The BudapesT Times The BudapesT Times

Volume 12, Nr. 41 Budapest, 10 October – 16 October 2014 www.bzt.hu HUF 750
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The Budapest Times
Und­erstanding Hungary
Navracsics’s past
catches up with him
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The Budapest Times
Editorial
Just another weird week in the life of MSZP
It’s like the Hungarian Socialist
Party is trying to kill itself off with
its local elections campaign. A lot
was said about Ferenc Falus – who
was supposed to be their “saviour
candidate” – and about the Socialists’ jumbled endorsement messages for Lajos Bokros after Falus
finally stepped down (it turns out
he would most likely have beaten
Bokros, by the way). At that point
– a couple of weeks ago – one could have thought that that would be it, but MSZP then somehow managed to
ridicule itself once again. This week they released a couple of videos that probably even have experienced campaign managers scratching their heads. One is about the future, where there is a Viktor Orbán Nuclear Power Plant,
a Zsolt Semjén horse statue and a Pál Schmitt Museum. Apparently the last chance to avoid this fate is by voting
for MSZP this Sunday. I doubt that there are many people who believe that but it could mobilise a few thousand
voters. Which is exactly a few thousand more than the number of people running to the polls upon seeing the
second message will be. This video shows a series called Hungarian Folktales and it includes a quote from poet
Sándor Petőfi and MSZP chief József Tóbiás. The problem is that the typeface of Hungarian Folktales is practically
illegible, especially with longer texts. Perhaps, it’s for the better, as the message – about power, words and truths
within words – does not make much sense. According to Tóbiás, 13 October will mark the beginning of a new era
for MSZP. That’s if the party still exists after the whopping it is about to receive. Attila Leitner
Democracy
and welfare
News
4 | The Brief History of the Week – The headlines of the past seven days
Politics
8 | Navracsics on knife edge as past catches up with him
10 | “Democracy and welfare” – Interview with Lajos Bokros, MOMA presi-
After withdrawals from the Budapest
mayoral election. the conservative
Lajos Bokros is suddenly the great
hope of the left parties. We asked
the former minister of finance about
this paradoxical situation and his
strong will to oppose the Orbán
10 system in the capital.
dent and Budapest mayoral candidate
15 | Saviour or chain around city’s neck? – Budapest Mayor István Tarlós, backed
by Fidesz, is sitting pretty for re-election this Sunday
18 | Half a lifetime admiring Viktor Orbán – Portrait of new Minister of
Foreign Affairs and Trade Péter Szijjártó
20 | The current left side will never win over Viktor Orbán – Prime minister’s
political method proves great
21 | Winter means death on streets again – “Seven percent of Hungarian society
has a friend or a family member who is (homeless).”
Business/Economy
22 | Life will still be more expensive – Reduction of utility costs and the full
picture
Budapest
24 | Nature fights back amid concrete jungle
26 | Legacy of Arad Martyrs passed on to today – Remembering the 1848-49
revolution
29 | There’s no recipe for tastiness – Review: Cake Shop Budapest, District V
33 | What lies beneath – Into the unknown on wings of imagination
There’s no recipe for tastiness
Pastel colours, cakes and
soft piano music – even
being an atheist I felt like I
was in heaven. Cake Shop
Budapest brings this place
alive and offers dozens
of sweet and savoury
treats along with workshops, where people can
learn how to prepare the
heavenly “cakes” at home.
Fanni Sallay, the proprietor, tells how her hobby
became her profession
and reveals the golden 29
rules of baking.
10 October 2014 | Nr. 41
3
The Budapest Times
Photos: MTI
Politik
4
10 October 2014 | Nr. 41
The Budapest Times
If
you missed it
The news that made headlines
The Brief History of the Week
The Budapest Times is unrivalled among English-language print publications in the capital for its coverage
of the week’s most important national stories, whether they be economic, political, cultural, sporting or
among the hundreds of other happenings that go on daily in a major European city. Here, in one concise
package, we present some of the important and fascinating news developments of the past seven days.
Early glimpse of Táncsics Prison
The former Táncsics Prison, which
held writer and politician Mihály
Táncsics, one of the heroes of the 1848
Hungarian Revolution, opened to the
public for two days this week after
more than six decades. The compound
in Buda Castle was returned by the
United States, which owned it since
1948, in June. Táncsics was imprisoned for his radical political views
in 1846 and freed on 15 March 1848,
the day the revolution broke out. Lajos Kossuth, the regent-president of
Hungary in 1849, was also imprisoned
in the compound in 1837-40. Other
statesmen and politicians jailed there
included Miklós Wesselényi in 183940 and Lajos Batthyány from 1849
until his execution. Táncsics Prison is
planned to be opened to the public in
the near future.
Mediaworks arrives with a bang
Austria’s Vienna Capital Partners
has set up one of Hungary’s largest
media companies under the name of
Mediaworks Hungary. The move follows approval from the Hungarian
Competition Office and involved buying most parts of the portfolios the
international media companies Ringier and Axel Springer had operated in
Hungary. The Mediaworks chief executive is Attila Mihók, previously president-CEO of the daily Népszabadság,
and the board comprises former top
managers of Ringier and the regional
management of Axel Springer in Hungary. Mediaworks Hungary’s portfolio
includes 12 companies, employs 700
people and puts out 63 media products with 1.8 million readers and 1.6
online visitors, Mihók said. Included
are Hungary’s largest daily Népszabadság, business daily Világgazdaság
and Manager Magazin, plus eight regional dailies, sports daily Nemzeti
Sport and several youth, women’s and
gastronomy magazines. Mediaworks
operates Hungary’s most modern
printing house that publishes 600,000
copies of papers a day.
Hungary flies
to defence of Slovenia
Hungary’s Gripen fighters started
defending Slovenian airspace on Saturday, in line with an agreement signed
by the two countries’ defence ministers
in January. The Defence Ministry said
the Gripens are sharing the task with
their Italian counterparts. When Slovenia joined NATO in 2004 it opted to
guarantee the security of its airspace in
cooperation with its allies rather than
buying fighters. Hungary, with its fleet
of fourth-generation aircraft, agreed to
participate.
Government centralised
PR office starts up
The new National Communication
Office has started to carry out communications-related procurement for
a wide spectrum of state institutions.
It takes over the public procurement
tasks related to marketing, public relations, research and communication
activities from central budget-funded
institutions, such as ministries and
directly or indirectly majority stateowned companies, according to a decree. The National Communication
Office will not be responsible for the
PR of independently run state administrative or institutions bodies such as
10 October 2014 | Nr. 41
è
5
Photos: Olivier Despicht / Euroskills.org
The Budapest Times
the central bank or regulators. It will
be run under the authority of the cabinet office.
around the country and in neighbouring regions last year. It trains about 2,000 mothers a year in seminars and at conferences.
EuroSkills medals ‘proof of success’
Donations query
on red sludge anniversary
Hungary has won 20 medals at EuroSkills, the largest European skills
competition, in Lille, France. Hungarian skilled workers won gold in joinery,
information and communication technology, surface cleaning and cleaning
services, and silver in mechatronics and
woodcraft technology. Overall, Hungary finished sixth in the 25-nation field.
Sándor Czomba, state secretary for vocational training and the labour market, said the achievements demonstrate
that the country’s vocational training
system tailored to market needs is successful, and that Hungarians belong
to the European elite in several crafts.
Pictured is a Hungarian surface cleaning competitor and a Dutch entrant in
the wall and floor tiling event.
The government and opposition have
marked the 4th anniversary of the red
sludge disaster, with deputy Socialist leader Zoltán Gőgös saying that still no proper
account has been given to the many people
countrywide who donated HUF 2 billion on
how exactly the money was spent. On 4 October 2010 about a million cubic metres of
If
you missed it
toxic sludge spilled from the Ajka alumina
plant reservoir, flooding Kolontár, Devecser and Somlóvásárhely villages. It killed
ten people, injured over 200, destroyed 358
homes, wiped out all life in two small rivers
and polluted over 1,000 hectares. Many of
those who came in contact with the highly
alkaline substance suffered severe burns
and 120 people were hospitalised. Over
700 people suffered material damage and
HUF 35 billion was spent from the central
budget on compensation and reconstruction. A government spokeswoman said on
Saturday it was Hungary’s worst ecological
disaster caused by industrial activity.
Bubi bikes catch on,
come rain or shine
Budapest’s public bike-sharing system has registered its 100,000th user,
Budapest Transport Centre (BKK) says.
The MOL Bubi system was launched on
8 September, since when 4,000 people
have bought weekly or monthly passes
and thousands have had a one-off rental.
Rentals often exceed 5,000 a day in nice
weather and there are over 3,000 users
even on a rainy day, BKK said.
Prize for
business-with-nappies scheme
Hungary’s Gazdagmami.hu, which encourages business start-ups by mothers
with young children, has won the grand
jury prize in this year’s European Enterprise Promotion Awards, the European
Commission said. Gazdagmami.hu – which
means “rich mommy” in Hungarian –
helps mothers acquire the entrepreneurial
skills and mind-set to start a business and
make it profitable, the Commission said.
The Ministry for National Economy said
Gazdagmami.hu had organised presentations for young mothers in 64 communities
10 October 2014 | Nr. 41
7
Politics
The Budapest Times
Navracsics will
most likely get
a reduced portfolio
8
10 October 2014 | Nr. 41
The Budapest Times
Politics
Navracsics on knife edge
as past catches up with him
A European parliamentary committee has found Tibor Navracsics suitable for commissioner but denied its
support for giving the Hungarian candidate the portfolio of culture, education, youth and EU citizenship.
