When, at the beginning of August, I wrote an article about Attila Vidnyánszky, the director of the Budapest National Theater, I really hoped that I would not have to return to this man, whose job seems to be the “reshaping” of Hungarian artistic sensibilities according to the ideals of the far-right Orbán government, which I find abhorrent.
Moreover, and I admit this is a personal prejudice, I couldn’t reconcile his coarse features and manner with his allegedly sensitive handling of the plays he directs. Initially, however, I heard that, although he might not be ideologically to my liking, he was an outstanding director whose brilliance was unquestionable.
Photo: MTI / Zsolt Czeglédi
But, brilliant or not, Vidnyánszky couldn’t fill the house. In his first season as the director of the National Theater, six years after he left Ukraine, the independent media reported that, while during the directorship of his predecessor it was difficult to get a ticket for most of the productions, Vidnyánszky had to resort to filling the empty seats with students who were given free tickets. How was it possible that such a sensational director was incapable of drawing an audience? One proposed explanation was that back in Berehove/Beregszász, at the age of 28, he had produced absolutely outstanding plays, but his artistic inspirations had since dissipated. The other interpretation I heard, which sounds more plausible to me, is that in Budapest he encountered an audience with vastly different artistic sensibilities from his own. The disappointment he experienced caused him to believe that he was the victim of the leading theatrical lights in Budapest.
Although Vidnyánszky was a flop in his first five years as the National Theater’s director, his failure to draw audiences didn’t prevent him from being reappointed for another five years. Moreover, despite the disappointing ticket sales, the Orbán government completely restructured the financing of theaters, granting vastly more money to the National Theater than to any other theater in the country. Obviously, the size of the paying audience and the quality of the productions mattered not.
Still, Vidnyánszky was not satisfied with the much-coveted job as head of the National Theater. He wanted to have influence over the teaching of future actors and directors and to inculcate in them his nationalistic and Christian impulses. Unfortunately for him, neither the students nor the faculty of the University of Theater and Film Arts (SZFE) wanted anything to do with him. In his frustration, he settled for being affiliated, again with political help, with a relatively new small theater arts department at the University of Kaposvár. In no time, he landed a powerful position in the administration and promptly fired all those colleagues who stood in his way. I highly recommend spending half an hour watching a video on Vidnyánszky’s less than illustrious activities in Kaposvár.
To fulfill his dreams of reshaping Hungarian theater, Kaposvár was not nearly enough. He needed to mold SZFE in the image of the Orbán regime’s ideology. For this, a complete restructuring of the university was necessary. Understandably, the Orbán government accommodated. This past spring, Zsolt Semjén, deputy prime minister, submitted a plan to restructure the university, which basically meant that the formerly state-owned university from here on would be led by a seven-member board. Vidnyánszky was named chairman of the group. I’m sure that for a while he must have been elated: he would finally be able to shape Hungarian theater for years to come.
But something happened in the last few days which few people expected. Practically the entire SZFE faculty resigned, and the students barricaded themselves in the building and threaten to remain there until their demands were met, one of which was that Vidnyánszky resigns. The impasse is keeping the Hungarian media buzzing, and last night we had the pleasure of seeing the great theater director “at his best.”
Vidnyánszky showed himself to be an ignorant, inarticulate man who, as György Gábor, the philosopher of religion, put it, “is not only a scoundrel but also an embarrassingly stupid creature,” someone who doesn’t seem to know the difference between “campus” and “corpus.” It became soon obvious that the man is hardly capable of stringing a few words together in a coherent fashion. The most talked-about sentence from this garbled nonsense was that “I will never be able to explain to György Karsai what a nation, a homeland, or Christianity is because he is unfit to accept my thoughts.” It doesn’t matter how you slice it, this was an unabashedly anti-Semitic remark. To my mind, it probably sums up Vidnyánszky’s opposition to the current faculty and curriculum of SZFE. The teaching staff, whether they are Jewish or not, teach not in the national spirit but in the spirit of a wider world, with a certain cosmopolitan openness, which in Vidnyánszky’s worldview is associated with Jews.
It is really amazing how fervently the Orbán regime is working to destroy Hungarian cultural life. A national theater shouldn’t be a nationalist theater. Theater arts students should be exposed not only to the Hungarian theatrical tradition but to major works and their interpretations from other countries. The government should support a vibrant culture that enhances Hungary’s contributions on the world stage. To turn inward is to deprive talented Hungarians of making a name for themselves outside the country and (for once) putting Hungary on the map in a positive way.
The viktor says what he means and wants for his private principality, Fidestan, that used to be a nation called Hungary. His henchmen execute it.
I quote from the viktor: “Magyarországon szellemi harcot folytatunk a liberális nézetekkel szemben.” (In Hungary we are fighting an ideological war against the liberal views.”)
