The dog days are upon us and it’s time for The Budapest Times to take its traditional August break.
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 On Friday July 29 we will publish a special edition of The Budapest Times, full of activities to take in throughout the summer including the Sziget Festival, Formula One, outdoor adventures, festivals and tons of attractions across Hungary. |
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 Until recently Budapest public transport company BKV
generally appeared in the press when it was broke (again) and had to
beg the state for funds, or when one of its dilapidated buses had gone
up in flames (again).
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 The concept of income tax has failed in Hungary. The
country’s dubious tax ethic means that there is no sensible alternative
to the introduction of a general and standard property tax. However,
the property tax model definitely should not resemble the government’s
proposal.
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 The one-time EU model pupil before joining five years
ago, Hungary has now become an economic problem child and is lagging
behind in terms of euro entry. Hungary's false impression of the
possibilities and interests of the EU is one of the reasons.
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 The MSZP does not give up. Despite the worst conditions
for a government since the change of regime, it is making another stab
at leading the country. How firmly remains to be seen, and will depend
in no small part on the willingness of the two main parties to put
Hungary's interests ahead of their own, finally.
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 Hungary has not been so close to a solution
to its severe structural deficits for years.
The Bajnai package, large parts of which
agree with the previously announced
proposals of the Reform Alliance, which
disbanded last week, and economic reformer Lajos
Bokros, is far better than the weak reform forays of the
MSZP government that remains in power. A comparison
with a Fidesz programme is not possible because the
largest opposition party has not yet produced one.
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 Excitement at the imminent departure of Prime Minister
Ferenc Gyurcsány soon gave way to a hangover as it became clear how
difficult the search for a replacement will be. Early elections are now
looking increasingly possible. The hopeful new start of the Hungarian
Socialist Party (MSZP) may come to an end before it has even got
underway.
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 Fidesz chairman Viktor Orbán’s latest two major speeches
are remarkable for what that they do not contain. Above all they are
striking for the complete absence of suggestions as to how the crisis
should be managed.
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 Prime Minister Ferenc Gyurcsány’s recent Brussels
initiative may have been intended as a PR coup, but it turned into a PR
debacle. There has since been much speculation over the prime
minister’s real motives, but there is still no convincing explanation
for his behaviour.
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 There was a time when business
leaders ducked for cover if
Prime Minister Ferenc
Gyurcsány got ready to mess
around with the tax system.
Whatever happened, the only certainty was
that the country’s few taxpayers would end up
having to pay more.
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 The Veszprém murder made it clear that protection
rackets remain a problem in Hungary. Secondly, and more emphatically,
it demonstrated that relations between ethnic Hungarians and their
fellow Gypsy citizens are at breaking point.
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 The retail price of the newspaper that you are reading
is HUF 750. This price reflects not least the cost of production. Now
imagine that instead of a fixed price this newspaper has a price that
varies according to the income level of the buyer.
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 Looking at how the government in this country is
tackling the shadow economy, you could start to doubt whether their
intentions are really serious. The multi-million forint marketing
campaign last year was already questionable. Now, however, it has been
overshadowed by the latest coup of those aiming to whiten the economy:
a lottery against the shadow economy, or specifically against the
tendency in certain professions of not giving receipts.
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 The extent to which the half-hearted driving ban
benefited Budapest’s air last week is as unclear as the air itself was.
The ban, however, provided an illustration of where the country’s
larger problems lie.
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 Companies in Hungary currently have a double burden to
bear: they not only have to grapple with the still incalculable
consequences of the mismanagement of irresponsible financial jugglers,
but also continue to suffer from having a government that takes an
entirely insensitive and unrealistic approach to them.
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 The unanimity with which Hungary’s political and
economic leaders addressed the subject of Hungary’s woes at the recent
economic summit and thought out loud about possible cures was a fine
thing. Based solely on appearances this unaccustomed accord could
strike a hopeful note.
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 Every
crisis offers opportunities. It is a question of perspective and seeing things
in the right light. Of course the masking of facts also has to be mastered and Hungary’s
political class excels at this. After leaving Hungary significantly more exposed
to the crisis than comparable countries, it has now managed to score points
amid the crisis.
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 Hungary and its currency have been shaken
by the shockwaves of two major crises: the financial crisis originating in the US and the
homemade ongoing crisis of state finances. As different as the two crises are
in terms of their origin, there are surprising parallels in terms of the
motivations of those responsible. It is therefore likely that they can be
remedied using similar approaches.
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 In the
early hours of last Tuesday three Hungarian State Railway (MÁV) directors were
arrested apparently out of the blue. The sudden hurry and the show of action
were surprising given that the executives are accused of a crime that dates
back more than five years and until now had barely attracted the interest of
any public prosecutor. On closer inspection, however, the absurd and
contradictory story reveals more about Hungarian reality than the participants
would like.
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 Hungary has again managed to attract
international attention, but it has done so only though negative headlines and
ugly images of violence. A few hours after the clashes at the Gay Pride parade,
calm returned to Hungary and the country reverted to its minor role on the
international stage.
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 Politicians
have an endless capacity for sweeping awkward issues under the carpet. But an
unsolved problem cannot be made to disappear entirely and sooner or later it
will rear its head again, usually more forcefully than at the start. That has
been the case with the issue of social benefits, still too liberally handed
out, which the mayor of the village Monok raised several weeks ago. |
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 A large volume of hot air
emanating from within Parliament was a likely contributor to Hungary’s
most-recent heatwave. Inside, politicians have again been racking their brains
over how the Hungarian patient can be helped. Many declarations were made, but
once again no actual concrete help was given. The gap between what is desirable
and what is achievable seems to be growing in Hungary.
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 Ideological differences
need to be put aside... there is slowing economic growth and a gaping budget
deficit – we cannot afford to continue the wrangling of recent years... the
opposition is invited to take part in dialogue.
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 The news
hit Hungary like a bolt from
the blue earlier this month when the European Commission declared that Slovakia
can join the euro next year. It could hardly have delivered a greater snub to Hungary,
the EU’s former star pupil.
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 Viewers of the
state-owned broadcaster MTV were recently asked to vote for the seven natural
wonders of Hungary. A similar search could be held to find the top seven in
Hungary’s domestic politics and the landscape has recently thrown up several
contenders.
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 The greater
the need to take action, the more the ostensibly governing Socialists seem to
be seeking salvation in doing nothing, whether as a result of fear,
helplessness or even defiance. The government seems to have gone on an
unannounced strike. The question, however, is why?
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 The conditions at
Budapest’s public transport company (BKV) strongly recall those of the
healthcare system, which has only just been shaken out of its post-socialist
hibernation. The disease – namely the socialist virus – are the same, there is
no reason why the treatments applied should not be similar.
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 Until recently all eyes were fixed on the duel between
PM Ferenc Gyurcsány of the Hungarian Socialist Party (MSZP) and Viktor Orbán,
leader of main opposition party Fidesz. Now another battle is stealing the
show: we are witnessing an almost perfectly staged showdown between Gyurcsány
and János Kóka, chairman of junior coalition party SZDSZ.
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Tensions
have been brewing for months in the governing coalitions of both Hungary and Austria. Naturally, the coalition
crises are provoked by different reasons. |
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