15-Oct-10 News -- Red sludge and anti-Semitism spread in Hungary - 15-Oct-2010 - Generational Dynamics

Generational Dynamics Web Log for 15-Oct-2010

15-Oct-10 News -- Red sludge and anti-Semitism spread in Hungary

Some people say that Budapest is returning to the days of the Nazis

Red sludge and anti-Semitism spread in Hungary

Some people say that Budapest is returning to the days of the Nazis

On October 4, a wall holding an enormous reservoir of toxic red sludge collapsed in Hungary. Within an hour, 3 villages were buried deep in in 200 million gallons of the sludge, the waste product from a plant producing alumnina, an ingredient in aluminum. The plant has been running since the Soviet era, and is vital to Hungary's economy, according to AP. Nine people have died, and hundreds of people were forced to flee from their homes.

Here's a video if you haven't seen one yet (prepare to be grossed out):

The crisis may be far from ended. Another reservoir wall appears to be cracking, and officials are evacuating other towns, according to Associated Press.

This is only one of the major problems that Hungary's prime minister Victor Orbán and his Fidesz governing party have to deal with.

Another problem is Hungary's desperate financial situation. (See "20-Jul-10 News -- Hungary and Ireland face new financial problems.") Anxiety about the financial crisis is one of the factors that put Orban into office.

A third problem is the growing popularity of the fascist right-wing Jobbik party, led by chairman Gábor Vona, occurring at the same time that violence is increasing towards Roma Gypsies and Jews.

Orbán himself used to be considered a "liberal." He was a hero of Hungary in 1989 as a leader of the successful movement to gain independence from the Soviet Union. He was prime minister from 1998 to 2002, after which the leftist Socialist Party took power for eight years.

In 2010, Orbán moved to the right and became more nationalistic. He delivered a shockingly big victory in April, which Spiegel said at the time was a "massive shift to the right."

The Socialist Party effectively crashed. Orbán's Fidesz party won 53% of the popular vote, and 2/3rds of the seats in Parliament.

The big surprise was the far right Jobbik party, which made it into Parliament for the first time, with 17% of the vote.

Jobbik chairman Gábor Vona was co-founder of the Hungarian Guard, a paramilitary organization that was banned in 2008. Jobbik took advantage of his new-found political power at his swearing in ceremony on May 14. During the proceedings, he threw off his suit jacket to reveal a uniform similar to those worn in WW II by the Arrow Cross Party, the violent butchers and rapists that served as the Hungarian arm of the Nazi party.

A new election, this time for mayors and other local officials, was held on October 3, and Orbán's Fidesz party won a landslide victory, taking control of 22 or 23 cities, according to the Budapest Times. Orbán's political opponents are accusing him becoming a dictator, and comparing his government to previous dictatorships.

Vona's Jobbik party did not have an electoral surge that many had feared, but it did win some victories in smaller cities. Vona claims that he's now prepared to take power in the 2014 elections.

A new analysis by Spiegel paints Budapest as Europe's "capital of anti-Semitism":

Neo-fascist thugs attacked Roma families, killing six people in a series of murders. ... Unknown vandals defiled the Holocaust Memorial with bloody pigs' feet. A new law granted the government direct or indirect control over about 80 percent of the media. The television channel Echo TV showed an image of Nobel laureate and Auschwitz survivor Imre Kertész together with a voiceover about rats. Civil servants can now be fired without cause. Krisztina Morvai, a member of the European Parliament for Jobbik, suggested that "liberal-Bolshevik Zionists" should start thinking about "where to flee and where to hide."

From the point of view of Generational Dynamics, this is one more sign of a truly remarkable trend that's been occurring this year, that I've described several times in recent days. The xenophobia of the 1930s is returning, and appears to be accelerating. We're well on the way to a world war.

(Comments: For reader comments, questions and discussion, see the 15-Oct-10 News -- Red sludge and anti-Semitism spread in Hungary thread of the Generational Dynamics forum. Comments may be posted anonymously.) (15-Oct-2010) Permanent Link
Receive daily World View columns by e-mail
Donate to Generational Dynamics via PayPal

	Generational Dynamics
	Forecasting America's Destiny ... and the World's

\| HOME \| WEB LOG \| COUNTRY WIKI \| COMMENT \| FORUM \| DOWNLOADS \| ABOUT \|

Generational Dynamics Web Log for 15-Oct-2010 15-Oct-10 News -- Red sludge and anti-Semitism spread in Hungary

Red sludge and anti-Semitism spread in Hungary

Web Log Pages

Generational Dynamics Web Log for 15-Oct-2010
15-Oct-10 News -- Red sludge and anti-Semitism spread in Hungary