https://nepszava.hu/3090153_orban-magyarorszagon-szellemi-harcot-folytatunk-a-liberalis-nezetekkel-szemben
I think what it means is this: “Power is tearing human minds to pieces and putting them together again in new shapes of your own choosing/” (George Orwell – 1984)
Let us not forget that Fidestan can only exist and persist with the consent, and indeed active connivance of a very substantial popular base. In effect, Orbán is merely a symptom, rather than the root cause of the social and political evils in Hungary. As a politician, Orbán is of course cunning as a shithouse rat, but that would still be far from sufficient for holding supreme political power for this long. For that, he had to be a superb political organizer and a par excellence tactician, as well as capable of projecting a strategic vision with very strong appeal especially in the provinces and among Hungarian fascists, irredentists, and ethno-nationalists in general. Without an uncanny ability to induce a very substantial popular base to follow his lead, Orbán would be nowhere today. In fact, his case is in a way similar to that of Eichmann, who would have been pretty well powerless without the enthusiastic support and connivance of the Hungarian gendarmerie, of sections of the Hungarian army, of the overwhelming majority in Hungary’s political administration, and of the masses of ordinary Hungarians who became direct beneficiaries of the bestial plunder and murder of six hundred thousand of Hungarian… Read more »
In respect of his antisemitism, Vidnyánszky is just more confident and less cautious in venting it publicly than an average Hungarian would be. Probably by virtue of his high standing in the hierarchy of the Orbán mafia, which gives him a sense of impunity and invulnerability. At the personal, grassroots level, the average Hungarian is to this day an unregenerate antisemite, albeit mostly in sly and shifty ways. This is almost as true on the political left, as it is emphatically true on the political right and centre right – and all credit to the exceptions. The difference between the average Hungarian and Vidnyánszky is that what the average Hungarians say to each other around the kitchen table, they do not generally blurt out in public, á la Vidnyánszky, and especially not in media appearences. Except of course for Hungarians of quasi-Nazi persuasion, of whom there are many, who are quite open in voicing their visceral hatred of Jews in public.
Miksa
Just to add another crucial factor in these political developments – random but decisive factor was Lajos Simicska who laid out the principles of and built up the institutionalized corruption system which has been fueling Fid, orban and his regime since inception.
I wholeheartedly agree with everything said in Eva’s blog and the comments made so far. The bare fact is however that from the moment of Orban appeared on the political scene as PM in 1998 he is working on turning Hungary into an Orwellian world of ‘1984’. The means he is using are no different from those that the Nazi party used to get into and then hold unto power. What I may differ in judging the Hungarian people in supporting the regime is that whilst there are about 1/3rd of the population for one reason or another do support this fascist regime, the rest are being held onto hostage to the dictatorial laws and practices that the regime is forcing on them. Were there really free elections, free media and the rest of the conditions that are taken for granted in western democracies, the picture would be entirely different. It is just the question of time when this regime will collapse and there is a good chance that it won’t happen peacefully. What makes this Hungarian tragedy worse and really unbearable for its citizens is their helpless situation in this 21st century, where Hungary as a member… Read more »
Absolutely agree the part of our population sustaining the regime is not as big as often stated. While in 2010 Orbán got 53% of the votes (which is not 53% of the population!) already in 2014 he got less votes than in 2002 or 2006. It is a fairytale of the regime that more than 2/3 of us are happy admirers of Orbán. Bad enough this is repeated in foreign press as well and even gets more and more into the heads of those who are in opposition to the dictator. The minority is forcing its ideology over the majority. And even among this minority there are many, who just know both opposition and the bad world beyond Hungarian borders by the ugly picture the regime paints in its media, for many FIDESZ seems to be just the lesser evil. Hard core ideologists are rare and this is also the reason why Orbán needs to bring his message in the last corners, why he so hard needs to control the heads of future artists as well.
I’m not sure Vidnanyszky is as brilliant as many claim. There is this stupid habit on the “liberal” side namely that they feel that from time to time they need to praise a fidesznik rightwinger because otherwise they feel they would look biased. To show their evenhandedness or fairness, they praise a few non-liberal individuals too. But unfortunately this is a kind of implicit affirmative action or just politics or just feeling good (“see, how generous I am, I am praising this right wing jerk”). It’s almost never about merits. Art is ultimately about humanism and critical stance so very few great artists were idelogue courtiers in modern times (after Enlightemenet in Europe). There were some such artists but we rarely remember them. They may be tyrants on their small fiefdoms but being a partizan trooper is simply not good for arts. Even under Kadar, the greatest artists were of the “tolerated” kind who had some kind of implicit deal with the communist leadership but there were very few (if any) fanatic, hysteric ideologues as Vidnyanszky is in the theatrical art now. Vidnyanszky has all the money and power one can have on the theatrical field, more than anybody perhaps… Read more »
Marty I have it until „There is this stupid habit on the “liberal” side“ done then I stopped reading. It is amazing how much nonsense you can put into one sentence, complete nonsense. Why is liberal in quotation marks, never mind. I, as a liberal, have no reason to praise second-rate, even your third and fourth rate comments are not praised in any way by the liberals here.
I assume you don’t know much about the Hungarian art scene nor about artists.
Before 2010 I have seen some theater performances, which does not mean that I know the Hungarian theater scene or the art scene. The same statement you make I can give you back. Unfortunately I can’t believe you, so without a link to the argument only your faith remains.
„There is this stupid habit on the “liberal” side namely that they feel that from time to time they need to praise a fidesznik rightwinger because otherwise they feel they would look biased.“
Where is the evidence for this and why is liberal in quotation marks? If nobody understands what you write, there’s not much point in writing, is there? Then it makes sense to ask, but if there is no answer it confirms the senselessness of reading your comments. Maybe to estimate the decay of the mental thought process.
liberal is in quotation marks because in Hungary branding somebody liberal in the curent political discourse simply means “not a fanatic fidesznik”. You can be a conservative EPP member but if you oppose Orban, you are a liberal. Period. OK, at best a Marxist. It’s essentially a figure, a synomim for the time-honored figure of “the Jew” who is in aliean, scheming intruder up to no good, who is contaminating our indigenous way of life. So to translate: all those artists who are not fanatic fideszniks (who may be conservative or left-wing or apolitical or even consistently liberal) tend to praise fideszniks from time to time for fear of being branded a mean, arrogant “liberal” who is part of a “liberal cabal” conspiring against the true Hungarians. Being a non-fidesznik also means – according to Fidesz – that you are not part of the nation, not Hungarian enough etc. These non-fidesznik artists, journalists, pundits etc. choose a fidesznik artist for some reason and praise them. I don’t want to give names, but there are a few in every field (performing art, literature etc.). Almost always they don’t deserve the praise. I hope this makes sense now. I thought these things… Read more »
„liberal is in quotation marks because in Hungary branding somebody liberal in the curent political discourse simply means “not a fanatic fidesznik”.“
You just don’t understand it … but by doing so you take the feeble-minded, racist, unintelligent, brain-amputated position of Fidesz. That’s why your comments sound racially insane. There is hardly any racist who can agree with you here except zolijoe and that’s not a distinction.