C
saba Molnár, MEP of the opposition Democratic Coalition, told
reporters that the culture and
education committee first decided that
Navracsics was suitable for commissioner by 15-10 votes with two abstentions. A second vote to decide whether
he should be given the proposed portfolio went against Navracsics 14-12 votes
with one abstention, Molnár said.
Andrea Bocskor, MEP of Hungary’s
ruling Fidesz party and member of the
culture and education committee, said
it would be up to incoming European
Commission President Jean-Claude
Juncker if Navracsics should be given a reduced portfolio or a completely different one. Bocskor said much of
the criticism Navracsics had received
at the hearing had been of a political
nature, rather than concerning his
professional experience. Those voting
against the candidate mostly questioned his commitment to European
values or said that his political background was not acceptable for a commissioner, Bocskor said.
MEPs of the ruling Fidesz and Christian Democratic parties said Navracsics’s hearing in the European Parliament had been an “especially great
success” in light of the “political and
ideological attacks of recent weeks”.
Their statement said: “In effect, nobody could question his experience.
The leftist majority of the committee,
however, proposed that the content of
his portfolio should be changed, as it is
expected in the case of other commissioners, too.”
Hungarian Socialist MEP Tibor Szanyi said it would not be easy for Juncker to find another portfolio for Navracsics, because in most cases the hearings
have been held and the majority of candidates have won support. Sources in
Brussels told Hungarian state news
agency MTI that Navracsics’s portfolio could be stripped of EU citizenship
affairs, which could then go to Frans
Timmermans, incoming vice-president
of the Commission.
Opposition E-PM said the European parliamentary committee’s rejection of Navracsics for the portfolio is
a warning to the government that its
policies run contrary to European values. E-PM’s Nóra Hajdú called on the
government to “return to the European path” and nominate a “worthy and
suitable” candidate.
Radical nationalist party Jobbik
called it “hypocrisy” that Navracsics
had “tried to distance himself from the
government” during his hearing when
he had been a member of the government until just recently.
Juncker is not planning to redistribute portfolios in the new Commission
in light of the committee’s assessment
of answers given by Navracsics to six
questions put by its members, the president’s spokesperson said. Natasha
Bertaud said Juncker welcomed that
“some barriers have been removed”,
such as the committee’s support for
Navracsics as a commissioner.
During his hearing Navracsics said
he was committed to the freedom of
opinions, in response to Danish conservative MEP Rikke Karlsson’s criticism that he had been a member of
the Hungarian government when it
approved its controversial media laws.
Navracsics noted that he was a negotiator with the Council of Europe and
the European Commission, helping
to smooth out disputed issues, which
were resolved and Hungary amended
the law where necessary.
He pledged that he would not be influenced by party lines in seeking cooperation during his mission. He said
he believed in the basic principles enshrined in the EU’s treaty and vowed
to be independent as a commissioner.
Szépvölgyi Tennis Centre
Whether in rain or shine – at our centre you can play in dry conditions throughout the year
High-quality clay courts in a beautiful environment.
(On rainy days you can make use of our hall with
artificial courts). Qualified trainers are on hand
to give lessons to children and adults.
10 October 2014 | Nr. 41
9
P Po ol ilti itki c s
The Budapest Times
Interview with Lajos Bokros, MOMA president and Budapest mayoral candidate
“Democracy and welfare”
After a couple of withdrawals by candidates from the Budapest mayoral election this Sunday,
the conservative Lajos Bokros is suddenly the great hope of the left parties. We asked the former
minister of finance about this paradoxical situation and his strong will
to oppose the Orbán system in the capital.
„„
What is your party actually like?
The Modern Magyarország Mozgalom
(Movement for a Modern Hungary, MOMA)
was founded half a year ago. We define it as
a middle-right party, which is conservative,
free and loyal to Europe and to the nation.
10
10 October 2014 | Nr. 41
This is the exact definition of a party in the
Western European set of norms. This is
very important because in the Hungarian
politics the terms “left“ and “right“ have a
completely different meaning than in Germany or Great Britain. I have been sitting
in the fraction of European Conservatives
and Reformists in the European Parliament for five years, along with the British Conservative Party. According to the
traditions of this
party and the
Christian Democratic Union, we
define ourselves
as a conservative party, which
means in terms of
economy that we
are unconditional
supporters of the
market economy,
the free competition, the freedom
of entrepreneurs
and free trade. We
welcome foreign
investors and we
do not think that
the state needs to
create workplaces. We also do not
believe that the
state is responsible for funding the
welfare; instead
we say that the
individual
common trade activity of the free citizens is the basis
for the economic
development and
democracy. This
is in strict contradiction with all the
ideas of Fidesz, who are representing the
illiberal democracy. From the point of view
of the Western civilisation this state and
economy model is clearly a dead end.
„„
Fidesz thinks the same about the
liberal model...
Although the Hungarians are a nation who loves freedom, the government
interprets freedom in a collectivist, nationalist and popular way. We on the
other hand believe that the freedom of
individuals is important, together with
the individuals’ responsibility. We do
say that there is no democracy without
liberalism.
„„
You rather stand for the conservative and liberal values, yet right now you
seem to represent the last hope of the left
wing in Budapest.
Yes, this is a paradox. However, I remember that in Germany the CDU/CSU
and SPD formed a common government,
so the left and the middle-right wing
built up a common coalition. You cannot call it scarce or unusual in Hungary
when the middle right in the Western
European sense of the word, what we
are, and the left wing in the Western European sense of the word, which means
a couple of Hungarian parties, work together for the goal that the restoration
of democracy gets the highest priority
in Hungary. In addition, in Germany no one questions the rule of the law
and constitution. No one questions the
democracy; no one questions the sovereignty of the municipal governments. In
Germany no one speaks of an “illiberal
democracy”. In Germany no one is building up monopolies in order to suppress
the free market and competition. In Germany the foreign capital is not tracked.
Photos: Nóra Halász / MTI
„„
Ja n M a i n k a
The Budapest Times
In Germany they do not want to hold the
banks accountable, at least from the side
of the government. There are some extreme parties which are sounding such
tones. In Hungary though, this Russian
type of authoritarian leadership is the
governing power. For that reason we
need a broad coalition of the democratic
forces, no matter if their viewpoints are
rather left or right in specific issues of
professional policies.
„„
So you assume that due to the current conditions the left-oriented people
in Budapest are willing to vote for a conservative or, better said, a right-oriented
candidate?
Absolutely. The most important task
today is to restore the market economy
based on free competition, the rule of
law and constitution and the representative democracy. When this will be settled, the age of “boring politics“ will return in Hungary, when we can discuss
about things like how much the minimal rent should be and what kind of
pension system would we like to have.
„„
Was the resignation of Falus, which
made you the candidate for the leftists in
Budapest, agreed with you beforehand?
Yes, we agreed on that when Viktor
Szigetvári (of Együtt-PM) and Ferenc
Gyurcsány (of Democratic Coalition)
visited us at the meeting of the Modern
Hungary Meeting in order to negotiate.
They made it clear that they had the full
consent and support of all the left parties, including the MSZP and the party
group “Párbeszéd Magyarországért” (Dialogue for Hungary). On the next Monday we found out that MSZP was divided
on this question, since the Budapest party council supported me but the national party council did not. Concerning the
Együtt-PM formation I found out that I
was only supporter by Együtt and not by
Párbeszéd Magyarországért. So I cannot
say that the whole left wing stood up
to support me. I have to say thank you
however that compared to the situation
in the weeks before so many stepped forward and we could finally form a broad
coalition of democrats.
„„
There are some new risks as well.
Many people associate your name with
the Bokros package, and think of a neoliberal, heartless, hard politician, which
could mean that they say: “rather not”.
This is a double-edged sword.
That’s true but there are no black
and white situations in politics. It’s
clear that there are many left-oriented
voters who think that capitalism, the
free market economy and the competition is not good and similarly to Fidesz
they want a sort of state socialism.
However, this system has no chance to
create welfare in the country. When we
look closely at Fidesz, they behave like
a neo-communist party. They hate the
market, hate the competition and hate
the foreign investors. They are practising an economic policy that makes the
entrepreneurs and investors lose their
trust in the system. They punish different sectors with plundering taxes. The
model of this state-centred, based on
monopoles, anti-competitive oligarchic
order is a dead end in terms of development because it leads to isolation. It
might work in Russia. Hungary on the
other hand is a small economy without
its own raw materials, importing energy sources and completely open, as a
part of the European Union.
„„
Please explain us a contradiction.
On one side there are the Hungarians
who are terrified of the Orbán system due
to the reasons that you described. When
it comes to opting out, then they get into
conflicts among themselves and commit
the most serious conceptual mistakes.
This was the case at the time of the elections this spring and now it is happening
again. What are those destructive forces
which are working in the background for
the left parties especially?
You are asking me a very hard question, since I am not from the left wing and
I do not have any insider information. I
can’t look behind the scenes and see what
kind of fights are going on there - between
the four parties. I think the main reason
is that Hungary did not develop a social
democratic set of values in the Western European sense. I see an ideological
wasteland here. The Orbán government
functions basically as a neo-communist
party. Therefore it is quite hard to position yourself left of them. This is how it
happens that in the Hungarian Parlia-
Politics
In brief
US court rules in Hungary’s
favour in Sukoró case
An international arbitration court in
Washington, DC, specialising in legal
disputes between international investors has ruled in favour of Hungary in a
case involving a cancelled casino investment project in Sukoró, National
Economy Minister Mihály Varga has
said. “The international court today rejected the Israeli investors’ claim and
compensation demand of HUF 100 billion,” Varga said this week.
