(Watching the) elections in Hungary

Reuters

Nepszabadsag: "Megcsináltuk! Belehúztunk!"

("We did it! We pulled in!", is I think the translation)



Supporters of the Socialist MSZP celebrating on Republic Square: YES, MSZP!

The campaign for the second round, tho for the incidental passer-by less everpresent than the one for the first round, was even more personalised - its certainly not for a lack of fierceness that Fidesz failed!

In Terezvaros, one side from my house, posters appeared that laid out a table comparing the Fidesz and MSzP candidates: on each of a list of items, where does the MSzP man stand, where the Fidesz guy?

I'd applaud the rare venture into actual programmatic comparison in this campaign, except of course that the contrasts were drawn rather, eh, starkly.

The bottom row showed two houses: the one in which the conservative Fidesz candidate lived - a be-graffitied apartment block - and the one in which the socialist candidate lived - a nice freestanding house that looked like it was in the Buda Hills.

The conservative blaming the socialist for living a too wealthy, elite life while he's residing downmarket with the people; a lot is topsy-turvy in this campaign/country! Then again, its the same campaign in which liberal and leftwing commenters criticized the conservative Fidesz for appealing to the 'little man's nostalgia for the days of Janos "Goulash communism' Kadar..

In the Erzsebetvaros district the other way from my house, Fidesz had brought the issue even more down to the nitty gritty. The poster simply showed the MSzP and the Fidesz candidate with the bold-fonted question: "Whose car would you step into?"

To me, they both looked pretty shifty, so I'm guessing I'm missing something about the Hungarian image-culture .. ;-)

Cartoon:

http://hvg.hu/image.aspx?id=530a6649-e82b-4e97-892f-1df39f5c6d53&view=75A5A267-9634-492F-B3BF-26535F8DB143

Above: "Stable voter bases"

Arrows on the left:
"Winner" (red block representing MSzP)
"Loser" (orange block representing Fidesz)

Arrow on the right:
"Other" ...

Another cartoon, from earlier in the campaign, when the heat of the elections nearing coincided with the Danube flooding:

http://hvg.hu/image.aspx?id=5a420f14-77ed-4833-a50b-3639fcbd5166&view=75A5A267-9634-492F-B3BF-26535F8DB143

Above: "Weekend flood"
Below: "More sandbags, more!"

;-)

Final make-up of new parliament:



---
Final number and percentage of seats in parliament ( percentage of votes!):



The (liberal) Free Democrats had announced that they would not enter a new government with the Socialists if those would get a majority of their own; they would only enter one if they'd actually be needed (and would thus have some actual leverage power, is the subtext). Well, they were lucky: the Socialists outdid expectations in the second rounds, but narrowly failed to get a majority by itself.

MORE RESULTS HERE: http://www.valasztas.hu/en/08/8_0.html

In both districts, the Socialist won, with 55% and 58% in today's run-off, respectively.

Of all of Budapest's 32 districts, Fidesz won only 4. In spite of its populist, anti-elitist 'little man' campaign, all three were actually won in upmarket Buda; the Castle Hill, the elite Rose Hill, the wealthy Buda Hills.

The other 28 districts were won by the ruling coalition of socialists and liberals, who had pooled their resources, strategically withdrawing their candidates in the districts where the other stood the better chance. The junior, liberal SzDSz thus got 2 seats, the socialist MSzP 26.

Map:

Country-wide map:



Red is for the socialist MSzP, orange for the conservative Fidesz; blue for the liberal SzDSz and pink for joint candidates of MSzP and SzDSz

An update..

What a hoot!!! The learned professor Nimh professes to know all about US elections and then comments on an election in a Socialist hell-hole called Hungary. That country is so poor that most of the people still have outdoor outhouses. When I visited there I found that their major export was Paprika.

It may be that their third world country status---$11,500 GDP Per Person is inextricably tied up with their lunatic Socialistic leanings. It may also be true that their scholars are still mired in the Communist Manifesto.

Bernard why do you keep doing this?

Well, you know... it's where I live. See to the left of this post, where it says: "Location".

Seems eminently sensible to me. Certainly better than indoor outhouses or even inhouse outdoors.

Well, thank you, Nimh.Now I know the root of your envy and dislike for the USA. You live in HUNGARY. Poor fellow.

A GDP of 109,483,000 for the whole country.

What a mess!!!! Do you get paid in Currency or with packages of Paprika.

I visited Hungary five years ago. I found that the people there were worse off than the US residents in the ghettos in the USA. The US residents in the USA who live in the ghettos all have automobiles, Color TV, Dvd's, and plenty of good nourishing food--But no Paprika!!!