„I hope this makes sense now. I thought these things go without saying but apparently you are not familiar with the Hungarian political discourse.“
Why do you say that … it is typical Fidesz. By the way, these were the first arguments of racists who didn’t like my comments – that was already 10 years ago, I laughed about it even then.
M@2:50am
“There is this stupid habit on the “liberal” side namely that they feel that from time to time they need to praise a fidesznik rightwinger because otherwise they feel they would look biased.”
M@6:13
“liberal is in quotation marks because in Hungary branding somebody liberal in the curent political discourse simply means “not a fanatic fidesznik”.”
Raises the questions:
–is M “not a fanatic fidesznik”?
–if so, does she/he naturally also posses that very “stupid habit” she/he describes?
note: warning very sMart(y) sweeping answers are not accepted…
Since Marty claims to be in opposition he is always mute.
Since Marty claims to be in opposition he is always weak.
Since Marty claims to be in opposition he is always stupid.
These are the results of generalisations Marty loves.
No need to bother with analyzing M’s communication. It follows the dogma of the attention-robbing right-conservative populistic whataboutist angler with unveering determination.
1. Establish non-hostile, preferably peer, position.
2. Use any opportunity to bait the forum for contact. Evangelize and submit select propaganda in support the “gospel”.
3. When comments take the upper hand, play the victim and change bait – resume #2.
One question: Who is sponsoring the broadband connection and operating time???
It’s fascinating to see that no matter how many links I produce from the most mainstream, left-leaning authors, scholars (publications, publishers) who consistently criticize Trump, fight against right wing populaism etc. and whose ideas I think are worth the reading effort there is no result. Since I criticize the Hungarian opposition or the weak Western actors I get dismissed as a troll, a fidesznik agent etc. again and again.
And people like Ferenc, Istvan, Michael D, Stevan are supposed to be liberal or at least centrist, open-minded, educated, rational people.
But no rationality here, just, I guess, chronic and acute political myopia.
There’s no need for theatrics. The gest of your posts speaks for itself.
@Marty
September 3, 2020 8:06 am
Take heart, Marty. Your critics are quite senseless and bereft of all reason and common sense. They are particularly deft in deliberately, and indeed quite malevolently misinterpreting whatever you happen to put forward. Not being able to mount rational counterarguments, they resort to emotional ad hominem abuse. Absolutely pathetic. Why do you bother with them at all? Sadly, you seem to be a glutton for punishment.
I largely agree, Miksa: they’re obsessively-compulsively shooting the messenger. Or, as the Hungarian saying has it: “Mondd meg az igazat, betörik a fejed” – Tell the truth and have your head bashed in.
My only reservation is that Marty’s pessimism can sound a bit strident and extreme and he is grudging in recognition of positive signs. Still, better that than rose-tinted spectacles.
May we assume, source critical reception is out of your bandwith?
Be my guest, Michael, assume away.
Though I often don’t agree with Marty I think his comments are valuable and shouldn’t be ignored or laughed at – unlike those of our trolls.
For those who don’t like “latte drinking …” – just ignore him, I’ll continue reading .
M’s reply @8:06:
–incapable of giving answers to two simple questions
–no sippingly sweeping statements this time, instead she/he fled into ungrounded personal accusations [“supposed to be”, “no rationality” and some sort of “myopia”], what a coward!
PS: her/his “argument” of “producing” links, imho only reinforces the feeling that those links are only “produced” as excuses to give way for the main sweeping statement against each and everyone not agreeing with OV, the Hungarian Serial Democracy Killer [who must have a big illiberal team in tow, and that’s not a joke…]
Ferenc, can you please read what I wrote about Vidnyanszky? You’re are seriously believe I’m a troll? You don’t make any sense.
Try to read the interview I linked with a Democratic pollster, it’ quite long but very intelligent and wide-ranging about US politics (but much of it is universal in my view). This is not a trick; this is just an insightful interview. It’s in New York Magazine which, again, as mainstream as you can get.
Why are you looking for only texts which are comforting and strengthen your already held views? The added value is in insights which you did not think of previously.
https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2020/07/david-shor-cancel-culture-2020-election-theory-polls.html
and again no answers to two simple questions…
Ferenc ok we are in a blog run by Eva she has titles but that’s not why I respect her very much. She has earned it, no title was to blame. Let’s be a little bit like Eva, always inquiring and curious. The guillotine produces Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. And Ferenc, these are my fellow human beings … ignoring it helps but is that an answer?
Guys,
Even if Marty is a troll, he* is a very refined one with many spot on observations, comments or links.
As you witness here I’m not shy of calling his bias, exaggerations or lies when I see them.
Have more confidence in yourselves and even the most sophisticated trolls can’t lead you down the garden path. Never mind how much they get under your skin, call/ swat them when they’re wrong, we are supposed to be a quality crowd here, no?
