for the government’s wage increase and tax cut scheme to continue, he added. Dömötör cited the cut in the corporate tax rate to 9% and the reduction in employer contributions by 5 percentage points as examples of the government’s 2017 efforts to boost the economy. As a result, companies will find it easier to generate funds for paying higher wages, he added. The VAT on internet services has dropped from 27% to 18% and the VAT on some basic food stuffs, including milk, poultry and eggs, has dropped to 5%, he noted. In response to Dömötör’s remarks, green opposition LMP said the middle class in Hungary was shrinking and masses of people were falling into poverty. Group leader Erzsébet Schmuck accused the government of neglecting large groups of society that represent the nation. When the Fidesz-Christian Democrats entered government, they decided to establish their “own national bourgeoisie”, an economic elite, and they channelled some considerable income from lower layers of society to these groups. The introduction of the single-rate personal income tax regime put 500 billion forints (EUR l.6bn) into the pockets of the top 10% while withdrawing hundreds of billions from low earners and blocking pensioners from the benefits of economic growth, she said. The Socialist Party (MSZP) accused the government of “deceiving” consumers saying that the drop in the VAT rate of basic food stuffs would only reduce prices “for a few weeks”, after which they would go up again. The party said income poverty had risen by 50% since the Fidesz party took power in 2010, adding that Hungary had become the second poorest country in Europe during this time. The party vowed to introduce a net minimum wage of at least 100,000 forints, reinstate the earlier pension scheme and reduce payroll taxes if it came into power. It also pledged to cut utility prices and the VAT rate of basic food stuffs, hungarytoday.hu Budapest: a melting pot of cultures BEING in the centre of Europe brings its problems. You are the meat in the sandwich. Not only are you at the crossroads of trade routes, you are in the centre of wars and religious upheaval. That is Hungary’s situation today, just as it has been for centuries. It has been both victor and vanquished, all the time trying to cast its national identity. Now it finds itself at the frontline of another invasion, this time from thousands of refugees as they flee the Middle East, western Asia and Africa. They are looking for a new life in Europe, coming ashore after perilous boat journeys to Greece and neighbouring Mediterranean countries. Then it is a matter of making their way towards Germany, France, the UK and Scandinavian countries such as Denmark and Sweden. Hungary just happens to be in the way. Approaching immigration at the airport was quite intimidating, knowing how hard it was for so many Hungarians to escape the harsh conditions during Soviet rule. The passport control was at first glance a throw-back to those times. Secure, authoritative ... immigration officers standing in booths behind bullet-proof glass. Yet the welcome could not have been more professional. Passport stamped, luggage collected. Getting into the city is relatively easy, bearing in mind you are in a country whose language is like no other. Not French, not German, not Latin, not Turkish. The building of the Chain Bridge in 1849 did more than joining two cities geographically, it joined them politically. The suspension bridge, like the underground railway and even Hungary’s Parliament House, were inspired by what the civic leaders had seen in London. When built, the bridge at 202 metres long was then among the largest in the world. The underground was second only to London in its inception in Europe. Budapest is quite compact and easy to get around but road traffic can be quite heavy in the city centre. So don’t be afraid to explore on foot, on bicycle or public transport, either independently or as part of a guided tour. Parliament house has a tremendous facade to the river ... cathedrallike as opposed to London’s castle-like Westminster Parliament. Some people do understand English ... but few of them are bus, tram or train drivers. You can get cheap public transport but it involves understanding the ticketing, which involves validating the ticket at the start of the journey. There are transit shuttle buses and those arranged by hotels. Then there are taxis. Don’t under-estimate them as there are ticketed cabs arranged by a central booth at the airport that will take you to your destination at an agreed price. And there is the Budapest Card that provides visitors access to a set of services free of charge or at a reduced price, including the public transport system, entry to museums and the thermal baths. As a word of warning, the euro is not the preferred unit of currency here, even though it is a European Union member. Instead, there is the Hungarian forint. Arrive with some in your pocket to get you into the city. Budapest is a city of domes and spires, bridges and ballrooms, goulash and beer. A melting pot of cultures. A country that sits at the crossroads of Europe and central Asia. Tom this way and that, with a fiery past and uncertain future. Battered and bruised by the past yet determined to rebuild as a vibrant country that is very much a part of Europe. As you drive through the outskirts of the city the communist era is still reflected in old buildings. Yet a pride is returning to Hungary despite financial constraints. Beautiful historic buildings are being restored - sandblasted to bring them back to their former magnificence. There are main thoroughfares but the side streets are narrow, cobbled, making it easier to walk around the inner city or catch public transport. There are so many themes running through Budapest ... grand buildings and narrow shopfronts, gypsies and street people, labourers and entrepreneurs, hustlers and city chic, by Erie Levey thechronicle.com.au Január 13,2017 0