“Accordingly, the Hungarian state acted lawfully in this case and did not violate any investment protection agreement or disable the investors’ operations in Hungary.” Lawyer Beatrix
Bártfai, who represented the state in
the case, told state news agency MTI
that the court ruled Hungary had acted
fully in line with the law when it cancelled the concession contract for the
casino. In connection with the related
land-swap case the court had reached
the same position as the Kúria,
Hungary’s Supreme Court, in the past
by stating that the land-swap contract
was illegal and therefore null and void.
The Washington court’s ruling is final
and cannot be appealed, she added.
The plans to build a casino and resort
at Lake Velence for more than EUR 1
billion were derailed after a land swap
involving the site was put under scrutiny. The affair was during the term of
the Hungarian Socialist Party government. The Kúria declared the contract
on the exchange of farm land for prime
lakefront property null and void in
2012. Vigotop, owned by Ronald
Lauder and managed by Joav Blum,
turned to the International Centre for
Settlement of Investment Disputes in
Washington, DC, seeking damages
under an international investment protection agreement between Hungary
and Cyprus, where the company is
registered.
è
10 October 2014 | Nr. 41
11
Politics
In brief
Nation weak if 4 million
are poor: Socialists
There are no strong municipalities, and
there is no strong Hungary, if four million people are living in poverty, the
chairman of the opposition Socialists,
József Tóbiás (pictured), has said on
the campaign trail for the local elections
this Sunday. “This group has been left
without representation and partnership
and without a safety belt,” Tóbiás told a
public forum in Pápa. There are 620,000
children living in mouldy and damp
homes, 170,000 lack access to proper
baths and another 300,000 do not get
proper meals, he said, making reference to a new international study about
Hungarian society. Tóbiás said it is the
responsibility of municipalities to manage social tension generated by the
government’s decisions.
Socialist MP Ildikó Borbély Bangó
said the party demands the Central
Statistical Office (KSH) release figures
on poverty in Hungary to the public. She
noted that Eurostat, the EU’s statistical
office, has already reported on the basis
of data received from KSH that the number in poverty in Hungary increased
100,000 in 2013. In comparison, poverty
had dropped in neighbouring countries,
with the proportion to the population at
26% in Poland, 20% in Slovakia and
14.6% in the Czech Republic. The figure
in Hungary is 33%, Bangó said.
The Budapest Times
ment there are basically only social parties. They are all more or less against
capitalism, against the market and competition and believe in the almighty power of the state. There is only my party
that is committed wholeheartedly to the
Western European world view. Although
we are not members of the Parliament.
„„
Then is it you or rather your party
who will provide a united left front for
Budapest now?
The values that we represent are in
reality not particularly popular, because
many people believe that the political
turn did not bring them improvement,
or quite on the contrary it made them
go bankrupt. They are longing for a paternalistic state of the late Kádár era.
However, at the end of that era Hungary was heavily in debt and on the edge
of national bankruptcy. The problem is
not that we lost a million workplaces but
that there were no million new workplaces created instead – ones that efficiently
produce quality products for the global
market. In order for that to happen an
educational reform would be necessary,
and a much better quality in education,
free companies, which we do not have,
because monopolies are being built. We
would need much less redistribution of
values by the state and to reduce corruption. There are many people who would
like to have the same welfare here as in
Germany but not the competitiveness,
the pace of work and culture of work as
in Germany. This is however an illusion,
which is unfortunately encouraged in the
people by the Hungarian socialist parties.
„„
Why are you taking up the challenge
to change all that? You could just quietly
continue teaching in the country or even
abroad right until the end of your career.
Instead of that you expose yourself and
you risk that you will be scorned verbally
for your unpopular views.
… unfortunately not only verbally,
sometimes also physically. The Orbán
government made violence acceptable.
The culture of the mob is the ruling power.
„„
Why are you doing this?
I would not like to say big words...
I would simply like to see my children
12
10 October 2014 | Nr. 41
and grandchildren grow up in a happy, liveable democracy with Western
European culture. I will be turning 60
this year and I could take the pension
in a short time, but I would still like
to contribute to the rebuilding of the
Hungarian democracy before I do.
„„
So you do not think that there are
any other people who would be able to
fulfil this task?
No way. There are many of us, in the
party as well. I just spoke to Erzsébet
Pusztai, to the deputy president, who
is fighting side by side with me. This
will not be the fight of a lonely warrior; this is not about Don Quixote de la
Mancha. Everyone must fight along for
the sake of civility and reason. Whoever can manage to engage in political
activities beside his daily job, whoever
does not have to run for earning bread
all the time, has a duty to give back to
his home, to his nation what he has received. Even among the left-oriented
people there are many sane-minded
democrats, who want to rebuild their
home country. And there are always
more and more of us. More and more
people realise what is going on. We
are choosing now between democracy
and dictatorship, West and East, the
rule of law and constitution and the
arbitrary ruling, and the free, self-developing competitive market economy
and the state-centred monopolies and
oligarchs. The choice we have to make
is perfectly clear.
„„
Nevertheless, most Hungarians support the current course of the country.
When we continue in this direction
we will surely hit a dead end. You
can already feel the gap widening between Hungary and not only Germany
or Great Britain, but also the three
other Visegrád countries or the Baltic
countries. Twenty years ago, when we
have been working on the stabilisation,
which we did with success and beside
the resetting of the balance we laid
down the foundation for the long-term
growth, it was a time when Hungary
was solely left behind by the Czechs or
Slovenia. Today we are lagging behind
Slovakia, Poland, Estonia, Latvia and
in next year even Lithuania. Hungary
The Budapest Times
has become part of the Balkans from
the point of view of the investors. Our
country belongs in the same group as
Romania, Serbia or Ukraine. This reflects in the risk premiums on the capital markets. Who would like to invest
their capital here where there is no legal certainty?
„„
You can even compare to Romania
from first-hand experience.
Yes, I have been teaching in
Kolozsvár (Cluj-Napoca in Romanian) at the Babes-Bolyai University for
ten years. I am there for every second
month. When I was working for the
World Bank I advised the Romanian
government for years. I have a very
good relationship with a large part of
the Romanian elite, top managers and
scientific superpowers. There are many
more free discussions there in the television; the newspapers are much
more readable. In Hungary there is no
press freedom, there is no equal rights
provided for the churches, the civil
organisations are under attack, the
municipal governments are weakened.
In conclusion, this is about the choice
between dictatorship and democracy
in Hungary. I would not like my children and grandchildren to grow up in
a land that will disappear from the
map of history. Right now, when for
the first time in 500 years there are no
Politics
foreign oppressing troops in the country! We have received freedom from
Mikhail Gorbachev. We are members
of the European Union, which is the
community of nations that are liberal
and equal, and we are fighting a war of
freedom against this Union – although
we are constantly receiving huge sums
of money from there. This is not only
paradox, this is ridiculous!
„„
On 12 October the voting will also be
over the communal topics. What would
you do differently than the current holder
of the position, István Tarlós?
First of all I find it the most important matter that the capital preserves
10 October 2014 | Nr. 41
è
13
Politics
its assets by any means and does not let
anything become centralised. Because
without own assets it will have no own
income, and without own income there
will be no high-quality public services.
The public transportation will not become any better if it will be transferred
to the national government to direct.
As we have already experienced in the
case of schools and hospitals, centralisation only made the situation worse.
When we develop something we have
to make sure that it goes with good
quality, cost efficient and without corruption. We do not need to repair each
street each year, but when we do we
need to ask a quality guarantee from
the contractor that the road will serve
the urban population for many years.
Furthermore, in the case of every development we have to make sure that
the costs of future operation will be
covered. It is not enough to say that we
will build a new Museum Quarter with
the money from the decadent West.
The question is whether we can maintain it. The maintenance is very important. In addition we have our own
ideas for solving the housing shortage
problem, the development of public
transportation, the improvement of
the health services, the preservation
of the green surfaces – practically for
all the areas which influence the everyday life of the citizens. In general the
corruption should be fought against
harder because today it is present in
every level of the state, not only in the
central government but also the local
authorities.
„„
In terms of corruption the era before
2010 was not too perfect either...
I have not said that it was better.
That is partly the reason for the twothirds majority of Orbán. We can see it
quite clearly that the current dictatorial rule of command is not without any
precedent. The restoration of democracy is a necessary but not sufficient condition in order to eradicate corruption.
„„
How has your Budapest campaign
run so far?
I see it as an enrichment that I can
meet with the Budapest citizens on a
regular basis. This way I have the op14
10 October 2014 | Nr. 41
The Budapest Times
portunity to speak to people directly
and find out what matters to them. The
majority of the feedback that I receive
is absolutely positive. Of course there is
always some dirty talk but less and less
than in April. You can feel a clear change
of mood in the population since then.
„„
What do you think the reason for
that is?
mocracy must be restored not only because we will feel better but also because
democracy has a cultural value in itself.
Just like the free expression of opinions,
the free founding of churches, the freedom to congregate, the rule of law and
constitution and the legal certainty. No
company should be simply dispossessed
in this country only because one or other
oligarch cast his eye on it.
