2007. február. 04. 11:30 English version

Theatricality: a better way

Our government is dealing with daily complaints about the effect of budget cuts and price rises - so a distraction in the form of Fidesz's game on Kossuth ter is very welcome for the governing coalition. A little theatrical inspiration would have served Fidesz so much better.

The Iron Curtain is coming down, but this time it's not the work of East German tourists but of European Parliament deputies - thus ran the rumours around the city. And those who like their politics on the street reached as one for their flags and banners, heading for Kossuth ter. "The time has come! It's now or never!" We had people over to read our gas and electricity metres this week - officials, if you will. They announced their arrival with home-made notices. No, they had no desire to harass the honoured residents. Would they be so kind as to copy out the numbers on their metres and stick the paper up in a clearly visible place. After all, if they had to listen at length to everybody with a view on the matter - those worried about prices rises or compensation - they'd never get to the end of it. In return, of course, pensioners can use one of the oldest tricks in the book: they can inflate the number on their metre just ahead of a price rise and thereby get by for a few more months at the old price.

And then came the circus on Kossuth ter, just as the price of bread is about to rise - you need gas to bake it. So there are things to talk about.

Cool heads might argue that debating matters of constitutional law on the streets is very much in the interests of the government. It means, for example, that school and hospital closures, wage cuts and price rises can be supplanted in public debate by the hotly contested fate of a few square metres of unproductive land. What could serve the Gyurcsany government better?

Our hopeless opposition politicians should perhaps have pondered a little before acting. They could have come up with better ideas. The police barriers on Kossuth ter are frequently referred to as the Iron Curtain. So, why not make it look more like the original? With a little creativity and some theatrical skills they could have added some barbed wire, a few watch towers, turning Kossuth ter into a no man's land patrolled by guard dogs. They'd be protected by parliamentary immunity and they could even have justified themselves by saying they wanted to feel safer inside the building they worked in.

Attila Michnai

2007. január. 30. 00:48 hvg.hu English version

Sebestyen Gorka: new parties on the horizon?

The idea arose a few weeks ago, and now it's an acknowledged fact: major changes are brewing on the Right; even new parties may emerge. I have been living in this nightmare country for long enough to know that the most startling bits of news tend to be baseless. But things are different this time.

2007. január. 24. 18:42 hvg.hu English version

Setting a bad example

He was banned from teaching in secondary schools, imprisoned on charges of conspiracy and later 'pardoned' before becoming the father of tax reform in the 1980s. For two years following the regime change he served as finance minister. He founded the Centrum Party before announcing this year that he is to turn his back on politics. hvg.hu spoke to Mihaly Kupa about his life, political economy and the government's forced reform agenda.

2007. január. 30. 00:52 hvg.hu English version

At the centre of power

Ministers' private offices and the cabinet heads who run them are now more influential than ever. The cabinet head at the Defence Ministry, Peter Szeredi, has a job description running into 53 entries on the ministry's internal rule book. He is responsible for the Military Air Affairs Office, but also for employment levels at the ministry. The importance of his position is shown by the fact that the chief of staff runs not just the minister's private office but five other important units, running to 109 people, in a ministry with just 499 official posts.

2007. január. 22. 15:22 hvg.hu English version

Witness to dictatorships

To whom does Arthur Koestler belong? A foreigner would doubtless say he belonged to all, or that a great writer and thinker, one of the most authentic witnesses to the twentieth century is the common property of all humanity, wherever he lived. But we are in Hungary, in Budapest, the city where he was born, and so we should be more careful.

2007. február. 04. 11:23 MTI English version

The Lipotvaros Wall

The Lipotvaros Wall, already the subject of furious criticism from opposition parties, human rights organisations, Free Democrat MPs and even Katalin Szili, speaker of Parliament, is becoming a touchstone of political scandal.

2007. január. 30. 00:55 hvg.hu English version

Las Vegas on Danube

Mordechai Zisser, chairman of the Israeli-owned company Plaza Centers, has big plans for the Hungarian market. He was behind the vast Arena Plaza on Kerepesi ut and the "Hungarian Las Vegas" being built on Hajogyari Island. His company was behind Duna Plaza, built 12 years ago, and has since built 15 others around the country. hvg.hu spoke to Zisser in Jerusalem.