* I’m incredulous that M claiming to be a layer (a retired one judging by the volume here), would have such a broad source use, or know Fid so intimately or have such a good English, ie. it feels there’s a team behind the writer.
Anyway, it’s still better than the dumb Zoli or, god forbid, MZ BS.
“it feels there’s a team behind the writer”
and is that “still better” than he ones you mention?
if it’s a team, that means there’s a common purpose behind [supposedly] personal comments, so please think it over!
PS: your “it’s a team” feeling is enforced by M’s varying avatars!
Observer and Ferenc if you would put as much energy you spend on Marty into the topic or link it to it, it would be much more refreshing. Scroll back once and look at the amount of letters you produce against Marty.
The human brain is still being researched. What can be said for sure today is that the human, but not only I suppose, brain is fading out what is unimportant for survival to detect movement faster. This means that the human brain has too little capacity to pay attention to the little things.
I wonder which is worse, Vidnyánszky or Marty, Trump or brexit, Orban or his toady lickers?
“A national theater shouldn’t be a nationalist theater. Theater arts students should be exposed not only to the Hungarian theatrical tradition but to major works and their interpretations from other countries.”
Granted, Eva is right for once. I could recommend Vidnyanszky a whole series of Romanian authors and plays from the inter-war period. They could teach the Hungarians how to blend the national feeling with the mystical Christian belief (albeit of the Orthodox kind, but that’s small issue). The resulting fervor and fanaticism are second to none.
Alternatively, and Christianity aside, he may stage the “Seven Samurai” of Akiro Kurosawa (the play most imbued with implied right-wing beliefs – heroism, hierarchy, collectivism, etc.- that I’ve ever seen) or “Patriotism” by Yukio Mishisma…And so on, after all nationalism and right-wing politics are international.
“It is really amazing how fervently the Orbán regime is working to destroy Hungarian cultural life.”
Nope. One should be grateful here. Had Orban chosen a sharper, leaner, subtler and smarter figure the results would have been devastating.
As such Vidnyanszky personal shortcomings ask for rejection and opposition regardless of the huge cultural potential of the ideology. What is ad hominem becomes here ad rem.
Ovi
Granted your point about AV not being so great,
but your “thank God” for not having a more effective wrecker is not so convincing, one way or the other it is Orban, the totally culture-less soccer bum, who is giving the orders to search and destroy in his Kulturkampf.
Re: the problem of Vidnyánszky as playwright Appears a playwright who sees it as a ‘trade’ rather than an ‘art’. Something about concepts bought from on high on and then to be sold to an audience who are conceived as sort of a set of ideological receptacles to sit and then be filled with the ‘Light’. Actors then are mere automatons only to orate the text. Boring boring boring. The playwright’s fiction must be peculiar then as it does nothing to distill critical understanding of truth in an audience. The distinguishing characteristic of Vidnyanszky’s approach: his own ‘fictions’ in a play cannot ever reveal the underlying truth of realities being spoken in word and deed on his stage. That is not the point. His audience never is to leave truly ‘changed’. To see the world anew. To think. To understand. To see with different eyes. He is just too busy in constructing myth where the words are ‘once upon a time’. Better his audience walking blind on one road than confusing and tiring his audience with just too many paths to explore. Vidnyanszky cannot be seeing clearly in his business as only those writers who are outcasts or off the… Read more »
Pustaranger wrote on 23. Mai 2014 “Sacred Theater” against the “international gay lobby“ https://pusztaranger.wordpress.com/2014/05/23/sakrales-theater-gegen-die-internationale-schwulenlobby/ “Sacred National Theater” Kerényi’s view of the “Christian sacredness” of the theater coincides with that of Attila Vidnyánszky, the director of the Hungarian National Theater: For Vidnyánszky, his social educational mission consists in communicating a supra-denominational “Christian”, “patriotic” belief in God through emotions; through this belief one can liberate oneself or the nation, see Post “Welches Theater braucht das Volk?”/What kind of theater does the people need? Fascist Theatre of Redemption, December 21, 2013. What kind of theater does the people need? Fascist theater of redemption. https://pusztaranger.wordpress.com/2013/12/21/welches-theater-braucht-das-volk-faschistisches-theater/ At an event organized by the Heinrich Böll Foundation, the director of the Hungarian National Theater, Attila Vidnyánszky, defines his aesthetic self-image according to common definitions of fascism research, and nobody notices. With a commentary by Magdalena Marsovszky. … … For Vidnyánszky, therefore, the social educational mission of the Hungarian National Theater is to counteract society’s loss of faith. His theater wants to communicate through emotions a supra-denominational “Christian”, “patriotic” belief in God; through this belief (“our belief, which expresses itself in belief in God and patriotism”) one can liberate oneself or the nation. “To sacrifice oneself in the… Read more »
The fact that puzzles me the most is why on earth people take it for granted that a PM, be it that of the UK, Taiwan or any other democracy, can decide where the building of the National Theatre should be erected, who shall be the designer, etc… Because that what Orban has done as his first ‘decree’ back in 1998 when becoming PM the first time. And ever since this decisions of his, by default, became the ‘LAW’ and the practice for his premiership. I already wrote about this years ago, but I feel the need to repeat it. When Orban decided (also in 1998) not to continue of taking protocols on the government meetings, the tradition without which there is no democratic rule, I didn’t notice any commotion in the international press or in the diplomatic circles. From there on was another major step, declaring basically everything that is not publicised a ‘State Secret’ for as many as four decades, making a hot bed for government corruption Now, Orban and his regime by their own accord must rule in every matter in Hungary; being in a small country village or affecting international relations. So, the matter… Read more »
I’ve said it before:
As long as tourists at the Balaton are treated nicely and the Mercedes, Audi and Opel workers do their job, no one cares about what’s going on in the sh*t hole country Hungary.
