Gordon Bajnai

Gordon Bajnai, the Socialist government’s development minister, was nominated to replace outgoing Prime Minister Ferenc Gyurcsány in the early hours of the morning, following desperate, marathon meetings within the Hungarian Socialist Party (MSZP) and the liberal Alliance of Free Democrats (SZDSZ). Assuming that Bajnai’s supporters are able to muster a thin majority in parliament next week, the 41 year old development minister will take over the Hungarian government on April 14, 2009. Yet Bajnai will face major political obstables as prime minister, above and beyond the severe economic crisis which brought Hungary to the brink of bankruptcy.

Gordon Bajnai comes across as telegenic and generally affable in the handful of interviews conducted with him during his brief stint in politics. Bajnai, who is not a member of the Socialist Party and seems to present himself as more of a manager or technocrat, than a party politician, has attempted to put himself above the deep left-right divide that has plagued Hungarian society. In his first statement as the left’s prime ministerial candidate, Bajnai noted that it did not matter to him who stands on the left or on the right of the political spectrum and that he did not want to be seen as a political rival, since he is only willing to take on Hungary’s top job for a limited period of time.

The terms ‘left’ and ‘right’ mean very different things in Hungary these days than just about anywhere else in the democratic world. The Hungarian Socialist Party’s rhetoric on economic policy–and that of the government’s supporters in the media–is akin to what one would hear from Conservatives in Canada or Republicans in the United States. In contrast, Fidesz–Hungary’s largest ‘conservative’ opposition party has suggested that it advocates a third-way economic model, while supporting free public health care and a tuition freeze in universities.

Bajnai will try to tackle Hungary’s economic problems with massive public spending cutbacks totaling 500 billion forints. Whether he will be able to pass any of his proposed legislation in parliament (where Socialist MPs have a record of watering down similar legislation in the past) remains an open question. But even more problematic for Bajnai will be his distinct lack of political legitimacy as prime minister. Not only was Bajnai never elected by popular vote to any political office whatsoever, but the Socialists and Free Democrats only decided to elect him after 17 other potential prime ministerial candidates either rejected the offer for the top job, were turned down by the Free Democrats or were seen as unacceptable by increasingly rebellious Socialist MPs.

Bajnai’s nomination was the closing act of a bizarre political soap opera, which showcased a truly stunning degree of Socialist incompetence. Socialists and Free Democrats spent a week agonizing over who would be Hungary’s next prime minister, in the hope of avoiding an early election which would be disastrous for the MSZP and outright fatal for the SZDSZ. The names of 18 businessmen, bankers, economists, academics and politicians were leaked to the media over a seven day period, prompting these business leaders to issue sometimes shocked rebukes or rejections, as they often found out that the Socialists were pondering their nomination without having first informed the candidate about their plans. Following seven days of failed negotiations, a dozen and a half candidates who did not want the prime ministership–or who were turned down by party politicians–the lethargic Socialists and frantic Free Democrats saw the writing on the wall, and elected Bajnai in their misery. The Socialists accepted Bajnai’s nomination through a “vote of sympathy” on Sunday–in which a third of the the party’s caucus was missing–and the SZDSZ’ leadership voted 7 to 5 to accept the new prime minister at around 1:00AM in Budapest. This only happened after Bajnai reportedly issued an ultimatum, in which he demanded that Free Democrats vote for him before midnight, or else he would withdraw his name, just like all the other candidates. In the end, János Kóka, an SZDSZ MP and Bajnai’s former business partner, convinced his party to support his friend, rather than jump off the deep end in an early election, which would have decimated the liberal party.

Bajnai will find it difficult to counter arguments  that Hungary not only suffers from crippling economic problems, but also a huge democratic deficit. While the opposition Fidesz has already indicated that it would continue to push for an early election and would not support any government initiatives–there is dissent within the Socialists and Free Democrats camps as well. Socialist MP József Karsai already confirmed that he does not intend to support Bajnai and that the party’s maneouvering was “pointless.” József Gulyás, an SZDSZ MP, also indicated that he would vote against Bajnai, while three of his colleagues are hesitant to support the new prime minister. For the next 12 months–before the spring 2010 election which will likely bring Fidesz back to power–Bajnai will have to tackle the economy, and deal with the nagging sense of political illegitimacy surrounding his new position. The current political mess will almost certainly come back to bite the Socialists and Free Democrats in European Parliamentary elections set to take place on June 7, 2009.

