Prime Minister Viktor is planning on holding a referendum on whether Hungary should agree to EU-wide quotas on the division of refugees amongst European Union member states. The Hungarian leader announced his plans for a plebiscite, in which the government will campaign for the “no” side, one day after skinheads and thugs, almost certainly hired by Fidesz politicians or oligarchs, physically prevented representatives of the Hungarian Socialist Party (MSZP) from submitting their own referendum proposal to officials at the National Election Office in Budapest, on whether to overturn the Orbán regime’s 2014 decision to close most retail stores on Sundays. The Socialists had already attempted to propose a referendum in this same topic before, but then too, “random” people managed to submit their own proposals in the same topic seconds or minutes before the Socialists. In this case, Mr. Nyakó deliberately arrived a dawn, because the Hungarian Supreme Court was about to render a decision on the previous submission that very morning. The Socialists took no chances and wanted to make sure that as soon as the earlier proposal is disqualified, they could be the first to submit their question.
The store closures are hugely unpopular, even among Fidesz supporters. When the decree came into effect, two thirds of Hungarians were opposed to the new law. It is difficult to imagine any scenario where an MSZP-proposed referendum question on this topic would not have garnered majority support, and this would have been a major (and much needed) political victory for the largest centre-left opposition party, precisely two years before the next national elections.
When MSZP politician István Nyakó arrived at the National Election Office at 6:00 AM on Tuesday, he was faced with over a dozen burly skinheads. The men had been previously involved with providing security at rowdy sporting events and had been hired by circles close to Fidesz. The skinheads, dressed in black and some with nationalist symbols of Greater Hungary, all claimed to also be waiting in line to submit proposals to the elections bureau. The intimidating thugs had no other purpose but to block the entrance and ensure that Mr. Nyakó was unable to enter and submit his proposal. Thanks to the thugs, an elderly woman, who turned out to be the wife of a former Fidesz party mayor of the town of Herceghalom, who now is (on paper) “independent,” managed to submit her own referendum proposal precisely four seconds before Mr. Nyako was able to hand his over to the officials in the National Election Office. Since Hungarian law states that a single referendum question can be considered in any given topic, there is no opportunity for Mr. Nyakó to have his party’s proposal even heard by the office, as he has been preempted. Instead, the question submitted by the bizarre elderly woman and Fidesz crony, Mrs. Erdősi, will be given consideration instead and is deliberately oddly worded, thus ensuring that the referendum will likely not garner the necessary voter interest or would only rally government supporters.
Skinheads and thugs, dressed in black, prevented the Socialists from submitting their proposed referendum question to the National Election Office. Nobody could enter the office, unless they were allowed in by the mysterious and intimidating men. The police chose not to intervene for hours.
Fidesz politicians, with singular cynicism, were quick to label the Socialists as “incompetent” and “stupid” for failing to submit their question. But I trust that everyone, except for the most blinded, die-hard Fidesz believers and those who reap benefit from their collaboration with the regime, see Hungary’s government for what it is: a criminal gang, plain and simple, which now uses skinheads to intimidate and physically stop any opposition.
Gellert Rajcsányi, assistant editor of the conservative Mandiner website referred to rule of law in Hungary as “a balding democracy,” in direct reference to the thugs. No friend of the Socialists, Mr. Rajcsányi still writes: “Nobody stopped the sick cabaret in front of the National Election Office, which lasted for several hours–not the officials, who tolerated all of this (the skinheads reportedly decided who to allow in and who to ban from the building), nor did the Hungarian police and security officers intervene to re-establish order…What happened yesterday was a revolting mockery of Hungarian democracy.”
There’s not very much left of the Hungarian democracy that Mr. Rajcsányi writes about. Some of us have been saying this for some time, and have occasionally been labelled as liars and extremists for doing so. What happened on Tuesday, however, is perhaps the most blatant visual of the state of rule of law in Hungary.
At least Hungarians will be able to vote in a referendum, which raises a range of potential legal issues, on whether the regime should continue its very effective hate campaign against refugees and migrants. And the opposition can wait for when these same thugs might come knocking on their door.
Why blur their faces? These thugs should be shown for everyone to see.
Unfortunately, the blurring of faces is Hungarian law, so all Hungarian news sites, including where I found this image, do that.
But you are right: these criminals should be exposed, as well as those who contracted them to do the dirty work.
Video of Hungarian “democracy” in action.
Orban is winning – Sieg Heil!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p4izJJDMbZY
Quoting A. Foldes from Index, Feb 24, 2016 The question is which type of “democracy” will Hungary choose next: The Ukraine or the Russian type.
More in Hungarian here:
Ha jól következtetünk, akkor izgalmas idők következnek. Már csak azért is, mert egyelőre nem tudható, hogy az ukrán, vagy az orosz modell irányába indulnak el az események.
