Yesterday, at the end of my post, I recalled that Fidesz candidate Csaba András Dézsi year after year won his district with overwhelming majorities, ranging from 55% to 65% and said that therefore if his numbers are considerably lower this time, “it will be a warning to Fidesz that life has changed, even in Győr.”
The last time I checked, Dézsi was leading with 56.14% against Balázs Pollreisz’s 39.05%, which was, I suppose, predictable given the political realities of the city of Győr. As past makeups of the city council showed, no opposition candidate could win in any of the electoral districts in Győr. The few opposition members, like Pollreisz himself, were there thanks to the system of compensation lists. Moreover, Pollreisz’s prominent place in the local MSZP structure didn’t help the situation. In the 2019 European parliamentary elections, MSZP garnered only 1,596 votes (5.57%), while DK was supported by 16.64% and Momentum by 11.62%. In addition to MSZP’s dismal showing, Pollreisz’s personality was anything but inspiring.
One can complain about the opposition’s choice, but one must face the fact that the last time MSZP had a majority on the city council and provided a socialist mayor in the person of József Balogh, who received 46.58% of the votes, was in 2002. Since 2006, only Fidesz candidates have won their districts on their own.
Balázs Böcskei, a political scientist and director of IDEA Institute, pointed out in a very thorough article today that József Balogh was an old MSZMP technocrat, a holdover from the Kádár regime. According to a contemporary local paper, Balogh entered Győr politics at the age of 22 in 1966. In 2008, he announced that he would retire as an MSZP member of parliament at the end of the 2006-2010 parliamentary session. He believed that the party needed new faces and that it was time to give a new generation a chance. But instead of the district electing a new young MSZP member of parliament, at the 2010 national election all seven members of parliament from Győr-Moson-Sopron County came from Fidesz.
In Böcskei’s opinion, the situation that developed in 2006 was largely the fault of József Balogh, who followed in János Kádár’s footsteps, putting all of his efforts into making Győr prosperous by inviting foreign capital into the city. A a result, Győr became a relatively well-off city at the time when most former industrial towns suffered greatly as a result of the collapse of the old economic structure at the beginning of the 1990s. Audi established a plant in the city in 1993, which now employs about 13,000 people.
According to Böcskei, Balogh knew that the inhabitants of Győr were basically more to the right than to the left and found it wise to stay away from party politics. As Böcskei put it, “it was safer to keep the disputes of national politics outside of the city walls.” But then came Ferenc Gyurcsány’s speech at Balatonőszöd and “the anti-communism of the city revived.” Fidesz’s new candidate, Zsolt Borkai, was “the man representing change.”
Over the years, MSZP practically disappeared from Győr, and in the campaign of the 2019 municipal election only Tímea Glázer (DK) was at all active. Commentators, including me, found her to be an exceedingly weak candidate, yet she lost to Borkai by only a few hundred votes. Moreover, the consensus is that if the Jobbik candidates hadn’t abandoned the opposition candidate in the last minute, Glázer would have won the election.
I have read quite a few interviews with Csaba András Dézsi, and the impression I gained was not favorable. He was far too aggressive, and he gave the impression of being a man who has a very high opinion of his talents. He spoke disparagingly about those who dared to question his luxurious lifestyle and called them “not left-wingers but jerks.” As if he were above criticism. I found his insistence on continuing his medical practice full time unacceptable, and it seems that I wasn’t alone.
Csaba András Dézsi and Viktor Orbán at a football game
I watched a video of quick interviews with the voters, and several people found this dual role especially troubling, although in an ATV interview he confidently announced that he is such a superman that he is able to do double duty. I couldn’t quite get rid of the suspicion that the main reason for his insistence on continuing his medical practice was financial. I hate to think about the amount of money he receives for one of his operations since everybody in the city seems to be convinced that he is a miracle doctor. The best there is. Finally, I was turned off by his refusal to look into the financial affairs of the Borkai era. Of course, this is not at all surprising because, after all, he was part of the team for almost 30 years, even if he wasn’t the most diligent member of the council.
The voters might not get what they hoped for, but Audi ought to be happy. No one will bother to look into the firm’s far-too-close friendship with Zsolt Borkai and his lawyer, Zoltán Rákosfalvy.