In the summer the term “illiberal democracy“ was spread. In my view the
government head has done damage to
himself with that. He has unmasked
his government and pulled the earth
from under the feet of some of his followers. Until now I have always heard
in Brussels, where I was working as a
representative of the European Parliament for five years, that Viktor Orbán is the greatest democrat and only
the Western press wants to spread
the image that he does not believe in
liberal democracy. But now he said it
himself and with that he revealed himself! He brought shame to all of those
people who have been protecting him
so far. From now on no one will protect him any more, everyone will think
three times before they raise a finger
for him. Because nobody knows what
foolish things he will say in his next
speech – simply because he thinks that
he can do whatever he wants. Finally
he has told what he really thinks.
„„
Are there any chances that you will
reach a common approach with the Liberals or LMP too?
„„
Did the mood of the population
change for the worse?
„„
Isn’t it crazy to take such a rigid
position due to personal motivation with
the social background that you have just
described?
The citizens are mad that their tax
money is used for financing party propaganda. Just take a look around the
streets, what do you see among the
political posters other than posters advertising parties? Where is the equality of chances here? The municipal elections might be free but they are not fair
and clean for sure.
„„
According to you this happens more
and more often in Hungary!
We are hoping that there will be always a larger part of society which will
understand that this system does not
bring us material growth, no cultural
development, no national reconciliation
and in addition it is based upon lies. De-
Probably not. They simply do not
want that.
„„
Are the differences between your
program and theirs so decisive?
Not even that! There was a discussion between the candidates for the
lord mayor position not long ago, at
which beside György Magyar – the
candidate of the Civilians, who has
resigned for my benefit the same as
Ferenc Falus – also Zoltán Bodnár, the
candidate of the liberals, and Antal
Csárdi, the LMP candidate, were participating. They could not answer the
question what they would like to do
differently, but at the same time they
were convinced that they would like to
continue the fight because they want to
represent the only credible party.
From my personal, very private point
of view it is, without a doubt. As a party leader, however, I have to refrain
from making such comments. We, the
Movement for a Modern Hungary, are
preparing not only for the elections; we
would like to create a new political culture in Hungary. We will not take part
in attacking the political opponents.
For that reason, I will never express
myself formally about anyone in a way
that reminds me of the widespread
mud fight which is going on in the current Hungarian political scene. I would
only say one thing: I don’t say that I
disagree with the assessment that you
have just made here.
Politics
The Budapest Times
Budapest Mayor István Tarlós, backed by Fidesz, is sitting pretty for re-election this Sunday
Saviour or chain around city’s neck?
No other city will receive such attention in the nationwide municipal elections this Sunday as the capital.
The man to beat as mayor is the incumbent and Fidesz candidate István Tarlós.
„„
D a n i el H i r sch
”This is the mistake of the former
city leadership, who did not do anything for the last 20 years.” This mantra is Tarlós’ favourite with the press,
though at the same time he finds journalists basically annoying because he
feels they – just like the left opposition
– do not understand him and therefore
report about him in a wrong way.
Well then, who is this misunderstood
István Tarlós actually? Let’s take a
look at his professional career so far.
Tarlós was born in 1948 in Budapest,
as a son of a lawyer and an accountant, who were both working at the
Hungarian Academy of Sciences, in a
bourgeois family. He grew up and studied in District III, and after his military service he studied engineering in
Budapest and Győr. Tarlós worked in
the construction industry for 15 years
and started his own engineering office
together with his wife, Cecília Nagy,
shortly before the change of regime.
In 1989 he became a member of the
liberal Alliance of Free Democrats
(SZDSZ), according to him because of the
“prominent government-critical tone”.
After he was elected to represent the
citizens in his home district many times,
he entered the first free elections in 1990
in the colours of SZDSZ and Fidesz and
won the position of district mayor.
In 1994 he left SZDSZ due to conflict
of opinions (and not least because of
the coalition built with the Hungarian Socialist Party). In the same year
he entered the district mayor elections as an independent candidate
supported by Fidesz, and won, just
like at the following two elections. In
2006 Fidesz nominated him to stand
as mayor of Budapest but he lost to
long-time incumbent and free democratic Gábor Demszky.
In April 2010 he entered the Hungarian Parliament – still as an independent politician – as the fraction leader of
Fidesz in the capital, but he left these
offices after his election as mayor in October that year. He placed urban politics
in front of national politics, because the
first was more of a “service” while the
other was “pure politics”.
The man of conflicts
and contradictions
According to his right-wing colleagues
Tarlós is a conservative realist politician
(“Even two-thirds majorities do not last
for ever, even Rome did not last for ever”).
His critics say his methods are autocratic.
In a recent interview with economic magazine Figyelő he said that upon
re-election he would need to create difficulties for the national government
in order to be able to continue his job.
This was a reference to his conflict with
è
Mayoral candidates in Budapest (in alphabetical order)
10 October 2014 | Nr. 41
15
Politics
Never trailing in the
polls, the campaign of
Tarlós has lacked the
political element and
mainly included
inaugurations
and ceremonial events
16
10 October 2014 | Nr. 41
The Budapest Times
The Budapest Times
Chancellor János Lázár over the distribution of EU grants for development of
the city. The conflict with Lázár was not
a “show” but it was not “that serious as
some people think” either.
Weekly magazine Hetek revealed
that Tarlós sees himself as humorous
and frank, and this is why he makes
remarkable statements, such as during the back-and-forth with Lázár
recently. Tarlós is not always free
of contradictions, despite his frankness: he has a good, although not conflict-free relationship with Fidesz, on
the other hand he likes to argue with
Lázár or Dávid Vitézy, the president
of Budapest Transport Centre BKK
supported by Fidesz, the interview revealed. As a “man of the city” and experienced politician he always fought
for the benefit of Budapest and he did
not want to get involved with national
politics, but in topics like funding he
could hardly avoid it.
He does not worry about the election, telling Lánchíd Rádió he has
never seen such a hectic and mistake-ridden campaign from the left
side: “They are desperately trying to
criticise everything that the present
city leadership ever did. Such hysterical accusations do not even deserve
any reaction.”
Tarlós pointed out to state news
agency MTI the things he has accomplished (Metro 4, replacing public transport vehicles, renovation of
sewers, etc.) and the things he is still
planning (utilisation of the gas plant
in Óbuda or the train station in Józsefváros, disposing of BKK and stopping
its integration in the city administration, traffic tax introduction from
2016, etc.).
He admitted to Népszava that he
does not have the money to complete
all his plans. The renewal of Metro 3
would take about HUF 200 billion; the
appropriate funding request would be
submitted to the Chancellor’s Office. A
mayor who supported the government
could achieve more than one who is
government-critical, he said.
Tarlós does not take
opposition seriously
To the liberal opposition’s criticism
about the unauthorised use of the
capital’s logo on his electoral poster,
Tarlós told TV channel atv: “I have
been rightfully using the logo for the
last four years as lord mayor, so even
now I did not think that it will disturb
anyone if I do so. I am surprised that
we have to talk about the exterior of
the electoral campaign instead of its
contents.” He would not ask citizens
to vote for him; instead he would
ask them to consider what has been
achieved in Budapest in the last four
years, and which candidate knows
something about urban politics. Basically he does not care about his challengers, believing they have neither
the knowledge nor experience.
Tarlós was criticised in 2012 for appointing the radical-right-oriented
György Dörner as director of Budapest
New Theatre (Újszínház) and in 2013
for naming a street after anti-Semitic writer Cécile Tormay. He was also
Politics
scorned due to the homeless law (“I
do not represent the couple thousand
homeless people, I represent 1.7 million
citizens of Budapest”), the proposed expropriation of the former ballet institute building and his rough behaviour
towards the press (for example the word
fight with atv moderator Olga Kálmán).
According to opinion research institute Medián, the familiarity of Tarlós
has grown from 68% (2008) to 80%
(2010) and has been around 90% ever
since. His popularity was around 40%
between 2008 and 2010 and increased
to almost 50% by November 2010. After a collapse (March 2013: 26%) it
levelled off again around 38%.
Opinion research institute Ipsos
puts Tarlós as clear favourite to win:
35% of respondents will vote for him,
MSZP and Jobbik only earned 12%,
with LMP, DK and Together Dialogue
on 3% each.
10 October 2014 | Nr. 41
17
18
10 October 2014 | Nr. 41
The Budapest Times
Péter Szijjártó’s (left)
first trip was to Slovakia,
where he met Prime
Minister Robert Fico
Photos: Nóra Halász
PBoulsiitni ek s s
Politics
The Budapest Times
Portrait of new Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Péter Szijjártó
Half a lifetime admiring Viktor Orbán
Prime Minister Viktor Orbán probably does not have any more loyal politician in his ranks than
Péter Szijjártó, who at age 35 has been appointed Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade.
Szijjártó was 16 years old when he first met Orbán.
T
he occasion was when Orbán was
invited to speak at the Benedictine high school in Győr, where
Szijjártó studied. For the teenager it was
a key experience. He says that after listening to the speech he told his schoolmates: “It is my big dream to get to know
Viktor Orbán and to work beside him.”
Driven by this admiration, Szijjártó
joined Fidesz in 1998. The restless
and workaholic young political activist quickly became known in Győr. In
2002, aged 23, he became an MP. His
career rose like a comet. He was president of Fidelitas, the Fidesz youth organisation, from 2005-9.
Unbelievable pace of work
His party colleagues recall a highly
ambitious person who demanded the
same hellish work rate from his employees as his own. For Szijjártó, a
workday often began at 5am and ended at 10pm. Sometimes he asked a colleague to get out of bed at 7am on a
Sunday to discuss some project or other with him.
