But Hungarians abroad get help from their mother country, supposedly to keep them in their place of birth, and to boost the demographic indicators. So many federations, committees, offices, departments, foundations, boards, funds, so many tenders, and now there's to be a special ID document. Oh! How much we have to spend in Hungary to make sure there's enough cash over there...
A presenter on public TV was recently brave enough to attack the sacred cow of subsidies to Hungarians abroad by asking whether it was true that the funds transferred weren't helping Hungarians across the border, but keeping Hungarian political elites in neighbouring countries above water.
Of course, none of the funding applications contain a whiff of political intrigue - they all talk in terms of the concrete public good. So how come those funds end up being spent elsewhere? It's simple: if the sum requested is more than is needed, and money remains after the project is completed. And it can happen if nobody examines whether the aim of the project was actually achieved. Or by making sure that the people who are supposed to account for expenditures are all in on the same game. If somebody objects, it's easy to shout him down. "Just be glad that at least some of the poor things still speak Hungarian!" "How can you begrudge our Hungarian brothers this small sum?" "Ok, the first ten computers will end up in the leaders' houses, but the eleventh really will help the community." The simplest rejoinder: "What kind of a Hungarian are you?"
The Hungarians of the Lower Carpathians need help. But the system of aid is leaky. It's subject to political interference: every interest group is trying to build up its own client base. The focus is not on performance or quality: everyone is happy to accept appearances in place of real results. Any project will do, so long as the key words are there: identity, mother tongue, tradition, religion. The system is supporting not programmes, but plans. The tenders are won not by people who are already doing something, but by those who will do something once they have money for it. Nobody asks: "What do we need," they ask: "What can we win with?"
And in making sure this sacred cow remains untouchable, the supporters and the bidders are good partners for each other. Nobody worries that if you wait for someone else to move your leg, you'll never be able to walk.
The author is a writer from the Lower Carpathians.