To start with, it was stupid to put up a socialist candidate, even supported by the whole opposition, as his opponent. A Momentum or some other, more independent, less leftist candidate could have had better results. Having said that, it just shows that Hungary is hopeless. Not just their former mayor’s scandal (which should be investigated, so even just for that one reason they should have voted for anyone other than Fidesz), but for all of the arrogance of Orban and the ruling party in general, they should have voted anyone, but Fidesz. Vote for the dead horse of the neighbor rather than the mafia. But, this is Hungary.
No other party of the opposition had any meaningful candidate. They could not came up with one serious candidate in a year. Imagine that. They ran Glazer first (who was a very weak candidate) because at least she had some minimal name recognition (due to his brother who was a football player or coach) and knew the municipality. Rather, Pollreisz’ selection simply underscores the extremely difficult situation in which the opposition is in Győr (and elsewhere outside Budapest). Győr is a relatively big town with a relatively big “metro area” yet they could not find one credible person to oppose Fidesz which implies to the masses that no serious person thought it was worth going against Fidesz because it was a sure defeat. Orban – based on US formula but also based on general smartness – when selecting a local candidate likes to look for doctors, teachers, heads of kindergartens, successful sportspeople etc. – (i) who have instant name recognition locally and (ii) who in the rural society command respect (ie. voters can easily imagine that person in a hierarchical position above them). Unfortunately, the rural elite (teachers, doctors etc.) is conservative by default and sportspeople (and other celebrities such… Read more »
“Győr is a town in a very good shape in Hungarian terms …whose voters are conservative”
Yes, this sums it up.
However, in a lot of other cities they are also socially/culturally conservative but most of them are, or perceive themselves relatively, in a bad shape economically and not improving.
This is all what the opposition has to exploit outside Budapest, and that if they come with a left-populist economic discourse and package and Orban doesn’t.
Before we’re off to look at the new house …
My wife read a joke:
Don’t worry about the Coronavirus, Hungarians – we have O1G!
Not investigating Borkai’s government, at least perfunctorily, seems crazy to me – but Hun voters don’t care?
Apparently some do. Rather a democratic candidate they prefer despotism. Also they might not know it but their vote directly helps advance a social science in a king’s kingdom….the practice of ‘kriminologie’ with ‘authorities’ doing the snooze in a cat nap.
OT: Szilárd Demeter, Orbán’s new pitbull for literature and literary culture, gave an interview in which he outlines the government’s new policies. The Széchényi National Library will be moved out from the Castle, and it might be a good idea to build a new house, “Home of the Hungarian Language”, to accommodate the national library, the Petőfi Literature Museum and other institutions as well, such as the authors’ union, publishing houses and the “language strategy institutes”.
Demeter also said that “culture doesn’t need any more funding”, already now “enormous sums of money are wasted” on parallel projects. Isn’t this what many of us have been fearing all the time: all these politically controlled new academies and “research centres” independent of the quality control of existing academic institutions were planned already from the beginning to usurp the funding from serious culture and research?
https://infostart.hu/kultura/2020/01/24/demeter-szilard-nem-kell-tobb-penz-kulturara-mar-szervezik-az-oszk-elkoltozteteset
” all these politically controlled new academies and “research centres” … were planned already from the beginning to usurp …”
The USURPATION was planned as part of the illiberal state, even if not in this specific form. The idea has always been that everything must be brought under control, one way or the other, and now there are ever less pretenses at democracy.
Re: The literary life of the ‘Konyv’ under the ‘Fidesz Literary Guild’
Expectations should show they will be taking on the trappings of the detective story. Everbody running around with masks to hide behind. Mysteries will lurk under each and every utterance and sentence. There will be battles of ‘law and order’. Lies and lying to underly communication. Realities hiding on top of icebergs where what is not shown becomes deadly.
Anything ‘true’ between the leaves will be something hard to find as the creation of ‘literature’ will be simply an exercise of following ready-made scripts intended to direct the readers’ path to so-called truth. At bottom it is an assault on the imagination. This is making sure children learn their abc’s to make them eventually write and think in certain words and know their ‘lines’. For words are everything in connecting human beings to themselves and the world. They are the links forging communication between minds.