Christopher Adam

• Gordon Bajnai becomes Hungarian prime minister

The Hungarian Committee of Montréal and the Embassy of the Republic of Hungary in Ottawa have partnered to organize a historical exhibit at the Place des Arts, with the aim of showcasing some of the most famous embroderies from Hungary, as well as the history of Québec’s Hungarian community. Needlepoint Halas lace is celebrating its 100th anniversary, while the first Hungarians also settled in Montréal a century ago. Hungarian Ambassador Pál Vastagh will open the vernissage, scheduled for 5 April 2009 at 5:00pm with an introductory speech and he will be followed by Andor Csukly, president of the Hungarian Committee of Montréal. Christopher Adam, president of the Montréal Hungarian Historical Society (MHHS) will provide an overview of the history of Hungarians in Québec, in French. The speeches will be followed by a cocktail reception.

Júlia Ciamarra, the retired principal of the Hungarian School of Montréal, served as the exhibit’s local organizer. The Government of Québec’s Ministry of Immigration and Cultural Communities is among the exhibit’s sponsors.

The exhibit can be viewed from April 6-12, 2009, between 11:00am and 6:00pm, at Montréal’s Place des Arts.

Magyar kiállítás Montreálban

Magyar vonatkozású kiállítás kerül megrendezésre a montreáli Place des Arts-ban, melynek során megismerkedhet a helyi francia és angol lakosság a világhírű halasi csipkével, valamint a Québec tartománybeli magyarság történelmével. A 100 éves halasi csipke legszebb példái kerülnek bemutatára, a Montreáli Magyar Történelmi Társaság által készített, a magyar közösség múltját ismertető tablóival együtt.  A kiállítást a Montreáli Magyar Bizottság és a Magyar Köztársaság Ottawai Nagykövetsége közösen szervezi. Az ünnepélyes megnyításra 2009 április 5-én (vasárnap), d.u. 5 órakor kerül sor. Ezt követően pedig a szervezők koktél-fogadásra hívják a vendégeket. A rendezényt Vastagh Pál nagykövet nyítja meg és szintén felszólal Csukly Andor, a Montreáli Magyar Bizottság elnöke, valamint Ádám Christopher, a Montreáli Magyar Történelmi Társaság elnöke. A kiállítás helyi szervezője Ciamarra Júlia és a költségekhez a québeci kormány is hozzájárult.

2009. április 6-12 között tekinteni meg a kiállítást, reggel 11-től este 6 óráig a Place des Arts színház halljában.

Kanadai Magyar Hírlap

Miklós Jancsó

Pacific Cinémathèque is preparing to present a four-film retrospective on Miklós Jancsó, among the great directors of 1960s European cinema. One of the masters of widescreen composition and elaborately choreographed long-take sequence shots, Jancsó’s fervid, transfixing, highly stylized and intensely formalist films are noted for their balletic, brutal study of repression, rebellion and revolution. Power and politics are destructive forces in Jancsó’s singular cinema, which is highly allegorical and can approach abstraction in its use of ritual, spectacle, massive scale and geometrical patterning to depict human events. His dramas explore, obsessively, turbulent events of Hungary’s past history; the historical settings serve as pretexts for Jancsó’s true subjects: repression in the contemporary, post-1956 Hungary in which he lived; and, more universally, our capacity as humans to inflict very great cruelty upon one another.

Jancsó was the recipient of a Special Prize for his entire body of work at Cannes in 1979 (he had won the festival’s Best Director award in 1972 for Red Psalm), and was accorded a similar honour – a Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement – at Venice in 1990. It is no exaggeration to say that he was one of the world’s leading filmmakers in the 1960s and early 1970s. That Jancsó is less well known today speaks to the shifting winds of critical fashion, but also reflects the fact that his films – which demand to be viewed on the big screen – have simply become difficult to see: good 35mm prints of Jancsó ’s works have not been available in Canada or the U.S. for decades. This presentation features new 35mm prints, imported from Hungary, of four of Jancsó’s greatest achievements.