It’s on the same level as Turkey or Vietnam, Tunesia, Egypt or …
I sometimes look at the labels on my clothes: Made in …
And almost astonishingly find all these countries, though Hungary has lately disappeared – is that good or bad?
PS and a bit OT:
We bought several house appliances lately, large and small, and usually choose Bosch. Whether the dishwasher or the blender – they were all produced in the V4. So who cares about their governments – as long as the workers are ok?
Only the washing machine (with lots of electronics …) was LG from Korea.
You can’t expect too much on the political level. However the media here regularly report on the abominable autocrats, but …
OT – real PSA
main items in “public” M1 Hirado [“news” theatre] of Sep.02 [at 19:30]:
–second wave of epidemic has started
–court case Charlie Hebdo attack
–school guards in more than 400 schools
–already 21 death in Hungary by new “Bika” drug
skipping through the “news”, of course there were more items in the 49min “news”, but one international item was clearly missing:
the statement by the German government that Navalny was poisoned by Novichok!
well OV’s “public” “news” staff felt obliged to do Pukin a favor [or are they simply directed by VVP’s international “news” staff?]
PS: Navalny’s poisoning happened simultaneous with the growing protests in Belarus, this could just be a coincidence, but imho some possible connection can not be fully excluded
OT: Orbán is blackmailing the EU with Corona funds as hostage, to preserve his mafia state while continuing stealing EU funds:
https://www.politico.eu/article/coronavirus-recovery-fund-hungary-rule-of-law-fight/
Is it possible for the EU Council and Commission to just speed up the “Art.7 against Hungary” procedure [in 2018.Sep already voted by the EU parliament]?
So that before the deadline of the Corona Funds, OV’s Hungary will be stripped of certain rights, e.g.voting in the Council!
Merkel, heading the presidency of the EU until end of year, told she would try to bring Art 7 to an end. Since it doesn’t depend on her she only can put it onto the agenda. Of course court media made of that statement that Merkel will declare the regime being innocent. Since she is member of one of the judging bodies she didn’t declare how she will vote at the end of an still ongoing procedure, just mentioned that important democracy and rule of law are important to her.
Anyway, if our parliament votes against and succeeds in stopping the budget (Orbán in the council already voted in favour), there will be no budget at all and no money for anybody. This is how you make friends…! And the European parliament is already pressing the commission for sharp rule of law provisions – those just require a qualified majority, no unanimous vote as the budget itself.
EU and speed? …
As far as I know, the next major step in Art 7 would be for the council to decide with 4/5 majority, that Hungary is a serious threat to the rule of law.
At last the council has to vote ananimously (incl. Poland) for sanctions.
Here is the history proving EU speed concerning Hungary
2010: Orbán starts dismantling democracy and stealing EU funds
2015: after observing Orbáns success in building an autocracy financed by the EU, the newly elected Polish government follows Orbans steps
March 2017: EU parliament decides to make a report on Hungary’s rule of law deficiencies in order to start Art. 7 procedure
September 2018: Sargentinit report is presented to the EP which votes with 2/3 majority to start Art 7
Since then only the Finnish presidency put the case on the agenda. The procedure was ignored by Austria, Romania and Croatia
You’re right about the 2 votes that are needed. But you forgot to mention that these are not the only thing that needs to be done. It is a complex procedure, the accused country needs to be heard to every single point. And they have to be given time to change – if they want to or not. It is a procedure bound to the rule of law, although we live under the rule of Orbán.
You can blame the EPP that there was no majority for an Art 7 after the Tavares report, although already containing the main problems that are found as well in the Sargentini report.
But even during the presidency of Austria, Romania and Croatia the prodecure went on. Just Finland expressively put it onto the agenda to speed it up.
COVID-19 Testing Policies, Sep 3, 2020
Best in Europe:
Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Belarus, Russia, Greece, Cyprus, Portugal.
[Open public testing (e.g. “drive through” testing available to asymptomatic people).]
Worst in Europe:
Hungary, Albania, Serbia, Bulgaria.
[Only those who both (a) have symptoms and also (b) meet specific criteria (e.g. key workers,admitted to hospital, came into contact with a known case, returned from overseas).]
https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/covid-19-testing-policy
Hu has won another round and is close to winning the “Allover Worst in Europe” competition.
Any word yet from Putin’s poodle on his master’s use of Novichok poison in a cup of tea to cut down Mr. Navalny?
C’mon Mr.Orbán; as the EU’s new power centre in the East we need your input!
Bloodymir STRONG. Viktor STRONG. Leading the way to the New Millenium, together.
Silence. Even in opposition media mostly silence. Just in 444 I found a short article, while they reported extensively the first days.
Yesterday there were 365 new COVID-19 cases in Hungary, a new record High Point.
One must conclude that a lot of government politicians were frolicking in Croatia to produce such a Fidesz fertözés in Hungary in the last week. Perhaps Zoltan’s Pox, himself it seems one of the super spreaders, can tell us just how many Under Secretaries there were partying on the Croatian coast along with Peti. And where is Cecilia the CMO when she is needed on deck?? This isn’t a “second wave”, it is an irresponsible stab in the back.
On Friday morning 01G will tell us he has “flattened the curve” again, whatever that means.
The curve of the infections or deaths or anything related is flattened in the ministry of propaganda.
