Washington Post Online, 10/2006.

Megosztás

LEAD: Upheaval in Hungary VÁMOS MIKLÓS, Berlin--Budapest.

Your humble chronicler is a keen Hungarian. At the same time, he is a keen novelist, and due to the coming out of his novels in German he was in Berlin, Germany, when his cell phone started to ring again and again. Many friends called from Hungary. They were asking my opinions about the events. Events??? - I just haven't the faintest idea what they were talking about. At the same time, also a few foreign friends called and asked if I intended to go home. Why shouldn't I??? Because there has been a revolution in Budapest, they said, and added that I should watch CNN or Euronews. When I did, the aired scenes looked exactly as the often used footage taken in the tempestuous days of the 1956 Revolution. The only difference was that the latter had been black and white, while these moving pictures are color.

What the hell is going on? I knew I have to write about the "upheaval." Nevertheless, I knew I have to go home first. I have to admit that my first sentiment was pride (and no prejudice). Nowadays, my tiny country shows up so rarely in the press and the TV news abroad! I was satisfied: we hit the spot this time from London to Rome.

Now I am in Budapest, and I reconstructed the story quite easily. As the inquiring newspaper readers even in the US may know, Mr. Ferenc Gyurcsány (whose name has been almost always misspelled), the Hungarian Prime Minister gave a desperate speech at a secret meeting of the leaders of his Socialist Party. He used four-letter-words. He admitted that during the previous four years (his party won the elections last year again) "we" did not do anything. The country is in a deep pit. "We" fucked it up - and he used the four-letter word. "I've have had enough of this fucking country up to here!" he said. He claimed now we should really start working on the serious problems of Hungary.

The meeting took place in May, and it was taped for the records as always. Suddenly, radio stations aired this audio tape. It looked, as if "the" Hungarian people was outraged because its Prime Minister lied. Thus, a "revolt" broke out. Thousands of people (the country has 10 million inhabitants) protested in front of the magnificent building of the Parliament. The first show up between the AVH and the freedom fighters - this is why some foreign journalists, especially the older ones, cry the R word. However, probably it is not just the same site that made them think of a revolution. A revolution sells more the papers and gains more audiences to the tube than a simple disturbance.

Later, not thousands, but hundreds of people attacked the headquarters of the state run television of Hungary (hm, that building is on the Freedom Square). They say that it happened because Ferenc Gyurcsány was thought to be in there giving an interview. Others say that the attackers wanted their manifesto to be read in the news hour. Anyway, office rooms, studios and equipment were destroyed, and also a few cars burnt in front of the building. Police units had to interfere. They hit a few protesters and took away some others. Last Friday, the biggest opposition party (FIDESZ) called for a gigantic rally against the lying Prime Minister and government. A few days later, that rally was canceled, as the party leaders claimed, because of fears of provocation and to avoid violence. Nevertheless, the rallies and protest actions on a lower scale continued.

Ferenc Gyurcsány, pale and nervous, said he won't bow out. In front of the Hungarian Parliament, the ardent protest actions became everyday spectacle. People behaved like angry soccer fans. Soon, buffets were set up, a band played, and the scene looked a bit like a national picnic by night.

As I said before, there's no revolution in Hungary whatsoever. But, we, Hungarians, who voted for or against this Prime Minister, could feel since the elections one and a half year ago that something wild would or could happen soon. The major party of the opposition could not swallow the defeat. Not even to the extent they could five years ago when the socialist defeated them first. Then, they also organized rallies and protest meetings on different squares, including the mentioned two. However, there were no burning cars and attacked buildings back then.

Frankly, I do not think Hungarians had ever a Prime Minister or other top politician who did not lie. This seems to be part of the business. I am not claiming that it is OK, I am just telling you it's not a surprise. Also, I do not think anybody believed that the pre-elections promises would be kept. Lying is morally unacceptable, but we shouldn't be hypocrite. All in all, I think that:

1. power hungry opposition forces would throw mud by all means now when we are before the municipal elections - we'll vote this Sunday. The losers of the parliamentary elections want to hit back this time by all means.

2. Ferenc Gyurcsány is young, good looking man, to top it all of, a millionaire. He is envied by many, and he must have massive enemies even in his own party. I bet that one of them sent the tape to the opposition or directly to the press.

3. In a democracy, the will of "the" people is obvious when you count the votes. Between elections no political group should try to call his partisans into the streets.

4. Ferenc Gyurcsány is the first Hungarian politician since the fall of the socialism who is upset because the problems are not solved, and because he and other politicians lied before the elections. I like that. His predecessors seemingly did not care. He said he did not want to lie anymore. And the angry right wing protesters wants him to bow out because he was a liar?! Right now, when he said the truth? I remember the pre-elections lies of the opposition too. They were big enough, but they only didn't get enough votes to win.

5. Last, but not least, this scandal will be totally forgotten in a matter of weeks both abroad and in Hungary. And then - hélas - I won't find another report about my tiny country in the foreign press for quite a long time.

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