Szijjártó put everything behind his political career right from the beginning.
Losing control was anathema to him.
When he went to a party, which happened
quite rarely, you could see him standing
by shyly, drinking cola. Szijjártó neither
drinks alcohol nor smokes. According to
him, the smell of alcohol makes him feel
sick. His favourite topics are football and
politics. As a child he dreamed of becoming a footballer.
Passionate futsal player
This partly came true and he plays
in the local futsal team (futsal is a variant of indoor soccer) at his current
home in Dunakeszi, just north of Budapest. Teammates say he is fully committed and will analyse their mistakes
for hours. He shares this fanatical enthusiasm for football with model and
mentor Orbán.
Szijjártó earned his first political
successes as leader of a committee that
investigated the “enrichment” of former prime minister Ferenc Gyurcsány
(2004-2009). Orbán took notice. The
articulate and confident Szijjártó was
quickly appointed Fidesz spokesman,
alongside Gabriella Selmeczi.
Tamás Deutsch, a founding member
of Fidesz, who discovered Szijjártó, has
a very positive opinion of him. Deutsch
says he is one of the most talented politicians of Fidesz’s “second generation”,
beside Minister in charge of the Prime
Minister’s Office János Lázár and Fidesz
faction leader Antal Rogán. Deutsch
values Szijjártó’s political instincts and
communication skills most of all.
A boy’s dream comes true
Szijjártó quickly convinced Orbán of
his political and rhetorical talents, and
in 2010 the Prime Minister appointed him as his personal spokesman.
Szíjjártó’s biggest childhood dream
had come true. The political upstart
became Orbán’s shadow, once accidentally taking home the PM’s suit jacket,
thinking it was his own.
Szijjártó spent two years as Orbán’s
spokesman. In 2012 it was time for his
next career move: he became president of
the State Secretariat of Foreign Trade. His
most important tasks were opening the
Hungarian economy eastwards, namely
towards Russia, Turkey, China and Asia.
Szijjártó’s elevation to Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade has been expect-
ed for months, with Tibor Navracsics
expected to vacate the post to become a
European Commissioner in Brussels.
Inconsistencies around house
purchase
The Hungarian media has honed in
on the new minister’s private life, discovering that he spent the stately sum
of HUF 167 million buying a luxury
villa for his family in Dunakeszi. The
couple have two small children.
When TV channel RTL Klub asked
Szijjártó how he had that much money, he
said he funded the purchase partly from
own savings up to HUF 80 million and from
savings of his wife and her parents (HUF
20 million) and his own parents (HUF 67
million). A little later he revised his answer:
only HUF 68 million had come from his private savings, HUF 20 million from his wife
and her parents, and the other HUF 79 million given by his own parents.
The government-critical media and the
opposition have two questions: how did he
save so much money while employed only
as a politician, and why were his explanations of the financing so contradictory?
Obama is rebuked
Szijjártó has also been sharply criticised for his first move as minister,
which consisted of putting US President Barack Obama in his place. Obama had criticised Hungary among others for acting against non-governmental
organisations. The Ministry of Foreign
Affairs issued a press release that tersely stated Obama’s words had “no real
basis”. The short explanation said the
Hungarian nation loves freedom and
would not tolerate such a restriction
▶▶
Peter Bognar
10 October 2014 | Nr. 41
19
Opinion
The Budapest Times
The current left side will never win over Viktor Orbán
Prime minister’s
political method proves great
“I will have two main statements. The first one, Viktor Orbán is a very good politician.
The second, that the current left wing will never beat him. Let me explain.”
Thus begins Gábor Török, political scientist, on his blog post about the Premier of Hungary.
T
örök explains in his analysis that
he thinks lots of things about Orbán, like many people in the country, and over the years he tried to understand Orbán’s political thinking and
methods, but his conclusion was this:
Viktor Orbán is a terrific politician, and
nobody from the current pool of rival politicians will defeat him. He lists two possible solutions to this, the methods of the
opposition and Orbán’s political method.
“If Gyurcsány did not win in 2004,
if Őszöd did not happen, if Gyurcsány
resigned in autumn 2006, if we had an
early election, etc. things would have
been different.” He explains that if the
other parties acted differently, Orbán
may not have been this successful.
And apart from the clumsiness of
the opposing parties, Török believes
that Orbán’s political method over the
past 25 years has been far better than
anybody else’s.
“They say that all of Orbán’s luck
in politics comes from his political
method; that he first got rid of his enemies in his own parties, and later in
the whole country. This means: Orbán
can reign because he builds dictatorship everywhere. This argument is
of course impossible to win, because
those who believe in this will not care
if others shout about dictatorship in
the media, or if other parties want to
win over this dictatorship in a free
electoral system.
“Viktor Orbán really loves power.
Especially to use it. He does a lot of
things for this, to get hold of power,
and keep it. He does almost everything
that he can do in democratic circumstances. He does not like gestures,
20
10 October 2014 | Nr. 41
temperance, and liberality. As he him- Maybe he will not wait for this, and
self says: he kills the enemy, if he has resign earlier, but this will end once.”
However, Török also states that the
the chance.
“Those who believe that he is in a current left wing cannot defeat Orbán
leading position because he makes now, unless they too understand how
himself unbeatable with his adminis- the political pendulum works in Huntrative tools, knows nothing about his gary. As right now, it is only him, who
secret. Because he has no secret: he is understands that it is not himself that
the only one in the country who real- he has to convince about his ideas, but
ly understands this game, and is most the electors. And unless the opposition
realises this, they have no chance to
conscious in how he plays it.”
FW
Török says that whatever people take over. think, Viktor Orbán is one of the
biggest figures in
ELEBRATES UNGARIAN
Hungarian
politics since the end
ASHION ESIGN AND ULTURE
of
communism.
A Showcase of Talented Local Designers and their Creations
Still he believes
that it is ineviCome and enjoy, in the company of your NAWA friends, a morning fashion show
by some of the most promising young Hungarian designers presented by
table the prime
beautiful models and accompanied by music.
minister will fail
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in the future. This
Designs and Barbara Leber will display some of their new autumn/winter
is because he will
collections. Jewelry designer, Ivonne Hercia with Latin American and European
never build a real
cultural roots, will present her beautifully mystical and unique pearl and precious metal jewelry.
dictatorship.
You will have a chance to meet the designers and perhaps even make plans to
“Popularity will
update your wardrobe for the coming season.
fade once, the
To make our get together even more special, two gifted, up and coming guitarmistakes will turn
ists, Zsurgy Gergely and Varga Bálint from The Conservatorium will entertain
into consequencus with some enchanting melodies.
es, the mood will
You won’t want to miss it!
change, time will
WHEN:
Tuesday, October 14th
run out... And
then he will not
WHERE:
Radisson Blu Beke Hotel
be protected by
1067 Budapest
Teréz körút 43
the created elecTIME:
10 am to noon
toral rules, or the
thoroughly
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Society
The Budapest Times
“Seven percent of Hungarian society has a friend or a family member who is (homeless).”
Winter means
death on streets again
The warm autumn has masked the fact that the time which social workers consider
as the start of the winter homeless crisis period is only a month away.
U
nited Nations’ estimates are that
8,000 people live on the streets
of Budapest and another 22,000
nationwide. The numbers prove that
homelessness is not something politicians can avoid, and a recent conference
looked at the problem.
The Friedrich Ebert Foundation together with Political Capital Policy
Research and Consulting Institute, numerous sociologists, social workers and
politicians tried to find the answers to
the most urgent questions.
Péter Krekó, the director of Political Capital, said that while homeless
people are often treated as scapegoats
in today’s politics, their perception by
society is quite different. He said the
majority of society is much more positive and helpful towards them than the
behaviour of some leading politicians
would suggest.
His Political Capital colleague, Attila Juhász, supported this view with excerpts from a recent study. More than
50% of the respondents would rather
help than punish. “We have to make a
differentiation between homeless people, people who do not have a flat and
people who do not have a home, in order to be able to understand the problem,” Juhász said.
Péter Győri from Menhely Alapítvány
(Shelter Foundation), the largest organisation helping homeless in Budapest,
agreed: not having an apartment does
not necessarily mean that someone becomes homeless but it is a fundamental
part of the problem, and thereby it belongs to the solution as well.
Győri said: “Since the political turn
there is virtually no social housing,
so whoever gets in trouble paying the
rent or the instalments of the loan
does not really have alternatives.” It
was a fact that there were many people in Budapest today who were employed but they still had to make a
choice: food or rent?
To call attention to the dramatic
shortage in affordable housing, about
60 activists and supporters of A Város
Mindenkié (The city belongs to everyone), have occupied an empty former
private sanatorium in District VI. The
building has been owned by an offshore company for many years. “There
could be some social housing created
here, which is so urgently needed,” the
group argues.
Győri said politics has the main responsibility: “But here we are facing
another round of municipal elections
without the candidates having any
plan for the housing problem.” It was
usual that the district and city leaderships blamed each other without looking for a solution together. And this
was why accommodation for homeless
people was full virtually all year. Győri
said he is sure that the districts would
be able to provide affordable housing.
Endre Hann of research organisation
Medián added: “Seven percent of Hungarian society has a friend or a family
member who is living on the street.”
These are issues that should have
been addressed in the second part
of the conference, but sadly the politicians present used the opportunity instead to present themselves in a
positive light and their opponents in a
negative light. Municipal elections will
be held this Sunday.