Reliable date collection methods and projection models have been used in the world, but we still have to rely only on Orban’s clairvoyant statements re when the epidemic will peak or subside in Hu, after all he controls everything in “the boring democracy” of Orbanistan.
I even won’t exclude that publishing higher numbers around the time of border closing was a decision of the propaganda ministry.
This is my assumption, considering that Orban has foreseen start, rise, peak of the epidemic and lockdown months ago? One or the other has wondered … or thought he was sent by God or mumbled it in the background. Orban’s instincts have become an oracle. Orban the oraekel …
The way to oraekel:
–OV, Apr.19: “peak will be May.03”
=>from Apr.19 till May.03, less Corona patients are reported “recovered” than reasonable by common health care standards, then May.04 a peak in number of “recovered”, result the peak in active Corona patients was May.03
—OV, Aug.21: “from 1 September we’ll be in a new world”
=>after an certain increase in new daily cases [in early August], the official numbers stabilize [contrary to all neighboring countries!], till Aug.26 [6 days before Sep.01!] an explosion in new cases starts, showing an incredible/impossible increase* of 425% [of 7-days running average] within 6 days, all done in order to justify closing of borders
*incredible/impossible, better said unrealistic or fake, increase “achieved” imho by a combination of change in testing and holding back test results till the “appropriate explosion period” just before Sep.01 [that’s why Aug.10-26 there was a stabilization in new daily cases!]
Note: the above described methods are only in the reporting, not necessarily in real patients/recoveries, as independent persons are not able to check the accurateness of the officially reported figures!
So of course all this was decided by OV’s government incl.the propaganda ministry
to check details of OV&Co’s methods of manipulation as described by me above, see the Daily New Cases graph at https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/country/hungary/ [click “7-day moving average” to filter out typical variations through the days of the week and get the trend more clear]
I challenge OV&Co believers to show me a country with a steeper increase in new daily cases than Hungary [officially] from Aug.26 till Sep.01
Some more thoughts about manipulation of Corona figures by OV&Co
–could it be that to be “tourist friendly” the official figures were already manipulated from early summer?
–could it be that OV&Co were aware about the real figures?
–could it be that they realized that the discrepancy between real and manipulated oficial figures had to be reduced, because they would never be able to keep that up forever?
[hardly anybody else could check the figures seriously, but after some time, people would notice the official figures don’t match with what they see around themselves]
–so to cover their “summer” manipulation up, OV&Co decided to best overcompensate at the for them best time, at the end of summer going into autumn?
[as already “predicted” by the myghti lidur at the end of spring…]
PS: I have heard that in some other countries they started to notice last month serious increase in people tested positive for Corona who had just returned from Hungary…
[haven’t checked this myself yet, but are planning to go after those figures from other countries!]
IMO AV is just another tool used by the regime to wreck something, the theatrical life in this case, and plop down some kitsch to the liking of the cultur-less soccer bum ruling here.
AV’s ambitions and ideas certainly affect the process, but they are secondary to the task he’s been given, ie. shut up and chase away these liberals.
Remember that this anti-Budapest, anti-intellectual, anti-culture course has had so many manifestations:
– the elevation of the (fascist) Makovecz Academy of Arts to national institution headed by another fascist G.Fekete,
– the financial blackmailing of cultural entities, incl. the attempt to cut the support for the famous Budapest Festival Orchestra,
– the “giving” of the New Theater to another fascist Gy. Dörner, or the Szolnok theater to ardent supporter P.Balázs.
– the pushing of pseudo-folk kitsch in programming, incl. the creation of Danko Radio
– the appointment of party soldiers to all institutions (although Sz. Ókovács did a decent job in the Hu Opera).
This is how fascist regimes work, remember eg. movie Mephisto; AV and co are executioners, accomplices, but pawns basically.
Previously Magyarorszag was in that underworld of a Moscow -built idea of ‘socialist realism’. But these are new times and some things look like they got a twist in the modern day work of propaganda scribbling. Now instead we see perhaps this new Fidesz created ‘illiberal realism’ in the startup to this Magyar century. It comes with those Frankensteinish twinges of fascism and according writers and arts types laurels as they dutifully carry out the cultural and arts wishes of the state. If things keep up it’s just possible that Rakosi himself perhaps will be graced to be a greater poet than Shakespeare or Petofi. In ‘illiberalist realism‘ adherents will figure out a way to incorporate things if need be for the nation’s population. It’s like teaching how to view pornography with the popular quip in mind where those who must know will be taught to know it when they see it.
The work of ’Arts’ and ‘Sciences’: ‘Go on try it but worry really worry if we don’t like it’. Freedom of the arts in the Magyar 21st: deja vu again bringing back all its literary and cultural ‘comforts’. Copy machines could be running Fidesz overtime.
Speaking of deja vu …Budapest joke time. From ‘Irodalmi Ujsag’ , named just like ‘Literaturnaya Gazeta’..
A teacher has her international students writing something on ‘elephants’. The French child titles it, ‘Sex life of the Elephant. The German boy had it as ‘The Reich and the Elephant’. The US guy wrote: ‘The Atom Bomb and the Elephant’. The Soviet came in with ‘The Original Home of the Elephant was the Ural’. (Of course! 😎 )
And finally the Magyar kid just had to say, ‘Our example -the Soviet Elephant’.
