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Scary

by DoDo Mon Sep 25th, 2006 at 12:29:57 PM EST

A quick update on the Hungarian troubles (the right-winger protests and riots against PM Ferenc "I lied!" Gyurcsány). As the riots subsided already by Thursday, and only the nonviolent protests of the far-right continue, here is some less directly scary stuff.

Promoted by Colman


Here is a placard on a lamppost before the parliament:

The small letters above mean: "If this would really be the scum rioting on Kossuth Square, then on this lamppost would hang:"... The name belongs to a left/liberal radio reporter, other lampposts bear the name of his collagues.

I wrote that the 'revolutionaries' formed a 'national guard' to prevent 'provocations' (e.g. violence from their midst). Here are four of them behind a speaker on the tribune:

Looking at this potential embryo of a paramilitary, I somehow wish back the football hooligans of the first days...

But government politicians are not to be outdone, so Gábor Kuncze, boss of minor coalition partner Free Democrats, a liberal party, declared that police should have attacked and dispersed protesters on the first day...

Another scary thing is: who get 'street credit'. Now the 'hero' is this guy with obvious national-pathologic signs:

I wrote earlier that the right-to-far-right has a long-running protest culture, of which the present events are only the last wave. Also that this peaked previously four years ago, when a bridge of the Danube was closed off, an action meant to kick-start a revolution, but which ended in police action several hours later. The above non-gentleman 'earned' his prominence by having been the only one arrested (for simple disobedience) in the course of that police action, and then being released quickly.

In the four years since, he grew into a main figure at the protests. And on Monday/Tuesday night, he participated in the violence at the state TV building, and also in the damaging of the Soviet war heroes memorial in front of that building (for the removal of which the far-right long protested). For the latter, an arrest warrant was put out for him. If that alone wouldn't raise his outlaw hero image, so far (five days passed) he escaped arrest -- he even made repeated 'daring appearances' at the Parliament protest, last time on Saturday, in a ski mask...

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I'm still searching for a photo of Budaházy in ski mask.

*Lunatic*, n.
One whose delusions are out of fashion.
by DoDo on Mon Sep 25th, 2006 at 10:53:13 AM EST
Have you seen Jerome's comment to you on the Energy thread, and do you want to edit the text?
by afew (afew(a in a circle)eurotrib_dot_com) on Mon Sep 25th, 2006 at 10:55:34 AM EST
[ Parent ]
Will look at it soon, but I probably won't have much time tonight: I just received that package from Britain I wrote about the other day, will have some work with it.

*Lunatic*, n.
One whose delusions are out of fashion.
by DoDo on Mon Sep 25th, 2006 at 11:25:50 AM EST
[ Parent ]
Well, it's now too late to get this in during Brussels office hours, but we must try tomorrow morning, I think. Perhaps you can make just slight changes, not really big ones? If you do, Number 17 is the baseline version.

We can always, later, use this as part of the basis of an Energize Europe paper, so work more fully on it then.

by afew (afew(a in a circle)eurotrib_dot_com) on Mon Sep 25th, 2006 at 11:32:13 AM EST
[ Parent ]
Answers there.

*Lunatic*, n.
One whose delusions are out of fashion.
by DoDo on Mon Sep 25th, 2006 at 11:42:35 AM EST
[ Parent ]
I can't find a photo of Budaházy in ski mask even on far-right sites! Nor on the sites of TV channels, altough clips were all over them.

For now, here is something for Marek:

The text reads:

LET'S FOLLOW
THE EXAMPLE
OF THE POLISH BROTHERS!
LET'S BAN THE COMMUNISTS
FROM PUBLIC LIFE!


*Lunatic*, n.
One whose delusions are out of fashion.
by DoDo on Mon Sep 25th, 2006 at 11:29:41 AM EST
[ Parent ]
Thanks for the update, DoDo. Or not, because who likes to see these creepy-crawlies?

What really scares me about them is their air of entitlement. They look like people who really think they're going to take over.

What are their chances?

by afew (afew(a in a circle)eurotrib_dot_com) on Mon Sep 25th, 2006 at 10:59:48 AM EST
For the foreseeable future, nil. Fidesz still holds the true power on the Right, without their central direction, the protesters are disoriented and not numerous enough for anything beyond causing trouble. If Fidesz would decide to really stage a revolution, they would theoretically have a chance, but here 'theoretically' is in a similar sense as a nuclear-armed Iran attacking Israel with a first strike.

*Lunatic*, n.
One whose delusions are out of fashion.
by DoDo on Mon Sep 25th, 2006 at 11:35:25 AM EST
[ Parent ]
BTW, a good photo of Fidesz leader Orbán, showing off his personality:



*Lunatic*, n.
One whose delusions are out of fashion.

by DoDo on Mon Sep 25th, 2006 at 11:36:45 AM EST
[ Parent ]
The thousand yard stare, the largeness around the jowls, the sense of tearfulness, something romantic linked to past myths...

Yes, I've recognised him--or rather, his alter ego.  If he'd only get funky with his sexy nature, be true to the troll within himself, then he too could stride the world!

(Uh oh, horrible "Alex in Clockwork Orange" sensations...milk...Beethoven...ultra-violence...)



Don't fight forces, use them R. Buckminster Fuller.

by rg (leopold dot lepster at google mail dot com) on Mon Sep 25th, 2006 at 11:20:10 AM EST
Great reporting as always, DoDo.

Don't fight forces, use them R. Buckminster Fuller.
by rg (leopold dot lepster at google mail dot com) on Mon Sep 25th, 2006 at 11:22:06 AM EST
[ Parent ]
Football hooligans: you haven't named the team involved! Is it Ferencvaros, Honved, Újpest? Is there a correlation between football teams and political parties?

The road of excess leads to the palace of wisdom - William Blake
by talos (mihalis at gmail dot com) on Mon Sep 25th, 2006 at 01:04:09 PM EST
Those participating in the riots were mainly Ferencváros, but also Újpest (I wrote earlier in IdiotSavant's diary that the cooperation of these arch-enemies is a first).

There is some correlation between football teams and political parties, but on one hand the poor state of Hungarian football also means attenders staying away, on the other hand the ultras (who make up most of those remaining in the stadiums) are mostly (far-)right-wing everywhere.

For what its worth: The non-ultra supporters of Honvéd (former army club), and in part Újpest (former police club), could be counted as close to MSzP, but presently seen as closest is Újpest's neighbour, Vasas (was ironworkers' club). The current leader of the table, MTK (formerly associated with the bourgeois and with Budapest's Jews), could be counted as the liberals' club. Fradi (nickname for Ferencváros, used to be Budapest's ethnic Germans' club, the club with the strongest base, currently kicked down to second division for financial troubles) is right-wing, but closest party changes with time: when the agriculture minister pumped money into it, it was the now defunct Smallholders' Party. The club closest to Fidesz is DVSC (nickname Loki), from the second largest city and strong Fidesz base Debrecen (presently third on the table).

*Lunatic*, n.
One whose delusions are out of fashion.

by DoDo on Mon Sep 25th, 2006 at 03:37:08 PM EST
[ Parent ]


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