Az ukrán modellben a politikai, gazdasági erős emberek is nekiállnak hadsereget toborozni. Ha erre az útra lépnénk, izgalmas, Csák Máté-s hangulatú időkre kell számítani, vad portyázásokkal, hajnali csatazajjal, és erősen fellendülő biztonságiőr-iparral.
Az orosz modellben viszont csak az erős központi hatalomnak van magánhadserege, szóval nincsenek utcai harcok, sem megostromolt gyárak. A kézi irányítású erőszakszerv csak néha jelenik meg, hogy kiosszon egy-egy kokit és sallert, ha döcögős folyamatot kell sínre tenni, eltévelyedett szövetségest meggyőzni, vagy túl beszédes embert jobb belátásra bírni. Lehetne ennek az alakulatnak valami frappáns neve is. Amíg nem találjuk ki, hívjuk munkásőrségnek.
Meanwhile, I — as always — oppose refugees’ and migrants’ presence in Hungary, reading this piece I am saddened seeing what new directions the events are taking.
huhhhh, I support Orban refusing the migrants and the quotas but I oppose his methods and technique. He openly released hatred which carries a danger of control slipping through his fingers. Governing can easily become uncontrollable and chaos will rule.
Why I support refusing quotas? Schengen is over, the EU pushes the migrants to the periphery, will establish a core elite EU and Schengen while forming a prison zone.
“The reality is that the European Union needs a prison zone, which will deter or detain the crowds of migrants. ”
http://hungarianfreepress.com/2015/08/23/europes-shame-reflections-on-the-sick-old-and-inward-looking-european-union/
Meanwhile, Poland, Hungary and many others clearly realized the danger of this migration wave. In KMH I read two very sober evaluation of this issue from Bogdán Géza and Kertész Ákos.
Hatred, fascism, protests, violence committed by migrants, chaos is growing all in the EU.
In what direction is Orban going to take his next step?
Everyone realizes the risks and burden of the this refugee wave, not only the fascists, but the rest also feels for the people caught up in this:
http://www.thewhy.com/wp-content/uploads/008-Aleppo.jpg
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/destinations/middleeast/syria/11468349/Syria-war-Aleppos-heritage-sites-destroyed.html
And “Hatred, fascism & violence” described well what the Orban regime is about.
And for the record I am also firmly against mass migration. My preferred example, for the lack of a perfect one, is the Australian policy.
As far as I can remember the two above mentioned pieces analyzed the danger of the huge number of migrants, let alone the cultural, religious language barriers. No country has the financial background and the infrastructure to handle such a huge number of influx at a sudden. Couldn’t do it that even if they were their very own returning emigrants.
Remember when the USSR collapsed huge number of their own people who were employable, no cultural differences, spoke the language returned home in huge numbers and was a failure. The burden was too big. Or when the two Germany were united. Their own nation and almost brought them down.
Presently Germany and the other EU countries had to take out a huge loan from the Central European Bank.
That’s business, a big one. And a big burden on the taxpayers. the won’t stand it.
I am sincerely worried.
One more element.
Fidesz VP Gergely Gulyás, a holder of law degree !!, came up yesterday with an astounding mixture of nonsense and lies on Klub radio and ATV.
– Legal nonsense is his assertion that the constitutional ban on holding a referendum on issues treated by international agreements or law is not applicable to the questions of refugee protection and settlement, because the respective international provisions have been incorporated into Hungarian law, hence it had become domestic law, which in turn can be subject to referendum.
For those who were not fans of the Yes Minister brit series: if you sign, i.e. accept to comply with an international agreement/law, and incorporate it in your own legal system, then you don’t have to comply with it anymore. Typical Fidesz Logic for Dummies.
– The lies part is that the GG character knows the truth pretty well.
Orban is a revelation. He should be leading the EU – his views certainly match mine and many others in the UK. Hungary you should be proud of your leader he stands up for you, unlike our drip of a pm.
Don’t claim to speak for others in the UK with your ignorance…..
And most people are ignorant of who Orban is here. He’s an inconsequential pip squeak.
I just found:
“Hungarian Prime Minister Victor Orban argued that the cooperation between the EU and Turkey with regard to the current refugee crisis will bring few positive results, German media reported.”
“In return for money and promises, we are submissively begging for Mr. Erdogan to ensure the security of our borders, because we can’t protect ourselves,” the politician told German newspaper Das Bild, adding that such policy makes “Europe’s future and security depend on the goodwill of Turkey.”
http://deutsche-wirtschafts-nachrichten.de/2016/02/25/orban-eu-bettelt-bei-erdogan-weil-sie-ihre-grenzen-nicht-schuetzen-kann/
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