Britain, Anarchist Federation Organise - Hungary: the far right menaces

Up until 2010 Hungary was ruled by a union of the left in alliance with a liberal party.
At its head was Ferenc Gyurcsany from the Socialist Party (MSZP). It operated a programme
of severe austerity based firmly on free market and neo-liberal principles. There was much
popular anger against the measures of this government and Gyurcsany had to hand in his
resignation after he was forced to admit that he had lied eighteen months before, when he
deliberately withheld information about the actual budget in his 2006 re-election
campaign. -- The parties of the right, in alliance with those of the far right, exploited
the situation by offering a fake anti-market programme and advancing its protectionist and
racist and xenophobic recipes. As a result FIDESZ , a nationalist, protectionist, and
conservative party led by Viktor Orban, came to power thanks to its alliance with JOBBIK,
a far right party with virulent racist rhetoric and squads of thugs, and with the KDNP,
the Christian-Democrat party.

This success of the right was even seen in

the capital Budapest where a con-

servative mayor was elected for the

first time.

FIDESZ and its allies immediately

began a savage reactionary pro-

gramme starting with a reform of

the Constitution. The word Republic

was removed from references to the

country, now designated simply as

Hungary, implying a national mono-

culture, the rights of minorities were

suppressed, the right to abortion

and the rights of homosexuals were

questioned, the media now came un-

der stricter control and censorship,

journalists were sacked, the judiciary

came under greater control of the

State and an attack on the legitimacy

of the right-far right alliance?s oppo-

nents began.

Organ also instituted a works scheme

that was obligatory for the unem-

ployed, in particular targeting the

Rom gypsies of the country. These

work schemes have been character-

ised as labour camps by some. He

made a further proposal that these

camps should be guarded by retired

policemen.

As to the promised anti-market

measures, in fact what happened

was that the work laws were abol-

ished, education and the public ser-

vices were decimated. There was a

forced reshuffle at the central bank,

electoral changes were made so that

this new government can still main-

tain control even when support for

it has shrunk. Thus the central bank,

the Constitutional Court and the ju-

diciary are far more firmly under the

control of the prime minister than

before. All of this is in the context of

a deteriorating economic situation.

As a result anger among the Hun-

garian population is mounting. It is

organising to oppose the measures

of the government. At the present

the main organisation participating

in this mobilisation is the EMD move-

ment- A Million For Democracy- tied

to reformist notions and far from

combative and containing strong

electoralist currents, especially with

the LMP party (Politics Can Be Differ-

ent). A demonstration of 30,000 took

place on 2nd January of this year,

in addition to opposition parties

attracting the Hungarian Solidarity

Movement, based on the politics of

PolLish Solidarnosc. However social

movements are emerging in this

context not tied to any of the parties

and based on grassroots self-organi-

sation, often using social networking

to organise. As yet they are still a

small force and include a movement

among the students , opposing the

reforms of the universities imple-

mented by the regime.

As a result of the worsening eco-

nomic situation and the growing

opposition, the government will turn

to further autocratic measures and

will increasingly emphasise a rabid

nationalist rhetoric, whilst carrying

out an apparent anti-market politics

with a threat to tax the banks and

to nationalise some private pension

funds. All of this with the intention

of securing conditions for a further

loan from the International Mon-

etary Fund.

Whilst illusions about the left par-

ties have been dispelled among large

swathes of the Hungarian masses,

indignation against the authoritarian

right administration is mounting.

This opposition has to move towards

ideas based on self-organisation and

mass mobilisation and action. Events

of an earth shaking nature as with

the Hungarian Revolutions of 1919

and 1956 might yet sweep away

FIDESZ and its jackbooted allies.

Bron :

a-infos-en@ainfos.ca