NationStates Jolt Archive

Within the past while, riots have broken out in the Hungarian capital, and the state T.V broadcaster building has been stormed by protestors as the Prime Minister Ferenc Gyurcsany admitted that his party had lied to win an election.

He admitted to not revealing to the public the true extent of the economic malaise and the half hearted and failed efforts to revive the economy. He said [paraphrase- though I think its quite accurate]"We really screwed up. We were boneheads."


Mr Gyurcsany's admission came after Hungarian radio played a tape of a meeting he had with his Socialist MPs a few weeks after the election in April.

This Prime Minister admitted to lying in office or at best - keeping the truth from the public. Reaction: Mass outpouring of anger and people take to the streets.

Why oh why, is this not the reaction in other Western states? Too soft?

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/5358546.stm

Why oh why, is this not the reaction in other Western states? Too soft?

Too jaded. All politicians are expected to lie.

We don't have many politically passionate young people anymore. We're all sheep.

We don't have many politically passionate young people anymore. We're all sheep.
All we need is a good old fashioned dictatorship to get them ragin'. Have we tried Islamic theocracy yet?

All we need is a good old fashioned dictatorship to get them ragin'. Have we tried Islamic theocracy yet?

*Looks up the big book o' western governments*

No. Don't think so...

Too jaded. All politicians are expected to lie.

If they didn't lie, they wouldn't be politicians, would they? :D

Bah, I thought this was about the Stephen Colbert bridge. Thou shall never let people name something over the internet.

I need more information here. Which other nations do you think need to riot?

It just sickens me when I look at the leading countries in the West and I see people bitch and moan and complain for years- about their economy, their politicians, lies, corruption, scandal and just general needlessly poor aspects of society and then I see this.

True people power. People that deserve democracy because they're out there, screaming for it, fighting for it.

Do we still deserve the right to a democracy further west, even though it appears we don't give a damn about it?

I need more information here. Which other nations do you think need to riot?

US. UK. Y'know... Those kinda countries.

*Looks up the big book o' western governments*

No. Don't think so...
Let's do it, brother!

*grows Allah Akbeard*

It just sickens me when I look at the leading countries in the West and I see people bitch and moan and complain for years- about their economy, their politicians, lies, corruption, scandal and just general needlessly poor aspects of society and then I see this.

True people power. People that deserve democracy because they're out there, screaming for it, fighting for it.

Do we still deserve the right to a democracy further west, even though it appears we don't give a damn about it?

As an American, I think it’s a wonderful luxury to not have to give a damn about politics (and that’s why I don’t blame people who don’t vote, though I do myself every chance I get). It is great to know that regardless which candidate is elected, my life won’t significantly change. It’s a very comforting feeling to know that in modern western democracies the art of governance is down to petty haggling over details. That said, I think if someone tried to seriously threaten our democracy we would scream and fight very hard to protect it.

That said, I think if someone tried to seriously threaten our democracy we would scream and fight very hard to protect it.
I wouldn't count on it. In Britain people wouldn't be particularly concerned with democracy slipping away as long as there's a steady flow of alcohol and a new series of Celebrity Love Island. I doubt America is any different.

I wouldn't count on it. In Britain people wouldn't be particularly concerned with democracy slipping away as long as there's a steady flow of alcohol and a new series of Celebrity Love Island. I doubt America is any different.

*Shudder*

As an American, I think it’s a wonderful luxury to not have to give a damn about politics .
I am becomming increasingly of the opinion that people of that persuasion should be stripped of their voting rights.

True people power. People that deserve democracy because they're out there, screaming for it, fighting for it.
Deserve democracy? What is there to deserve about democracy? I shudder to think what kind of place I’d be living in if the people in my area took to the streets for their “causes.”

An update:

In the excerpts, Mr Gyurcsany says harsh economic reforms are needed.

He thanks "divine providence, the abundance of cash in the world economy and hundreds of tricks" for keeping the economy above board.

In a speech sprinkled with obscenities, Mr Gyurcsany says: "We lied in the morning, we lied in the evening."


The prime minister has received the backing of Socialist MPs who on Monday voted unanimously to support him.

However, Hungary's President, Laszlo Solyom, said Mr Gyurcsany had created a "moral crisis", and opposition parties have called for his resignation.

The main opposition party, Fidesz, has said it will boycott parliament for a day on Tuesday to protest against the "lies" of the Socialist-led government.

These are the first clashes to take place between police and demonstrators in Hungary since the fall of communism and the establishment of democracy in the late 1980s.


Deserve democracy? What is there to deserve about democracy?

The fact they seem to give a shit that their leaders lied to get into power, and to hide the truth about the dire state of the economy from them. The fact they're outraged that the democratic process has been trampled on.

That's what I mean by 'deserve democracy'.

I am becomming increasingly of the opinion that people of that persuasion should be stripped of their voting rights.

And it would take people like you, trying to take away voting rights, to get the normally apathetic to turn out in droves and even take up arms.

And it would take people like you, trying to take away voting rights, to get the normally apathetic to turn out in droves and even take up arms.

What difference would it make to you? You don't want to vote anyway. You wouldn't care ;)

What difference would it make to you? You don't want to vote anyway. You wouldn't care ;)

For the record, I do vote in every local and national election. But there is a difference about not caring whether the local school takes out another bond or whether the senate passes the U.S.-Oman free trade agreement and not caring whether you have a representative government. I’m saying that the issues right now aren’t serious enough for most people to turn out into the streets in protest; indeed, I can’t remember the last time I ran outside and started screaming for justice just because the proposition I voted for lost. I contend that the apathetic would involve themselves in politics in a heartbeat if their livelihood or freedom were seriously challenged.

I’m saying that the issues right now aren’t serious enough for most people to turn out into the streets in protest
I remember some kerfuffle over Iraq...

These people found out they had been lied to by their government. They weren't going to take it. They didn't just lie down and accept it, shrug their shoulders and say "Oh well. We'll wait 4 more years til the next election".

They have my respect.

I remember some kerfuffle over Iraq...

These people found out they had been lied to by their government. They weren't going to take it. They didn't just lie down and accept it, shrug their shoulders and say "Oh well. We'll wait 4 more years til the next election".

They have my respect.
THAT crime had no mens rea, the average person isn't too offended when they find out that the entire world made the same mistake. I don't think there was any malicious falsehood there.

That aside, the only affect the Iraq war had on the average American was higher gas prices, which a lot of people are angry about. The amount of money spent on the war is a pittance in our massive budget and the number of lives lost, though tragic, is not so great as to warrant great public outcry. So I wouldn’t say that the Iraq war fits the bill as an issue that threatens the average American’s freedom or livelihood.

The fact they seem to give a shit that their leaders lied to get into power, and to hide the truth about the dire state of the economy from them. The fact they're outraged that the democratic process has been trampled on.

That's what I mean by 'deserve democracy'.
Bah. They are a mob. They will have there way.