Friedrich Ebert Foundation and Political Capital invited Zoltán Bodnár
from the Hungarian Liberal Party;
Péter Juhász, the founder of Milla,
who is the candidate from the Together-Dialogue Party for District V; Ágnes
Kunhalmi, president of the Hungarian Socialist Party in Budapest; Ágnes
Osztolykán from green party LMP; and
the Budapest mayor candidate of the
far-right party Jobbik, Gábor Staudt.
Beside proposing only too general
solutions (“There must be more affordable housing made available, with
costs taken over by the state from the
homeless”: Juhász) and prevention
measures (“It’s cheaper to save a family that could not afford its rent for the
last three months than to get the same
family out of the trap of homelessness”:
Kúnhalmi), the participants mostly
only talked past each other.
There was no real discussion between the politicians. Only Osztolykán
opposed Staudt when he opined that
“the majority of homeless people want
to improve their situation, but there
is a smaller renitent part who simply
do not want to be helped”. For them,
Staudt would advise “hard treatment”.
Osztolykán, a political scientist, responded in a very clear way: “When
someone says ‘He does not want to be
helped’ it makes me furious.” She pointed out, to applause, that the homeless
problem is a very complex issue that
cannot be solved by keywords.
Unfortunately this was the only useful contribution from the politicians
participating. Instead of discussing
with each other and the many professionals present how the growing
problem might be solved, they were
campaigning. It appears they are unwilling to act.
The strategy of “if I don’t see it, it
doesn’t exist”, as shown by the criminalisation of homelessness in the city
centre, will claim human lives again
this winter.
▶▶
Elisabeth Katalin Grabow
10 October 2014 | Nr. 41
21
Economy
The Budapest Times
Reduction of utility costs and the full picture
Life will still be more expensive
Luckily we will put the municipal elections behind us this Sunday. Then the politicians will not feel obliged in
the next three and half years to stuff our pockets full. Maybe this relaxed period
will help the economy to revive for the long term.
T
he two-thirds majority has the clear
advantage that the government
rules communication across the
country. At least it does not come to a battle
of wild promises that have hardly anything
to do with reality. Fidesz-KDNP only has to
take care not to promise all sunshine and
happiness yet. Although even that would
be no problem because the voters do not see
any other political option...
Breaking down annual
utility cost-cutting
for stronger effect in media
They are raving about the settlement
with the banks that will save about
a million people from the trap of for-
eign-currency loans. A lot of people will
only get confused once the loan is converted to forints, inclusive the interest
rate for forint loans – but that will only
happen in the first semester of 2015.
Plus there is constant communication
about the policy of utility cost-cutting.
These measures are being introduced this
year divided over three months. This way
the Fidesz-supportive media have the
chance to praise this third round of the
welfare policy not once but three times.
The previous utility cost-cuttings of
around 10%, which were executed in one
single step, clearly received less media
attention than the reductions that are
happening this year: 6.5% on natural
gas, 5.7% on electricity and 3.3% on cen-
tral heating. The gas prices were cut on
1 April, which might have been the end
of the heating season but was an ideal
date directly before the parliamentary
elections. The electricity prices were cut
next on 1 September, and one month later and just 11 days before the municipal
elections the central heating tariffs were
also reduced. This way both elections
could have a slice from the cake of utility
cost-cutting.
2010-2013: general inflation
undermines effect
of utility cost reduction
If the politicians would rely more on
the data and conclusions of the Cen-
Hungarian Heritage House, 1011 Budapest, Corvin tér 8.
www.dancetheatre.hu | info: (+36 1) 201 4407
Kostenfreie Nummer: (+36 80) 10 44 55
Saturday, 11 October 8 p.m.
Hungarian National Dance Ensemble
Living Martin Archive – Kalotaszeg
/Dance workshop after the performance/
22
10 October 2014 | Nr. 41
Economy
The Budapest Times
tral Statistical Office (KSH) in their
speeches, they might be closer to reality. The KSH publishes a lot of indicators about consumer prices, so it is
possible to compare prices even in the
distance of decades. Before the political turn there was nothing to highlight;
let’s just mention that HUF 5,000 was
a fortune at that time, a tram ticket
costing around HUF 2-3 and a good imported Czech beer HUF 14-18.
Since nowadays Fidesz likes to emphasise how great the government is
doing in reducing prices, we should
compare specific prices from 2010 and
2013 (the yearly average prices for
2014 are of course not available yet).
The consumer price index was around
6.4% at the beginning of 2010 and it decreased to 3.1% by the summer of 2011.
After that – note under the leadership
of the “price-breaker” Orbán government! – it increased back to 6.6% until
September 2012, no matter that the inflation was practically brought down to
zero by the policy of utility cost-cutting
by the end of 2013.
KSH calculated an average price decline in the last four years of around 20%
for an average Hungarian household.
Although you should not be shocked to
learn that eggs, cheese and oil cost about
one fifth more than four years ago. The
explosion in the prices of sugar and cigarettes, however, exceeded the tolerance
threshold of the population, so shopping
tourism into the neighbouring countries
began to flourish, just like the black
markets.
In the meanwhile the price corrections
of fuel sold at service stations happening
even several times a week are unnerving
the millions of drivers; the bottom line is
that owners of cars with petrol engines
are paying about one fourth more than
four years ago, while diesel owners pay
about a good one third more.
Wood prices increase
further on, unaffected
In the same time, between 2010 and
2013, average gross salaries rose by
about 14% in the Hungarian economy,
coming to about HUF 230,000 a month.
The net amount that remains in the
pockets of full-time employees is on average around HUF 150,000; the increase
here kept up with the rise of gross salaries in terms of percentages, and if we
express it in absolute value we would
find HUF 20,000 more in purses after
the monthly payment on average.
Unfortunately the average indicators
do not show that according to the deep
sociological studies around 60% of people are actually doing worse than before.
For these families inflation takes away
the surplus amount of money. These are
families who can rarely enjoy the larger price advantage of household items
planned for long-term use (such as fridges and LCD-TVs) due to their limited
budget.
For these people wood and propane-butane gas are the most commonly used
energy sources, not electricity, central
heating and natural gas, where Fidesz
announced the end of “extra profits”. No
wonder that the prices of these energy
sources on the market are growing further, uninfluenced by the intention of
the government.
However, the real joke in the official
KSH statistics is that the prices of electricity and natural gas behave quite
differently than the Fidesz publicity
would have us believe. Fidesz showed a
statistic during the electoral campaign
according to which people only have to
pay three-fourths of the price for electricity that they had to pay under the
social-liberal government. KSH calculated though that two rounds of electricity
price-cutting with a nominal 20% decrease only reached a real decrease of 6%
if compared against the prices of 2010,
and a cubic metre of natural gas became
even more expensive!
(To be correct it should be noted that
the second round only came into effect
in November 2013, therefore the results
will only be reflected by the middle of
2014. For the full picture we also have
to see that electricity and gas became
more expensive under the rule of Fidesz
– it might be that the Orbán government did not have the energy in the
beginning to take on the fight with the
multinationals, since they had their
hands full with the expulsion of the International Monetary Fund and weakening the forint.)
Untouched middle class
Those members of the middle class
who are benefitting from Fidesz’s tax
policy might read all this with understandable reservation. If someone, regarded as a politically welcome citizen,
is taking home HUF 50,000, 70,000
or even 100,000 more each month, he
might not be (financially) upset by the
introduced price increases. However,
even these people will notice that today
they are clearly paying more for everyday goods than they did in 2010.
▶▶
Rainer Ackermann
New ways in medical science
Seeing the invisible: Somatoinfra sees inside the body
It is the desire of both the doctor and the patient to see the processes happening inside the patient’s body. Radiation caused by
X-rays prevents its use for multiple examinations; CTs and MRIs
are very expensive and only provide still images. A Hungarian invention, however, reached the point where it should be included
among the public health screening procedures. At the second
global forum of the World Health Organisation (WHO), Dr.
Mihály Szacsky and the team of developers received a prominent
spot with their modern imaging technology. The WHO recommended that it be involved in the preventive procedures of the
future because it is fast, reliable, comfortable, cheap and does
not have side effects. Similar to infrared images, the machine
essentially provides feedback about the body’s energy utilisation
on a photonic level. With the help of this special, functional anatomic image, diagnostics, tumours, unseen pain centres, hidden
inflammations and malfunctioning organs become immediately
visible. The method has already made its debut in Hungary and it
proved to be a great success. As someone put it: the diagnostic
tool of the future, already available today.
Further information: www.pannonpalatinus.hu/somatoinfra
University of Technology, Nature and Sport Science Association
Dr. Mihály Szacsky
Bertalan Lajos street 24, District XI, Budapest
Email: [email protected],
Tel.: (+36-1) 209-9176
10 October 2014 | Nr. 41
23
Diplomacy
24
10 October 2014 | Nr. 41
The Budapest Times
D i pPl oo ml iatci ky
The Budapest Times
Nature fights back
amid concrete jungle
An inner-city “park” now finally deserves the name after being converted from an unprepossessing
grey and concrete nowhere-land into a greener modernised and landscaped area.
A
ngyal István Park, on the traffic-trams-metro corner of District
IX’s Üllői út and Ferenc körút,
was hardly a spot to sit around and rest
in, despite being just metres from the
architecturally splendid Museum of Applied Arts.
Now the park has been refurbished
with the support of the Municipality of
Budapest and under the Swedish Sustainability Program, supported by the
Swedish Embassy, Business Sweden
and Swedish companies operating in
Hungary.