Magyarorszag …usually under somebody’s big cipo…if not from without then it’s from within. Usually made to look up at the soles of some foot. Puts another angle on the country being in a big shoebox. At one time they wore hard-to-get Donelap ‘democracy shoes’. But they weren’t made well. ‘One lap and they were done’. 😎 ☝️
Here is a very true and very moving FB comment from György Gábor, a dedicated critic of the regime. It is definitely worth reading.
https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=3211494838928427&id=100002038264412
It is good to read that there are people who lift a good above their own existence. In 50 years we will be dust but then education will still be the most important thing. It means freedom …
I think György Gábor’s writings on the history and philosophy of religion are far more interesting than his critiques of the Orban regime. Most of what Gábor states about Fidesz has been said many times before by many other supporters of the opposition in ways that are simpler. Gábor’s work on rabbinical and apocalyptic philosophy of the early centuries is of great value to theology as are his writings on the concept of “salvation.”
György Gábor is a deeply religious man and a trained Rabbi, and it is through his belief in God that leads him to critique Orban’s promotion of “historic churches” as illegitimate in the post. Yet, Gábor is also a full throated supporter of constitutional separation of religion and state. Some militant secularists on this blog find holding such a position virtually impossible.
As I have stated on this blog before churches are not museums, once they fall into that state they cease to be places of worship. The same applies to synagogs too. I do find Gábor’s Hungarian difficult having struggled through a few of his essays relating to theology. Unfortunately the complexity of his writing makes his work inaccessible to many people, even in translation.
György Spiró’s novel Captivity in English translation covers some of the same ground that Gábor does in his writings on theology in my opinion. It is a brutally long book, but incredibly rich at the same time.
„Yet, Gábor is also a full throated supporter of constitutional separation of religion and state. Some militant secularists on this blog find holding such a position virtually impossible.“
Istvan very interesting for me because I read almost all comments. I must say, I could not determine that. Most readers who also write comments are enlightened people. Without secularization there would have been no renaissance of cultural achievements of the ancient world and thus no Enlightenment. That the church has nothing to do with faith is seen worldwide and is almost without exception. But that there are militants here who don’t want to accept this I read here turn a blind eye extremely rare. Keyword Muslims
Re: ’’In 50 years we will be dust but then education will still be the most important thing. It means freedom”…
Absolutely. For without it the following will continue and the anxiety occurring will continue.
’We would rather be ruined than changed
We would rather die in our dread
Than climb the cross of the moment
And let our illusions die’.. Auden ‘The Age of Anxiety)
And arguably Vidnyánszky as playwright will continue to embellish illusion and call it ‘living’ under a carefully crafted God and Christianity mingled with the State.
Istvan Ch
Can’t see why the separation of church and state position would be “virtually impossible” to hold for a religious person, if this is what “some militant secularists” stated here.
Also can’t see why church and museum would be mutually exclusive, particularly when thousands of them are both and doing well.
You’re wrong. Gábor is not a rabbi.He only has a Ph.D. in “zsidó vallástudomány” (study of judaism). I even doubt that he is “a deeply religious man.”
One more comment. Take a look at Gábor’s Wikipedia entry. It will tell you a lot.
By the way, just because someone studies topics that have to do something with religion doesn’t necessarily mean that the person is religious. I knew at least two Ph.D. candidates, one studied some aspect of Protestanism and the other chose a topic about some medieval Catholic practices. Neither were religious.They were not even Christians.
Tnx for the link Eva,
Really straight, hard honest statements, eg. “the current dictatorship, (yes, it’s a dictatorship ..).
Propaganda works, part 549.
How well do communities accept diversity?
Share of respondents agreeing with questions about diverse groups:
Hungary: from 53 to12 (in 10 years).
https://csehszlovakkem.tumblr.com/post/628235867965816832/hullarabl%C3%B3k-lett%C3%BCnk-a-legpocs%C3%A9kabb-nemzet
That is also my feeling. Three questions my answers would be
No
No
No
and yours, Marty?
Spot on; from (an EU) average in 2010 to the worst in 2018, Hu has done it again …
Talking points in the new geography workbook for 8th graders about migrants.
Arguments for or against refugees.
For – 1 argument.
“It is our moral obligation to help our most vulnerable fellow human beings”
Against – 5 arguments.
“They take away our jobs.”
“They will regularly commit crimes.”
“They spread diseases.”
“They come here because they do not want to work.”
“Europe is for the Europeans.”
https://www.tankonyvkatalogus.hu/pdf/FI-506010802_1__teljes.pdf
Didn’t Vidnyanszky himself migrated from Ukraine to Hungary in 1998, in the 34th year of his life?
Kadar made Hungary the “most liberal barracks” of the Soviet camp.
Orban’s apparatchiks from Transylvania and Ukraine grew up in the more stupid systems of Ceausescu and Brezhnev. So they find it natural to execise the brutal methods of those dictatorships in Hungary.
Edit button, please !
Didn’t Vidnyanszky himself migrate ….
tappanch when you hover with your mouse cursor over your comment, a gear wheel will be visible in the lower right corner of the comment when you move the mouse cursor over it a sign Edit will be visible. Only within a few minutes aviable …
A Budapest court gave a suspended sentence of 1 year and 4 months in JAIL for throwing 2 eggs at a 2018 demonstration against the “slave law”
https://merce.hu/2020/09/03/bortonbuntetesre-iteltek-egy-ferfit-a-rabszolgatorveny-ellenes-tunteteseken-eldobott-tojasert/
First to be sentenced to imprisonment by decree slave law, which can rightly be called a provocation, if one resists she/he is threatened with prison. With how many months one is previously convicted? Trump tries to do that as well, it’s from the toolbox of dictators.