The four films to be screen in Vancouver  include The Round-Up (1965), The Red and the White (1967), Red Psalm (1972), as well as Silence and Cry (1967). All four films are in Hungarian, with English subtitles.  

The Round-Up (Szegénylegények)

Miklós Jancsó’s international breakthrough came with this unusual, hypnotic historical drama, hailed by fellow Magyar director Zoltán Fábri as “perhaps the best Hungarian film which has ever been made.” In the 1860s, forces of the Austro-Hungarian Empire round up a group of peasants and, through a ritualistic process of interrogation, torture and execution, attempt to weed out partisans who had participated in Hungary’s 1848 revolt against Habsburg rule.

The Red and the White (Csillagosok, katonák)

Miklós Jancsó was commissioned by the Soviets to make a film commemorating the 50th anniversary of the Russian Revolution. A co-production between Hungary and the USSR, the film is set during the Civil War that followed the Revolution, and concerns a group of Hungarian volunteers fighting for the Bolshevik side against White Russian forces. An epic back-and-forth struggle unfolds on a vast, expansive plain; each side commits atrocities as it gains the upper hand. The film showcases Jancsó’s gift for panoramic pageantry, intricate camera movement, and geometric abstraction, and his interest in the rituals of power, the mechanics of dominance and submission. Neither the extreme formalism nor the anti-heroic content could have thrilled the Soviets, who first re-edited the film and then banned it.

Red Psalm (Még kér a nép)

Jancsó won Best Director honours at Cannes for this dizzying, dazzling film which recounts, in fervid, balletic, bloody fashion, and with much pageantry (and nudity), a farm workers’ rebellion on a large Hungarian estate in the late 19th century. Jancsó’s circling, swirling, incessantly moving camera captures the drama with breathtaking kinetic and metaphoric force; this 88-minute film is composed of a mere 28 shots, each demonstrating the director’s bold, rhythmic command of the expressive extended take.

Silence and Cry  (Csend és Kiáltás)

An elliptical, claustrophobic drama shot in the brilliant, breathtaking long takes that are Jancsó’s trademark, Silence and Cry is set after the fall of the short-lived Hungarian Soviet Republic of 1919. A young Red soldier, fleeing the anti-Communist manhunt, takes refuge at the isolated farm of a peasant family. His reluctant hosts are already under police scrutiny for being politically suspect. The local White commander is aware of the soldier’s presence but, for personal reasons, keeps it a secret. The soldier discovers that the farmer is being poisoned, slowly, by his wife and her sister.

Screenings will take place April 1-6, 2009. For more precise screening dates and times, call: 1-604 688 FILM.

Ferenc Gyurcsány, Hungary’s longest serving prime minister since the country’s transition to democracy twenty years ago, suprised even the most avid political analysts by announcing his imminent resignation. Gyurcsány spoke at the Hungarian Socialist Party’s congress, where he recommended that the left-centre party form a new government, headed by a new prime minister. “I misjudged our strength and the opportunities before us and I did not offer a clear and straightforward speech at a critical moment. As such, my credibility decreased significantly”–Gyurcsány told party delegates.

Gyurcsány will call for a vote of confidence  in parliament this coming week, which he is almost certain to lose, in light of the fact that the four opposition parties hold a majority in the Hungarian national legislature. The liberal Alliance of Free Democrats (SZDSZ) has been calling for Gyurcsány’s resignation for a year, when it decided to leave the governing coalition. The largest opposition party, the right-leaning Fidesz, as well as the Christian Democratic Peoples’ Party (KDNP) and the centrist Hungarian Democratic Forum (MDF) have called for Gyurcsány’s resignation over the years. Fidesz, however, is also adamant that new national elections be held on 7 June 2009, in conjunction with the European Parliamentary (EP) vote. The national vote would otherwise be scheduled for spring 2010.