Angyal István Park has become a
“modern social place” with free internet coverage. The reconstruction
was to create a biodiverse, sustainable park. To enrich the ecological and
visual diversity of the city landscape,
almost 20 domestic, drought-tolerant
and city-proof plants with energy-efficient maintenance have been planted.
A paper-plane installation is a memorial to István Angyal, a hero of the
1956 Uprising. The plane displays a
few lines from his last letter to a friend.
A Wi-Fi hotspot has been installed to
allow anybody with a suitable device –
such as a smartphone or tablet – to use
the internet for free. Easy-to-understand
information signs help those getting acquainted with the world of hi-tech.
Anna Boda, Chargé d’affaires a.i. of
the Embassy of Sweden in Budapest,
said: “I am especially happy to see
that this park has been refurbished
in the spirit of sustainability, thanks
to the unique cooperation between the
Hungarian and the Swedish state and
private companies. This is another extraordinary step towards a greener and
more sustainable urban lifestyle.”
Deputy Mayor of Budapest Dr. Gábor
Bagdy said: “The management of the
city has created a vision of a city that
is as green, friendly, and beautiful as
can be. It is important to us to make
sure that the people living here and
foreigners alike see Budapest as a city
sizzling with social life and developing
dynamically. I hope that the renovation of Angyal István Park is another
step in this direction.”
The main goal of the Swedish Sustainability Program is the dissemination of an environmentally conscious
way of life and thinking, and the establishment of a sustainable urban environment. The first result of the cooperation was the first eco-playground in
Hungary, on Margaret Island, in 2011.
The following year, the walk and park
at the Buda end of Chain Bridge were
renovated, and now a self-service bicycle repair station, and an information
and meeting point await those riding bicycles at the northern corner of
Vérmező, the large park area outside
Déli rail station.
The major partners of the Swedish
Sustainability Program are Electrolux, Ericsson, Saab and Sigma Technology. Additional partners are HAGS,
Metropol, Skanska and Volvo Autó
Hungária.
Swedish-Hungarian Smart Forum:
www.shsmartforum.hu
Chargé d’affaires a.i.
of the Embassy
of Sweden in
Budapest Anna Boda
and Deputy Mayor
of Budapest
Dr. Gábor Bagdy
10 October 2014 | Nr. 41
25
Diplomacy
26
10 October 2014 | Nr. 41
The Budapest Times
The Budapest Times
Remembering the 1848-49 revolution
Legacy of Arad Martyrs
passed on to today
B u d a pe s t
In brief
sponsored by
The national flag was hoisted and lowered to half-mast on Monday
in a military salute to commemorate the leaders of Hungary’s revolution
and freedom fight who were executed by Austria in 1849.
6 October was declared a national day of mourning in 2001.
S
tate commemorations on the square
before Parliament were attended
by President János Áder, Defence
Minister Csaba Hende, Interior Minister
Sándor Pintér, Chief of Staff Tibor Benkő and members of the diplomatic corps.
The names of the 13 Martyrs of Arad were
read out loud in tribute. The dignitaries
then moved on to pay their respects by the
memorial for Lajos Batthyány, the prime
minister of Hungary’s first independent
government, nearby.
Later in the day, Áder told a commemoration ceremony that the martyrs had passed
on to us “a legacy of freedom, faithfulness
and courage”. Their sacrifice, together with
ideals of freedom, independence and development “have been fired into the memory
of our political nation”, the president added. Those values could not be questioned
because Hungarians “will always find a
way to achieve their freedom. ... That love
of freedom is one of the most beautiful and
most valuable components of our being
Hungarian”.
József Tóbiás, leader of the opposition
Socialists, said Hungary must progress
on the path of freedom in order to be independent and successful. “When we remember the martyrs, we must remember
how fragile and precious freedom can be,”
he said. “We must not waste it and must
not give it up for anyone. … If we surrender any of the rights that constitute freedom, the rest will be taken away from us
by despotism.”
Ferenc Gyurcsány, leader of the opposition DK, said 6 October is a memorial day
for self-sacrifice and the progress that this
sacrifice enables. The sacrifice of the generals in Arad and their supporters was an
inspiration for modesty and work today,
and it was the democrats’ task to work on
fulfilling the dreams of the 48-ers.
Lajos Bokros, leader of the Modern
Hungary Movement and the left-of-centre
opposition’s candidate for mayor of Budapest, said 6 October is a time to remember
all who fought against suppression and for
the freedom of the Hungarian people over
the centuries. After placing wreaths on
the Batthyány memorial, he said he and
his supporters are fighting as democrats
against “a despotic dictatorship”.
Industry gathering
fetes Liszt Ferenc
Budapest Airport won a prominent marketing award at the largest and most
important annual global gathering of the
aviation industry, the World Routes conference, in Chicago recently. The operator of Liszt Ferenc International Airport
triumphed in its category in 2011, was
voted among the best in 2012 and was
ranked 20th from several hundred airports worldwide this year, receiving the
“highly commended” award.
Executives use the three-day event
to decide on potential new routes
planned for the near future. A highlight
is an award gala, where airline representatives assess the performance of
airports in various areas, including innovative marketing tools, market research, traffic forecasts and other services supporting airline operations.
Steadfast route development efforts
have seen passenger traffic at Budapest
Airport increase 7.4% year-to-date until
31 August, with total traffic projected to
reach an all-time high by year’s end.
The appearance of four new airlines
and the launch of nine new flights in
2014 contributed to the growth, with
Emirates set to launch a daily flight
between Dubai and Budapest.
“We are thrilled at being recognised
for one of the most widely acclaimed
industry achievement awards,” said
Kam Jandu, chief commercial officer for
Budapest Airport. “The award is testament to the non-stop hard work of the
great team we have working for us. We
strongly believe in our innovative marketing activities, the messages they
carry and how this translates into real
business results. In spite of losing a
national airline two years ago, we are
on course to break our all-time passenger record in 2014.”
10 October 2014 | Nr. 41
27
The Budapest Times
4th DWC OktOberfest
Saturday, 18 October from 5pm
Festival tent at the Batthyány Square
property of the Maltese Charity Service
(Bem rakpart 28, District I.)
Original Bavarian festival beer, Haxen (roasted pork knuckle),
cold Bavarian culinary treats and other delicacies.
Responsible for the authentic beer-tent atmosphere will be
once again the Tirol-based band “de Drei”.
Lieselore Cyrus
Patron:
Germany’s Ambassador to Hungary
Guests of honour:
former president of Hungary Pál Schmitt
Prof. Dr. Árpád Kovács
President of the Budgetary Council
Entry fee varies between HUF 3,000 and 12,500
depending on DWC membership and the type of meal chosen.
In association with:
Further information and registration: +36-1-312-1123, [email protected], www.dwc.hu
or on the Facebook page of the DWC (Deutscher Wirtschaftsclub Budapest-German Business Club Budapest).
Review
The Budapest Times
Review: Cake Shop Budapest, District V
There’s no recipe for tastiness
Pastel colours, cakes and soft piano music – even being an atheist I felt like I was in heaven.
Cake Shop Budapest brings this place alive and offers dozens of sweet and savoury treats
along with workshops, where people can learn how to prepare the heavenly cakes at home.
Fanni Sallay, the proprietor, tells how her hobby became her profession
and reveals the golden rules of baking.
„„
L isa Wei l
B
ehind the counter the confectioners are busy in their white gloves
mixing, kneading and decorating.
There are cakes, muffins, biscuits, cakepops, meringues, macarons, cupcakes
and even more things behind the glass;
for a sweet tooth, even looking at them
makes your mouth water.
Besides all kinds of desserts, there are
quiche, bagels and sandwiches. The menu
will be widened with more baked goods
and salads soon. Hot and cold drinks to
enjoy with your cake range from coffee
to cola, and you can even buy part of the
interior decoration: the ornate cups, cans
and plates displayed on the shelves.
I would like to state this absolute
truth about the Cake Shop right away:
everything looks pretty and tastes great
here. By the way, everything is handmade, the ingredients do not contain
V. Zoltán u. 16
(at Szabadság tér)
Reservation:
+36 1 331 4352
Arany Kaviar Restaurant
Thinking Relocation?
Think Interdean.
Tel. 888-6750
[email protected]
“We make it
easy”
Relocation
Immigration
è
Moving
Real Estate
For sale OR For rent! In XII. Béla Király
street (near the German School) separated
villapart in 3000 sqm nature park for rent.
200 sqm, 4 rooms+hall, 2 baths, 200 sqm
terrace, 300 sqm garden, sauna, garage.
South-facing, panoramic views. Feng-shui
biohuse. Pets are allowed.
Rent: 1500 EUR/month. (Selling price: to
be discussed) Call (evenings or mornings):
+36/ 20 267-4018.
Lunchtime Russian Bistro
in our garden area:
Menu for 3.900 Ft
From 12pm to 3pm!
1015 Budapest, Ostrom u. 19
Open: 12pm-3pm, 6pm-12am
Monday closed!
Tel.: (+36 1) 201 6737
www.aranykaviar.hu
10 October 2014 | Nr. 41
29
Photos: Nóra Halász
Review
30
10 October 2014 | Nr. 41
The Budapest Times
The Budapest Times
any artificial preservatives and the
wonderful rainbow colours are also natural. Finally, no matter what diet you
are following, you will surely find something to nibble on.