MP B.Szèl et al who demonstrated in April/May by honking from their cars were fined 250 k Ft, an average monthly income for “traffic violation”. (Juxtaposition: when Orbàn and Fid MPs went to dismantle the police barrier around the Parliament, they were found guilty, but not punished since their act was found to be a demonstration only, which posed no danger to society).
Yes, FASCISM it is folks.
Rather OT:
Slovakia right now has to manage the trial of the murderer of journalist Ján Kuciak and his fiancée.
The businessman responsible for it was acquitted – of course this led to protests.
The whole political situation is unpredictable.
The businessman who was accused of being an intermediary, not “responsible”. If we don’t know the details of the trial we should refrain from unfounded conclusions, I’m not a fan of trials by media or mob.
Observer, this was not about the middle man, but the billionaire who (probably …) ordered the killings – the high court of Slovakiawill have to decide.
He is not a billionaire, just a millionaire. Otherwise he would have ordered assassination from more professional criminals than local hungarian villagers working for few thousands euros. Also there are no protests yet. The public expect him to be sentenced later. The prosecution presented new evidence that was not admitted in this phase of the trial.
Sorry, was still thinking in corun/forint … 🙂 🙂
My favourite story about Slovakian currency (may have told this before):
In the early summer of 2009 we helped my wife’s son – his boss in Komarno needed some software on a chip so we drove there, had a nice walk though the city center and then sat down for some ice cream.
I asked the waitress whether Slovakia had like other €-adopters a “welcome package” of the different coins because a friend collects these from all over Europe.
She said: sorry, no – but ten minutes later she came with a handful of the new coins in all denominations! For this lovely surprise she got a good tip of course.
Also funny:
When we sat down she looked at me and then addressed me in German, when my wife asked something in Hungarian she automatically switched languages and at the next table she talked Slovakian – that’s how Europe works!
Re the murder:
If you want to know what people in Germany think about the case:
https://www.spiegel.de/politik/ausland/jan-kuciak-slowakei-unter-schock-gericht-spricht-mutmasslichen-drahtzieher-im-mordfall-frei
Spiegel? Dont really like the zeitschrift cause they tend to make up stories. But I ve read the article.
Not all Slovaks are in shock. We knew Kocner still has a lot of people covering up for him at the courts and the nominees of the former govt everywhere are still strong. But the shock was the release of his intermediary, zsuzsova. The case against her is pretty strong. If he managed to acquit her, thats some bad news. They both stay in prison though. Kocner got 19 years for fraud and zsuzsova is being investigated for 3 more murder plots.
There was also a bad translation of mrs. Kusnirova statement. It was rougher, the paper has smoothened it. Maybe some other paper than Spiegel has it right, but I get it, slovakia is not really significant to study thoroughly.
Slovak, you’ve just proved that you’re ***expletive deleted***.
Spiegel is one of the most independent and important news sources.
If you don’t like it try this – from the conservative FAZ:
https://www.faz.net/aktuell/politik/ausland/freispruch-im-fall-kuciak-ein-merkwuerdiges-urteil-16936995.html
Tell it to Claas Relotius 😂 No need to use expletives its just discussion. The FAZ article is better but it has 1 significant point wrong: its not the case that without the murder there wouldnt be a change of govt. Fico was losing elections steadily since 2016 – regional, presidential, municipal. This was just the last nail.
Seems my last comment on this was lost so I’ll try again.
Claiming that der Spiegel makes up stories is rather bizarre – you also find a devastating comment on Slovak politics in the conservative FAZ (google it).
Are you one of those conspiracy theorists who claim that MSM are lying all the time?
Then I feel really sorry for you …
You should look up the “Spiegel Affair” which happened 58 years ago – when the ruling Christian fascists under Strauss tried to destroy the Spiegel and put many journalists in jail.
What’s going on right now in the V4 (have to laugh hysterically when they claim to be Central Europe …) reminds me a lot of this. Maybe Slovakia will manage this crisis – the others are obviously not.
Spiegel itself claims it contains fake stories. Obviously you dont follow that https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.spiegel.de/international/zeitgeist/der-spiegel-statement-on-relotius-fraud-case-a-1244896-amp.html
Im not claiming all left media is fake but they tend to lie when they think it will help the “just” cause (this they have similar with muslims). The articles are against former slovak govt. Not curtent. Current govt which I am a supporter of works on fighting mafia. Well central europe is a german terminus technicus. I am not a fan of it. It reminds me of russians defining their sphere of influence. There is no such thing as central europe. Its only europe or asia. We can talk about russia being asia but I think its just a european country lagging decades behind europe. But if you think poland, czechia or slovakia is not europe you need to study more about your neighbors as stanislaw tillich used to say.
Come on, Relotius wrote for many papers from the Swiss NZZ to the right wing WELT – and he was found out and the Spiegel published a long series of corrections.
Any way I wrote “Central Europe”, for us the V4 is clearly Eastern Europe (what I like to call the Balkan …) and from my experience in Hungary it’s taking them a lot of time to get to the “Western” level.
Ok. If you buy into the idea of 3 historical european regions by jeno szucs then yes we are the middle region, but I dont. If you have democracy that means you have it from western christianity or you are heavily influenced by it like japan. V4 is not a country. Everyone of those 4 has a different political culture. Now I dont know whether hungary is still a democracy. It depends on whether the last election results were being manipulated or not. But svk,pol and cze certainly are.
[…] was packed with government appointees loyal to the Orbán regime and it is presided by Attila Vidnyánszky, the government’s ultimate factotum in the field of performing […]
Thanks for this really good article!
All this makes us shudder to think about the direction Hungary is moving – sh*thole would be an understatement.