Socialists & Democrats • The issue Hungary embodies for the EU from an inner perspective

The issue Hungary embodies for the EU from an inner perspective

As a Hungarian citizen and young social democrat activist I can say without any doubts, that the situation in Hungary nor the way the EU is handling int recently is good. I think I tell nothing new if I say, that the damage of the democratic state, the liberal rights or the independence of press is below critical level. It isn’t an exaggeration at all to say, that nowadays we live in an illiberal anti democratic country with a corrupt and power thirsty government, lead by a populist leader.

In the beginning of this post I feel it important to state, that we cannot identify the mindset of the Hungarian government with the mindset of the people of Hungary. They don’t approve the antidemocratic actions of the government. And this is the point when you could ask…”the why do you vote for them?” It is a fact that the party of Viktor Orbán (Fidesz) is in power for 8 years by now despite the fact, that three elections were held since then…The problem is, which is both the source of the weak performances and growth of the opposition parties and the people believing the lies of the government, that there are no more than a handful of independent media products in Hungary. Since most of the printed and broadcasted media products are owned by either the goverment or oligarchs close to the governing parties, most of the people among lower social classes can’t reach any source of independent media, they can only inform themselves from the government’s propaganda, which produces nothing but fake news. This way the government can manipulate dozens of people, and make it nearly impossible for the opposition to appear in any kind of media. Therefore, one of the few things the EU, or any aspiring state could do in favor of the Hungarian democracy and people, moreover for the whole EU is, to finance the remaining independent sources of media in Hungary to even the odds regarding the distribution of fake news and real news. This way the EU (or specifically any country which desires) could gain more influence in Hungary and would weaken the position of the government and also help the struggling opposition a great deal. Which takes me to the next point… The opposition in Hungary is fragmented and divided. (For now let’s just focus on the left wing parties) The major left wing party the so called Hungarian “Socialist” Party (MSZP) (Which is a member of S&D) is discredited and widely rejected because of it’s neoliberal governing and past scandals. The party lacks any kind of political innovation and is rejected by not only the majority of voters, but also by the left wing supporters. On the other hand the smaller left wing parties, which have trustworthy politicians and true left wing programs can’t break in to first line politics because of the lack of money and appearance in mainstream media. That is why, from my point of view the S&D Group should focus more on managing their members, helping them and in the times of need encourage them to learn from other members. In my opinion our parties would profit really much from sharing experiences with practices with successful fellow members of the S&D Group such as the Swedish Social Democratic Party or the Portugal Socialist Party. As I mentioned exchanging experiences and learning new practices would be really useful we can’t forget to mention that the S&D Group (or again any country which seeks to gain influence, or interested in having a west minded democratic Hungary) could also finance the innovative and promising but yet weak left wing parties of Hungary. Whereas forming opinion and criticizing the processes in Hungary is necessary, forming a unit and acting together as I proposed above would help to solve our common problem more easily, thus helping both our common cause in Europe as well as freeing Hungary from it’s current wannabe dictator.

6 months ago in What does Democracy mean to you?

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Balazs

Comments (2)

If it’s possible, could any administrator move this post to the Hungary debate? I intended to post it there, but unfortunately it turned out to be appearing here. I would be really grateful, thanks in advance.

6 months ago in What does Democracy mean to you?

Balazs

I wholeheartedly endorse everything that Balázs has said about Hungary. Many of us were aware of the danger Viktor Orbán posed to Hungary as far back as 2006, when he divided the nation into two categories of citizens – those who voted for him, and those who did not. Those who do not support him were, and are, considered non-Hungarians by the Fidesz government. This is not democratic. And recently, several reports on the endemic corruption within Viktor Orbán’s ruling Fidesz party have been submitted to the EU so it is now common knowledge that a large portion of the EU structural funds go directly into the private pockets of Orbán, his family and his friends. The EU, through ignorance, apathy and inefficiency has colluded in the creation of a Mafia state in its midst. It cannot talk about democracy, the cornerstone of which is the rule of law, while at the same time allowing unlawful, illegal theft and corruption. The EU has, in effect rewarded bad behaviour from one of its members. After the Europe Together Forum in Budapest last week, I suggested to Udo Bullman, MEP leader of the Socialist-Democrats, that in order to tackle the problem of misuse of funds, the EU should send an office of independent foreign auditors to Hungary, and all other capital cities within the EU, in order to monitor and control exactly how EU funds are used within each country. I was shocked to learn from Mr. Bullman that such an office already exists in Budapest. Where is this office, and who are the people who are paid huge EU salaries to ensure that our hospitals, our schools and our most needy segments of society within Hungary are being provided with the funds that EU taxpayers are paying into the coffers? It is common knowledge that moneys intended for the development of Hungay’s infrastructure go missing on a massive scale, and still the money keeps coming. Why? I was told that this auditors office in Budapest sends complaints about the misuse of funds back to Brussels, to another office and in that far away room, somewhere, nothing is done about the corruption. I would like to ask that the EU makes public where the office is in Budapest, and exactly who works there, and where the office is back in Brussels, and exactly who works there. It these people are not capable of doing their job properly, then it is time to stop beating around the bush, face facts and take action.