If as Pound noted the book is a ball of light in one’s hand the FLG will be at the switch en garde to shoot out the lights. Magyarorszag welcomed to nighty night.
-“If as Pound noted the book is a ball of light in one’s hand the FLG will be at the switch en garde to shoot out the lights.”
Man, the whole Pound-quote is “Properly, we should read for power. Man reading should be man intensely alive. The book should be a ball of light in one’s hand.”…And this thing, that reading is for power, is something that Fidesz understands very well, perfectly really, that why it wants to be sure that it is their team, the Right not the Left, which controls these institutions.
Óvoda, FIDESZ want to control all institutions to spread their ill ideology, what they need to remain in power and keep the criminal business going on. Don’t try to convince us that this is brilliant. This is what all the dictatorial regimes always do.
“FIDESZ want to control all institutions to spread their ill ideology”
sure, to make certain that it is the dominant ideology, nothing difficult to understand here
Forget ideology. You must belong to the dominant clan and stamp on the others. Tribal realities.
Re: Fidesz ‘power’ If Fidesz can be conceived of as an entity attempting ‘progress through power’ it appears to be dissembling work to simply hamstring or destroy depending on the fear that needs attending to what it deems is in the way. Some of the poet EV Millay’s words from ‘We Have Gone Too Far’ written in ’45 suggests some avenues to be thinking on the Fidesz idea of ‘progress’ and its results: ‘Progress- progress is the dirtiest word in the language- who ever told us – And made us believe it- that to take a step forward was necessarily, was always A good idea? In this unlighted cave, one step forward That step can be the down-step into the Abyss. But we, we have no sense of direction; impetus Is all we have; we do not proceed , we only Roll down the mountain, Like disbalanced boulders, crushing before us many Delicate springing things , whose plan it was to grow’. Cavemen in their caves throwing rocks. The modern way of rule and protecting ‘their’ ponds. Whoa….that igneous one just missed!. Come to think of it the boulders rain down on HS and anything similar each and every day.😎… Read more »
Wait, the FIDESZ ideology of hate is central, this is for the ordinary believer. FIDESZ needs the masses to justify the existence of the corrupt regime. But being part of the central circle of the mafia has nothing to do with being a very hateful follower of the ideology. Here you need admittance by the dictator himself. You have a kind of clan structure indeed, but the ideology is very important to keep the little idiots in line. And if you read the childish comments of some of them you see that it works.
Ovi
“Make certain that it is the dominant ideology..” , creed, religion etc. Sure, by hook or by crook as such regimes do, hence the fascist denomination.
Fidesz GOTV was everywhere, the opposition was nowhere. The opposition didn’t campaign – they probably figured they were gonna lose.
Sad story because 56 vs. 39 is much worse than let’s say 53 v. 42 which could’ve been a realistic option with a normal GOTV campaign.
This means that the opposition will give up Győr in 2022 too because it’s impossible to change 56 vs. 39 into a 44 vs. 45 in two years.
And this also implies that the opposition cannot win in 2022 because in order to win it would have to win in traditional right-wing areas such as Győr-Sopron county (and they will never win in Sopron that’s for sure).
https://hvg.hu/itthon/20200127_gyor_polgarmester_valasztas_dezsi_pollreisz
off-topic
The new president of Jobbik, Peter Jakab, has a Jewish grand-mother, and his great-grandfather died at Auschwitz.
https://www.timesofisrael.com/hungarys-far-right-jobbik-party-elects-leader-with-jewish-roots/
What do you want to tell us? That Jobbik is no longer the same as 10 years ago? It is not the first Jewish grandmother within Jobbik, but it is no longer a reason that someone has to leave the party.
There has never been any secret of Jakab’s Jewish grandparents. In fact, in one of Hír TV’s political programs the Fidesz hacks made jokes about his family name. They kept calling him Jákób.
Here come the jews! The country is really finished now.
Brings to mind that the most potent lineup for the Democrats is Bloomberg with Saners (or Buttigieg) as VP.
But, two jews?!! Forget about it.
correction
re: “no opposition candidate could win in any of the electoral districts in Győr”
Last October in district 4 the united opposition [UOP] candidate Bárány István* got most votes [46% against 43%].
