MARCH 2008

FEBRUARY 14

Here we are smack in the middle of Primaries at a time when most of us thought it would be all over by now, at least for the Democrats. I have to say I am one of those just emerging from shock. If you think the American election system is confusing, you can imagine how confusing it must be to most persons here. In USA we resolve the confusion problem simply by lapsing into disinterest; in Europe, however, disinterest in the US elections would be looked upon as grossly irresponsible. I do my best trying to explain it to them and am no little surprised when they at least appear to understand it---to the extent that it is susceptible of understanding at all. Curiously, almost no one has asked me anything at all about the Republicans, for it is assumed here, and very definitely hoped, that their participation in the election is simply in satisfaction of the legal requirements and has nothing whatever to do with the outcome, which is simply a question of whether it will be Clinton or Obama. Just as in the US, they feel they know Clinton; they assume---not unreasonably---that she is more or less like Bill in terms of policy, which is, I am sure, the way most Americans see her as well. But just as most Americans, they know very little about Obama. They very much like the way he sounds, even if almost none of them understand anything of what he says; and he is really handsome and looks to be a quite decent fellow. Surprisingly, very, very few persons raise the race issue. I say "surprisingly" even though I have grown accustomed to the Hungarian attitude toward race, which is to ignore it on the grounds that it cannot logically be important. Admirable as this may sound, I have to say that virtually everyone I know would consider the possibility of a gypsy becoming President of Hungary (a largely ceremonial position with few actual powers) as being beyond ludicrous.

In our own electoral affairs, we have a national referendum coming up on March 9, when we will decide three questions of great import: (1) Shall patients be required to pay a co-payment for each doctor visit and outpatient treatment, and (2), for each day of a hospital stay, of $1.60; and (3) Shall students be required henceforth to pay tuition (approximately $1000 per academic year) in state institutions of higher learning? (Currently there is no tuition charge for the undergraduate degree). Although the Constitution expressly forbids a referendum on questions pertaining to the budget, the Constitutional Court, heavily packed with appointees of the right-wing opposition when they were in office, has ruled that this is not a budget question, even though the defeat of the measures would require the government to provide additional funding for the Health and Education Ministries, respectively, in order the defray the costs of the services provided. I intend to vote to reject the proposals to eliminate the charges; but I am not going to tell my friends of my intention. Hungarians have lived all their lives under a system whereby they were paid very little, but everything essential was either free or very inexpensive, and they are understandably unwilling to pay for things that they have never had to pay for to this point. Yet the government must reduce the deficit in order to meet our required Euro-convergence obligations; we must join the Euro, and we must reduce the deficit to not more than 3% in order to do so, and health and education costs are the biggest items in the budget, hence the items where cuts most logically must be made. Confronted as we are by requirements that we must fulfill and no other way of meeting them, it is irresponsible for the Constitutional Court to make such a far-fetched interpretation to require a referendum in which everyone knows the voters will reject what every sensible person knows must be done. But, alas! it would not be Hungary if it happened otherwise.

We are having quite pleasant weather these days. Late autumn and early winter were quite unpleasant, but now we have settled back into the Global Warming Mode and it seems like very early Spring. Yesterday we rode the train from Hódmezővásárhely to Szeged, which is the preferred mode of travel for me, though both the bus and the train go from the railway station in one city to the railway station in the other, and both Anna and I have flats not distant from a railway station, although Anna lives quite close to the main station in Szeged, only about seven or eight minutes walk at a moderate pace, whereas I am about twenty minutes from the nearest station. Anna had insisted that there was a bus at 3.00 p.m. going to Szeged, but it turned out there was not, only the 3.30 bus, which would have required us to wait forty-five minutes. However, though it seemed deserted from a distance, the ticket seller was on duty and Anna asked her if the trains were operating, to which she replied that they were. We must ask, you see, because we have a kind of strike going on since late January. In USA, if the railroads strike, then there is no service whatever until a settlement. Here, however, they strike for a fixed period of time, say six hours, and then return to work. Everyone knows when the strike will end and can plan travel accordingly. In the case of the present strike, however, there tends to be a strike on alternate days; yes, there is service on odd-numbered days, and yes, there is a strike on even-numbered days. But yesterday was an even-numbered day and still there was service. Will there be service today? And how long will the strike-no strike go on? And, by the way, why are they striking? I cannot tell you if there will be service today, although that would seem to be the simplest question to answer. The strike will last at least until March 9, the date of the national referendum. Presumably it will end if they are satisfied with the outcome of the referendum, even though we all know how it will end. As for why they are striking, that is more complicated, and I am not sure I fully understand it myself, though I can say that it has to do with plans to privatize some services of the state railway system (mainly in the freight-handling area), eliminate service on some little-used parts of the system, and make reductions in the work-force. These reductions would amount to less than 0.4% of the total work force and might not require any actual dismissals, but would require reassignment of some personnel to other parts of the system, e.g., to runs from Szentes to Szolnok and Szentes to Kiskunfelegyhaza rather than from Szentes to Mako or Oroshaza to Mezötúr. Although it has not received much publicity, I would guess that the employees also want a wage increase, something most Hungarians would not be in sympathy with, given that railway workers have received substantially higher wage increases over the past five years than others in the public sector, such as teachers, health professionals, etc.

It is now Saturday, the 16th, and we have relatives ariving (late, they just telephoned us) from Vienna and Budapest. We are entertaining them at Anna's, and since Anna does not drink alcohol and has never in her life had a drink of alcohol, I had to go out to buy wine and beer. Because I had to get alcohol-free beer and was afraid that the nearby store would not have it, I went to TESCO, which is like Walmart. I walked there, but having to carry back three bottles of wine and six of beer led me to take the bus back. To my surprise the bus was quite crowded and there were no seats. A girl about 18 or 19 offered me her seat. I thanked her and told her I would be getting off in two stops, so I would stand. In the days of yore (Socialism---we never say Communism) younger persons were obliged to surrender their seats to seniors, pregnant women, or women with small children, but that requirement has long since gone the way of all flesh so that it surprises me when young persons these days offer their seat to an older person. To my surprise it happens more frequently in Budapest than in smaller cities and towns, even though the likelihood is greater that the non-offering person will be known by the older person and other passengers in smaller towns than in larger ones. Under Socialism the driver or conductor---there was a fare collector on the bus in those days---would actually tap you on the shoulder and tell you to stand, like in Get-to-the-back-of-the-bus fashion in the days of segregation. Fortunately, some customs still exist, such as the senior exemption from paying fare on public transport. I am going to end this now and continue with a new blog.