“We take it very seriously that we
should be able to offer something for
everyone,” says Sallay, the head of the
Cake Shop and inventor of the concept.
“For example we use coconut milk for
the coconut cake so that lactose-sensitive people can safely eat this cake.
For similar reasons there are always
vegetarian varieties among the offered
quiches and sandwiches too. Even people allergic to gluten do not have to
miss out on our cakes.”
Review
Fanni Sallay
Perfectionism and love
I got to try the gluten-free (or in other
words: grain-free) cakes via the strawberry-poppy seed cake. It does not contain any flour; the base is a juicy mouse
of poppy seeds crowned by a layer of
fresh strawberry cream. The cake tastes
really wonderful; not too heavy and not
too sweet.
No wonder, since Sallay’s standards
are high. As soon as she notices a mistake, she acts. She changes the empty
honey container on our table right away,
and she inspects the birthday cake for a
client one last time before it is collected.
She does this not because she is pushy or
strict but because quality matters for her.
“I am not a classic chef, I need partners,” Sallay says, while she looks towards her team of bakers and waitresses
respectfully. Sallay is only 27 years old
and a mother of three children of two,
four and six years. She needs good management skills for both her private and
her professional life.
Sallay loves her Cake Shop and baking very much – although she only began
baking as a hobby. Already as a child she
liked to watch her mother bake, she decorated cakes and she learned the right
technique of kneading from her grandmother. As a young woman, she decided
to go in the commercial direction, and
studied economics.
However, she decided to make her favourite spare-time activity her profession,
and started to bake for a café in District II
until more and more patisseries and cafés
began asking for her desserts. She also
began to work for and counsel catering
companies such as Tchibo and McCafé.
“The Cake Shop is actually the smallest
part of my work but it’s my favourite job
with which I still have a lot of plans,” Sallay tells us. “To be honest, I cannot fit in
here everything that I would like to do.”
Baking with intuition
However, many things do fit in – among
others there are regular workshops.
These are usually organised in Hungarian, with some in Danish and French. If
you are interested in a workshop in English or German, it can be arranged. “Our
team does not consist of skilled workers
and trained pastry chefs. Many have
similar backgrounds as I do. They have
studied something completely different
but never lost their love for baking and
have preserved their intellect too. Thanks
to their studies and training many of my
employees speak several languages.”
The topic of the workshops changes from
month to month. In the summer, feasts
such as weddings and birthday parties for
children are on the program, while in autumn the workshops are oriented more to10 October 2014 | Nr. 41
è
31
Review
The Budapest Times
wards seasonal baking. If you have further
ideas for workshop topics, Sallay and her
team would be happy to hear them.
The young mother says the process of the
workshops is uncomplicated and people-oriented. “There is no educational lesson, we
rather work together on something. In our
small groups of eight participants we share
the method ’rules instead of recipes’, which
I developed and we use in Cake Shop.
“These 28 golden rules are about paying
attention rather to ratios than measurements in order to create perfect dishes,
which is especially important in baking.”
She offers the example of a chocolate
cake that they want to prepare in a gluten-free way. Instead of removing the
ingredients that contain gluten from the
original recipe, she takes the rest of the
ingredients and combines them in a new
way, adding further ingredients that
match (for example almonds, honey, mint)
to create something completely new.
Sallay would like to detail this “science
of baking” in a book she is writing. Don’t
expect a usual recipe book. The focus will
be cooking and baking with intuition,
with the help of the golden rules.
Cakes for everyone
If you are longing for sweets, you can
have your own individual cake customised
at the Cake Shop, for any occasion. “It does
not matter if someone has special wishes or,
quite to the contrary, no specific idea, but
at least knows in what direction the tastes
should be heading – we will think about
it and create something nice together. Of
course, the more time we have, the better,
but it also happened already that we had to
conjure a birthday cake within half an hour.”
Sallay and her team would never accept
such an order if they knew they would be
unable to fulfil it due to lack of time. Ideally they need about a week for planning
and realisation.
They plan to open three more Cake
Shops in the next five years. One thing
is for sure: they will guarantee heavenly
delights for their clients.
Cake Shop Budapest
József Attila utca 12, District V
Open Monday to Friday 8am-8pm,
Saturday 10am-8pm, Sunday 10am-6pm.
Tel.: (+36) 30 721-0773
www.cakeshop.hu
32
10 October 2014 | Nr. 41
Workshops in October
12 October: Dessert table inspired by pumpkin
19 October: World of the strudel
26 October: Sweet Halloween
To apply for the workshops, phone (+36) 30 7210773, (+36) 30 303-1407), email at cakeshop@
cakeshop.hu or Facebook message.
They begin at 6pm. The fee is HUF 8,500.
The Budapest Times
W h at
l i e s b e n e at h
The Capital with the Eye of an Expat
Into the unknown
on wings of imagination
You would think that after seven years in a sometimes volatile but never boring relationship,
I would have glimpsed, even if not fully understood, most facets of Budapest life.
Seven years is long enough to get to know a city, its museums, its theatres, its bars and restaurants,
its cafés, its libraries. Of course, some of these often change their names and offers;
that’s to be expected. But when it comes to the more established establishments,
even if I’ve not set foot in every one of them, their names should register if mentioned.
I
thought I was particularly up to date
on my markets, having been to all I’d
heard of at least once, if not repeatedly. So it was with some surprise that I
learned of one I had missed: Bakancsos
utcai piac in District XVII.
I have been to Örs vezér tere, the terminus of the No. 2 metro line, on numerous occasions. I’ve been mildly curious
about the buses that leave from there,
too, but I’ve never had reason to get
on one. Any place past Örs vezér was
a mystery, a part of the city I’d never
seen. Last weekend though, I ventured
forth. The instructions were clear: Örs
Vezér térről 67-es busz Szürkebegy utcai
megálló (uszoda utáni 2. megálló) – take
the 67 bus and get off two stops after the
swimming pool.
The 25-minute trip threw up some wonderful place names that both simplified
and confused. Uszoda (swimming pool)
said it all, but what of 513 utca? What’s
that about? What’s so significant about
the number 513? I checked on Google
maps and saw there is a large square
area in the XVIIth where all the streets
are numbered in the 500s (from 500 to
545) and at its centre sits 525 tér. There’s
a near-perfect symmetry in the layout of
the streets that suggests it’s a planned
neighbourhood, and if viewed from the air
I imagine it would look quite impressive.
I now want to go see for myself.
The market itself is set in what for all
the world looks like a piece of wasteland in
the middle of a residential neighbourhood.
We didn’t have to worry about finding our
way: it seemed like everyone on the bus
was heading in the same direction. Inside
a walled area, hundreds of vendors had
laid blankets on the ground or set up tables and were selling their wares.
Clothes, shoes, china, cutlery, books,
records, photographs, pictures, vases, statues, light bulbs – anything and
everything you might ever want or need
was there for the finding. And, unlike the
city-centre markets such as Petőfi Csarnok or the better-known suburban market Esceri piac, both of which are common
tourist haunts, the prices in Bakancsos
were
reasonable.
Very reasonable.
Flea markets like
this are wonderful
places to take a trip
into a parallel universe. I lost some
time
looking
at
framed portraits, so
engaged was I in imagining the lives of
those in the pictures.
Leafing through autograph books I was
struck again by the
stories that lay behind each and every
item on sale. If only
they could talk.
It’s a mecca for anyone with an imagination. The old adage that one man’s
trash is another man’s treasure is so
true. People were buying the most unlikely things: why would you buy a wedding photo of total strangers? Trying to
figure out why others had bought what
they had was nearly as much fun as sifting through the remnants of bygone eras
in search of something I didn’t know that
I couldn’t live without myself.
Open Friday to Sunday 6am-1pm, it’s
a grand way to pass a Saturday morning.
Mary Murphy is a freelance writer and
public speaker who is constantly on the
look-out for new markets. Do share. Read
more at www.stolenchild66.wordpress.com
Photo: bakancsospiac.hu
„„
M ary Murphy
10 October 2014 | Nr. 41
33
Panorama
To advertise in
The
Budapest
Times
call +36 1 453 0752
The Budapest Times
Where to go? – Music mix
Liszt Ferenc Memorial Museum: Saturday chamber music recitals
in museum with reconstruction of the composer’s last Budapest
flat containing his original instruments, furniture, books, scores,
personal objects and memorabilia. District VI, Vörösmarty u. 35.
www.lisztmuseum.hu
Budapest Congress Centre: Occasional pop and ballet shows.
District XII, Jagelló út 1-3. www.bcwtc.hu
Budapest Jazz Club: Regular programming of mostly Hungarian
jazz. District XIII, Hollán Ernő u. 7. www.bjc.hu
The Budapest Times
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EUR 150
1 year
HUF 30,000 EUR 210
EUR 260
EUR 50
EUR 50
PDF 1 year HUF 14,000
Walk elegantly throughout the year:
with shoes from Dinkelacker.
www.heinrich-dinkelacker.de
Comfortably through autumn.
Let it blow, let it rain, with our shoes nothing stands in your way.
You can learn about and, of course, purchase our shoes conveniently in our Budapest showroom (1225 Budapest, Március 15. u. 1-3).
You can also take a look in our shoe workshop and get a glimpse of the unique handcrafting of our special shoes. The showroom is open
Monday to Friday from 8 to 2.30pm, or by prior appointment (Tel.:+36-1-207-6185 or mobile: +36-20-537-8683). Ms. Andrea Nyerges is
happy to advise you in English and show you through our workshop.