In the other 15 districts OV&Co’s candidates were the winners, all with a clear difference, almost half of them with a clear majority. The only UOP candidate who came close to winning was Glázer Tímea, in her district she came short only 35 votes [0.4%] and for mayor ca.650 [1.5%].
details at https://www.valasztas.hu/telepules-adatlap_onk2019 [fill in: Győr]
*in local Győri media Bárány stated just before this weekend’s election that seeing the current council [big OV&Co majority] it would be best if Dezsi would become mayor…
Very cynical were the newly elected Fidesz mayor Dézsi’s statements that “the weeds have to be uprooted …and have to plant the patch anew..” under his watch and that “we shall open up the city hall”.
These would mean that he has to investigate the current Fid corruption schemes and introduce new modus operandi and transparency. Such actions would be against the very nature of Orbàn’s rule and no such move has been observed anywhere so far.
Secondly Dèzsi is typical product of the system, he’s gained an almost monopoly position for his medical practice with some political assistance. He wants to continue practicing while in the very busy mayoral office ! a fit that can be achieved only in case his mayoral role is no more that a puppet show.
Finally in good old Fid practice, an ad how amendment of the law has been tabled to allow Dézsi to keep practicing as mayor.
The same rotten regime playing a new puppet.
off-topic, the Brits are becoming ever more open to Orban’s ideas
Ed West, author and deputy editor of UnHerd, previously deputy editor of The Catholic Herald, and a columnist for The Daily Telegraph and The Spectator.
“Hungary is ahead of the curve on population policy….The EU aims to be a major world power and major powers, even liberal ones, know that demography is destiny and power”
https://unherd.com/thepost/hungary-is-ahead-of-the-curve-on-population-policy/
Too bad these guys can’t read Japanese (or Chinese for that matter).
@Invidious, 9:50 am
Ed West (who?) is clearly a catholic (not even C of E!) and gets published in the Telegraph and the Spectator. What sort of recommendation is that? The UK government is led by a man best known as being a liar, a buffoon and a fornicator. To say that the UK is “ever more open to Orbán’s ideas” is to say that the government and its ministers is slowly but surely immersing the country in excrement. We should feel deeply sorry for what is happening in the UK.
“Hungary is ahead of the curve on population policy”????
I didn’t know that so many young people are driven out of the UK. Even more I am surprised that this is found a great idea by some rightwing “journalist”.
One trick donkey – let’s talk about migrants…
Off topic, but since tappanch was so concerned about the coronavirus virus he might like to know that the first case has appeared in Chicago. https://abc7chicago.com/5880033/ I am currently at our home in rural Wisconsin and there have been no cases up here.
Mongolia has just closed its border with China, has shut down all schools, and has banned all public gatherings in an effort to prevent coronavirus. It doesn’t look well, sign of the times perhaps, somehow I have a feeling that the ‘open societies’ are no longer the future.
Well this morning the Dow dropped 500 points in NYC, worried about plant shut downs in China. Funny thing one of my own moderate risk investment funds just reported I had record earnings only last week, knew it was too good to last too long. There goes the hunting lodge I was planning on having built on our hunting land up here, with combined geothermal heating/cooling and solar electric panels. Given my own age I am in the high risk category for survival is the coronavirus spreads here. Best idea for me right now is to go have a few beers with the local farmers/Trump supporters who are watching it snow and watching Fox News denounce former Trump national security adviser Bolton. What a betrayal of Trump I am sure they are saying, but didn’t Trump fire him I might inject? Bolton knew he would be fired eventually, Trump fires everyone except maybe his own kids they will retort. They give me a pass, because I am a veteran, but they suspect I might have brain damage. As long as I buy a few rounds I am free to speak my mind. Ovidiu you would do well up here, no… Read more »
–Ovidiu you would do well up here, no open society here.
I know, in fact when I read that you were in Wisconsin the first thought that came to mind was “how lucky of Istvan to be there, because this is the sate from which senator Joseph McCarthy, the last great American, came from”. Oh well, such is life.
@Istvan (Chicago) 1:45 pm
Thank you Istvan. I do enjoy reading your posts, which are well-written, informative and thought provoking. Like today’s
“has shut down all schools, and has banned all public gatherings in an effort to prevent coronavirus …. I have a feeling that the ‘open societies’ are no longer the future.”