6 days, 4 hours ago in What does Democracy mean to you?

EU4change

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Other posts in What does Democracy mean to you?

Democracy is an ongoing process which can shift a facade or illiberal democracy, etc. to a real democracy and even to a liberal democracy. Democracy is a fair and free opportunity system. Anyone can transform to democracy. Democracy is a given in certain regions, while in others, it must be fought for and even earned. Democracy is the better way of life that when installed within a country contributes to fighting poverty, disease, the lack of education automatically. Democracy is not just having laws, but also knowing they will be there and they will work and they should be respected. Democracy is not just about casting a vote, it’s about choosing your future.

3 months, 2 weeks ago in What does Democracy mean to you?

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a.a.peycheva

The threat of new autoritarian goverments is real. We saw it with the elections in Brazil. Brazil chose to become a liberal (economy) and conservative (ideology) state. It happens because by the time the left was in the goverment there were corruption scandals that blinded all the social achievements made by the left for the people. I was born in Brazil. I see that the major concern of the people is about security and corruption, and the alt-right seizes this opportunity to impose privatizations ,less rights for workers using the conservatorism as a cover of verticality. They use the technique of the nazis , blame the left for all the bad that the world has. So how we can save our people of these mistakes? The only way is trough credibility. We need to remember history everyday. We need to show all the achievements that the left has made and still does for people’s lives and democracy. We need to show that the left of today is not the communism of the past. And we need young influencers to do this job. People are not very open to mainstream opinion makers anymore, they want the menssage from people they can relate with. This is why new movements grow so fast, because they are made with simple people. We need to start a battle using knowledge, history, our achievements and our proposals. And the new proposals must show why solidarity is good for economy, freedoom and happiness for all. And we can never forget about working people! Those people, the working class, are the most important at the moment. If we forget, then they will forget our legacy of fight for a better world .

5 months, 3 weeks ago in What does Democracy mean to you?

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Felipe Damasceno

Living in a democratic regime give us the opportunity of expressing ourselves without fearing persecution for doing it. Democracies should also have separation of powers, respect human rights and promote the active civic and political participation of all its citizens. In my country (Portugal), the memory of the Estado Novo dictatorship that lasted from 1933 until 1974 and the political arrests, poverty and war in Africa, that it brought still lives in many people’s minds. When in 1986, Portugal entered in European union the country entered a new era of development and progress and that is why here, democratic institutions are widely respected just like the European Union itself. Nowadays, democracy is consolidated in Portugal and the country is recovering well from the crisis and a hard Austerity program supported by the former right-wing government, however unfortunately that is not the case in other parts of Europe in which democracy is under threat, with anti-democratic and far-right forces rising up not just in Poland and Hungary, were they hold the government, but also in Germany, Austria, Italy or France. These forces are a threat to progress and European values because they don’t respect the rights of minorities and political opponents promoting a divided society in which people start distrusting or even hating each other for differences like gender, race or religion. This strategy may be pure demagogy but it is effective because their anti-establishment and anti-EU speech is shifting many working class people from left wing parties (socialists or social democrats) towards those right-wing populists or even far-right parties. That is why it is of paramount importance for S&D parties to regain the support of the working class in those countries because they are the key to keep the far-right out of the power and to ultimately save democracy in the EU.

5 months, 2 weeks ago in What does Democracy mean to you?

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Pedro M. Diogo

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