Here is your problem as outlined by the Neoconservative and reformed liberal --Irving Kristol in his fine book--NEOCONSERVATISM

p. 98

quote--

"The Old Left accepted the idea of the common good as proposed by the bourgeoise-liberal society. The essential ingredients of this idea were material prosperity and technological progress. Bourgeoise liberalism insisted that individual liberty was a precondition of this common good but the Old Left insisted that centralized planning was a precondition BUT THAT INDIVIDUAL LIBERTY WOULD BE AN EVENTUAL CONSEQUENCE. The experience of the post World War II Decades has revealed that the Old Left simply could not compete with bourgeoise liberalism in this ideological debate. The result has been the emergence of a New Left which implicitly rejects both the bourgeoise liberal and the Old Left Idea of the common good, and which therefore rejects( again implicitly for the most part) the ideological suppositions of modernity itself. This movement,which seeks to end the sovereignty over our civilization of the common man, must begin by seeking the death of "economic man" BECAUSE IT IS IN THE MARKETPLACE THAT THIS SOVEREIGNTY IS MOST FIRMLY ESTABLISHED. It thinks of itself as a "progressive movement, whereas its import is regressive. This is one of the reasons why the New Left, every day and in every way, comes more and more to resemble the Old Right, which never did accept the liberal-bourgeoise revolutions of the 18th and 19th centuries"
end of quote

No one has said it better!!

Only 10 million inhabitants tho.


In Euros, actually - I'm lucky that way.

In Euros? Take my advice. Try to get a job teaching in the USA. You will be paid much better than you are. You might even earn enough to drive a nice car like the Lexus or the Jaguar. But, on the other hand, it might not be a good idea. The Universities are not hiring Socialists lately!!!

Life is about more than driving a nice car, Bernard.

This city is beautiful. I love walking down to work - being able to walk down to work, for one - and seeing this great, old city around me, in all its bustling layers of history and culture. Or on a free day, walking up the fortress hill or down the Danube embankment and enjoy the amazing views. The Hungarians are amazingly friendly, - at least those under 40 are - charming, and easy to talk to. My work is exactly in my line of interest and experience, it's interesting and for good causes, and the office culture is casual, informal and pleasantly free of careerist intrigue and office politics (at least in my corner of the building)

There's so much to do here - there's four good art house cinemas within walking distance, two cool pubs on my very square, concerts, festivals.. there's traditional coffeehouses with the most delicious cakes, and hip, alternative cafes with courtyard terraces.. now, if only they'd started selling some decent men's fashion, I'd be happy.

Are you talking about Budapest? I visited Budapest and can tell you that you are deluded. The entire city could be subsumed in one of the sections of New York.

There is no culture in Hungary when compared to New York. One block in New York has more cultural offerings than the entire papripka nation.

The whole moth eaten city cannot compare with the ocean views in New York.

Have you ever been to the USA? I think not. Like most Europeans on the left, you really don't know a great deal about the USA.

A clue-Mr. Nimh--Communism is dead--Socialism is dying--even the Chinese are becoming entrepreneurs.

Wake up!!!!

Yes, I'm talking about Budapest. I actually live there.

How long were you in Budapest? What did you see? What did you most like, and what did you least like?


Yes, I've been in the USA, though only on holidays - crossing the country for about a month, with my father, who had lived there for a year way back when.

We started out in Detroit, because my father had lived near there, but from there we flew to New York, which was of course overwhelmingly vibrant, huge, bustling and energetic, an unparallable beehive of a city, with everything you can think of in plentiful abundance. It also - at the time - featured the most shocking poverty and rampant homelessness I'd yet seen, though (but then it was my first trip outside of Europe).

We went to Washington DC, the beautiful parks and monuments, pleasant Georgetown, the gritty city around; and to New Orleans, its charming French Quarter, the old large-porched houses lining up to the city park, the majestuous Mississippi river, and the neighbourhood between city and youth hostel we accidentally strayed in, where a police car caught up with us and admonished us to stay in the middle of the road, not look at anyone and get the hell out of there ASAP.

We went to El Paso, a beautiful train ride from New Orleans, the landscape an intimidatingly sparse, dry beauty, crossed the border into Ciudad Juarez, and stayed for a while in New Mexico. Santa Fe, Taos. I really liked New Mexico; again the barren but imposing landscape, the two cities cute enclaves amidst it.

Then we travelled up to Denver, which again was gritty (since we relied on YMCAs and youth hostels we got to see a fair share of less fortunate neighbourhoods) and into the Rockies to a resort in the middle of mountains that made the Alps fade in comparison, and where we were heartily welcomed by our hosts, an older American couple and their family. The couple itself represented a monumental slice of US history, having lived a long and very eventful life - people to admire - and by ways of distraction, their family took us out to a C&W feast, where I remember my "punk" belt turned out to fit perfectly ;-).

Another long train ride from Denver to LA offered the most splendid views yet, a caleidoscope of desert and mountain colours and extremes - a train ride I will definitely do once more in this life; and in LA we were welcomed by distant family (many Dutch made their way to the US back in the late 40s / 50s) until we flew back home.

All in all, a great place to visit, but truthfully, I wouldnt want to live there. I might survive Boston or San Francisco, and, like everyone, I would of course love to spend half a year in New York, but .. to settle down in, I think I prefer Europe by far.

Perhaps if I ever get old, somewhat cranky and slightly melancholic, I will settle down in a Rust Belt town near Amish countryside and write a book... yeah, right.

He, I liked New Mexico and the Rockies of New Mexico/Colorado very much as well! (And Chicago.)

Budapest is really fascinating - but very different to the above.