Wow, Óvoda, what an idiocy! Health protection as fight against open societies? Are you really too stupid to understand that open society does not mean open for a virus infection, but open for human rights, political freedom, leading to a dynamic and moral society? Closed minds were used against the plague, even you should know that this was no real success.
Ovi
Good grief ! Even the virus is harnessed to promote Orbàn’s fascism..
(the idiot on duty today)
Get out for a while from this “fascism” mental straitjacket. I wonder how you don’t get bored of it, and of yourself.
Try some other perspectives as well for a change. You will be surprised how many things which you have overlooked now enter into the field of vision.
Ovoda, as soon as you get off calling everyone that is not a fascist like you “Marxist-Globalist – …” 🙂 🙂
And still no apologies for your lunatic remarks on Greta?
Btw your links are the best list of extreme right wing idiotic fake news sites I’ve ever seen …
Let’s have fun with the village idiot!
Of course you might decide to do your own site or join breitfart, zerohedge, the daily stormer, … the list is long.
something for you wolfi, you seem to be asking for it
–Yale eliminates a major introductory class on Western art from the Renaissance to the present, on the grounds that most famous European artists until recently were white and/or male.
https://reason.com/2020/01/27/yale-university-art-department-western-white-male-problematic/
Once again twisting the facts. The art department has finally recognized that a one-semester survey class, that only focuses on Western art, doesn’t do justice to the subject of art, with its diversity of traditions (Asian, Middle-eastern, African, etc).
This is great news. Students will have a broader more interesting introduction to art in all its diversity.
https://yaledailynews.com/blog/2020/01/24/art-history-department-to-scrap-survey-course/
I do get a laugh out of the fact that our troll is triggered by the inclusion of people that don’t look like him.
As usual, no answer from the fascist idiot – just diversion to something that has no connection to Hungary at all.
And of course a misrepresentation – should I say lie?
ovoda, you’re getting funnier every day – a good deterrent example …
Momentum’s Győr head resigned citing irreconcilable difference with his bosses.
Also, he was “astonished” by the magnitude of the fidesznik candidate’s victory.
https://24.hu/kozelet/2020/01/27/momentum-gyor-elnok-lemondas-borkai/
Youth unemployment started to rise in Hungary. Meanwhile in Hungary as in Germany business outlook indicators dropped further.
https://24.hu/kozelet/2020/01/27/fiatalok-munkanelkuliseg-allastalan-elbocsatas-leepites/
EUR/HUF 337.30, touched above 338 during the day.
Curious what the Q1 inflation will be, Watch out bond and saving acc holders, pensioners. If in less than 10 years of “fairy tale” economics the Ft went from 270 to 337, what happens when the downturn or crisis comes ?
And the opposition says what?
Having family in Győr, I hadn’t the slightest doubt that Dr. Dézsi would win.
He is a respected yet approachable and well-loved professor of cardiology, whereas his opponent is not even a particularly well-known figure in the city.
Now mayor Dézsi is an Orbàn puppet although he’s been involved in politics for many years.
You evidently don’t know him personally. My wife does. He is not a puppet of anyone’s. In fact, even my Leftist acquaintances in Győr, who may not necessarily have voted for him, are thoroughly and completely happy with the election result. They say the doc will make a good mayor.
There is a reason why András Lovasi, who is not exactly a fan of the current regime, said that if all Fidesz candidates were of the same calibre as Dézsi, he would be a Fidesz voter.
Lovasi is so very opposition leaning these days that he played at Tusványos recently (for good money, we suppose). Tusványos is of course the summer camp for hardcore fideszniks (located in Transsylvania which is Orban’s recruiting ground for aggressive right wing ideologues).
Lovasi is a middle-aged man who is thoroughly fed up being grouped together with perennial losers (ie. “liberals”, “intellectuals”).
At the age of 53 he feels he doesn’t have time to wait for the opposition to win (who even bestowed the Kossuth price on him), he wants now to make money now, be influential again, be with the cool guys (meaning simply rich and influential) and this means get along with the powers that be. (Lovasi’s statement is so original that it was worded by the Fidesz campaign).
He is pathetic. I never liked him and so I am not disappointed. But we have to acknowledge that Fidesz is very good at flipping and controlling vain celebrities, has-beens and similar elements who have some name recognition.