All polls suggest that the Socialists stand to suffer a massive defeat, with Fidesz scooping up all but 5 or 6 of the 22 seats allocated to Hungary in the European Parliament. The deeply unpopular prime minister’s resignation, however, may offer the Socialist Party a glimmer of hope that left-centre voters–especially pensioners–might be re-engaged and convinced to vote. There has also been talk of a so-called “olive branch coalition” between the Socialists, the SZDSZ and the MDF, especially if the country’s new prime minister is independent of these parties and is seen as capable of handling Hungary’s dire economic situation. The MDF recently tried to nominate Lajos Bokros, a former finance minister in Prime Minister Gyula Horn’s Socialist government and the conservative opposition party’s main candidate in the upcoming EP elections, as prime ministerial candidate to replace Gyurcsány, but with no success. While the SZDSZ would probably support a Bokros prime ministership, the left-wing Socialists almost certainly would not, nor would Fidesz or the KDNP. Bokros holds neo-liberal economic views, calling for radical austerity measures and deep cuts to pensions, health care and education.

Even if Gyurcsány is replaced in the next two weeks, he will stay on as Socialist Party president. “Despite all of our shortcomings and our weakness, we stood on the right side,” Gyurcsány told party faithful in what may now be his last major address as prime minister.

The Hungarian economy is currently the most fragile in the European Union. The country’s debt-to-GDP ratio stands at an estimated 73 percent and is expected to rise to over 80 percent by early next year.

Canadian Hungarian Journal 

Ferenc Gyurcsány

Hungarian Prime Minister Ferenc Gyurcsány warned the leaders of western European Union member states not to erect a new Iron Curtain by permitting Eastern European economies to collapse under the pressure of the global financial crisis. “We should not allow that a new Iron Curtain should be set up and divide Europe. In the beginning of the nineties we reunified Europe, now the challenge is whether we will be able to reunify Europe financially”–Gyurcsány observed, while attending the EU’s emergency summit this weekend. The Hungarian Socialist prime minister’s words were significant enough to echo on this side of the Atlantic as well, with the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) featuring Gyurcsány’s warning as headline news on its website.

Hungary has led a move on the part of other East/Central European countries–namely Poland and the Czech Republic–to pursuade the EU to provide the region with a massive bail-out package, in order to cushion these struggling economies from the impact of dramatically declining currencies and–particularly in Hungary’s case–crippling national debts and a sizeable deficit. Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk noted that the West must adopt a “spirit against protectionism and egoism.” Czech Prime Minister Mirek Topolanek echoed his Polish and Hungarian counterparts when he noted that the region does not want “a Europe divided along a North-South or an East-West line” and also observed that a “beggar-thy-neighbour policy is unacceptable.”

Hungary has called on the EU to provide Eastern Europe with a massive €180 billion loan, but it appears as though key western European leaders are hesitant to do this. German Chancellor Angela Merkel rejected the idea of a blanket bail-out for any region, noting instead that the situation is dramatically different in each country and that a one-size-fits-all solution would not make sense. In many ways, Merkel’s assessment is quite accurate. Hungary is in the worst situation, as a liquidity crisis looms over what was once the most prosperous country in the former communist Eastern bloc. Hungary’s national debt now stands at well over 60 percent of the GDP and particularly problematic is the fact that the Hungarian forint’s value has slipped by more than 20 percent over the past months, leaving millions of Hungarians who took up mortgages or car loans in Swiss francs and euros in a bind. Yet widespread defaults and personal bankruptcies in Hungary would send Austria’s economy into a free fall as well, since major Austrian banks dominate Hungary’s banking sector. In fact, were Hungary to effectively declare bankruptcy and default on its national debt, it would likely drag the entire European common market and currency down with it.

It seems doubtful that Gyurcsány will receive all that he asked for. In fact, his request that Hungary’s adoption of the euro be fast-tracked in light of the crisis has already been rejected by Luxembourg’s Prime Minister, Jean-Claude Juncker, who noted that it is impossible to change euro zone accession criteria “overnight.” Additionally, there is a sense that the EU will not provide more aid beyond the €25 billion which was announced last week by the World Bank and the European Investment Bank, which aims to shore up Eastern Europe’s teetering banking sector. This, however, may be too little, too late for Gyurcsány, whose Socialist Party must face a deeply disenchanted electorate on 7 June 2009 for European Parliamentary elections. Hungary is allocated 22 seats in the European Parliament. Most public opinion polls suggest that the Socialists are unlikely to garner more than 6 of these, with the rest going to one or possibly two opposition conservative parties.

Canadian Hungarian Journal