GOH PRESENTS NEW PROGRAM: GRAND VISION, FEW

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 BUDAPEST 001201

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

STATE FOR EUR/NCE MICHELLE LABONTE

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV PREL SOCI HU
SUBJECT: GOH PRESENTS NEW PROGRAM: GRAND VISION, FEW
DETAILS


BUDAPEST 00001201 001.2 OF 003


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Summary
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1. (U) At Parliament,s May 30 plenary session, PM-elect
Ferenc Gyurcsany presented MPs and media with the new
coalition program, entitled &New Hungary ) Freedom and
Solidarity.8 The 85-page document is the fruit of weeks of
negotiations between coalition partners MSZP and SZDSZ, and
lays the groundwork for a &successful, modern and just8
Hungary, through a set of exhaustive and ambitious reforms of
the public sector, finances, education and health care. The
key word of the program, in fact, is reform. Gyurcsany, both
in his foreword to the document as well as in his May 30
speech in Parliament, promises four years of a &reform
government.8 This cable examines some of the most essential
points of the government agenda submitted to Parliament on
May 30, 2006, as they pertain to foreign policy and the
government,s focus on a just Hungary.

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A Secure Hungary
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2. (U) The program lays out the new government,s agenda for
creating a Hungary that is secure both domestically and on
the international stage. Following an outline of steps
needed to increase Hungary,s border security, public safety,
and security of its citizens, data, as well as a discussion
of improving first-response and natural disaster response
services and systems, the program spells out that NATO is the
guarantor of Hungary,s security internationally:
&Hungary,s security is comprised of two pillars, our
European and our transatlantic commitments.8 Hungary, says
the document, is not faced with threats in the traditional
sense; international terrorism, extreme nationalism, a
proliferation of WMD, poverty, famine, disease and natural
disasters are what endanger societies today.


3. (U) Hungary must thus prepare for new security challenges.
The program signals that the GOH will commit itself to
finishing the transformation of Hungary,s armed forces, to
protect the country,s sovereignty and fulfill its
commitments to international organizations. The document
spells out concrete steps the GOH will take in the next four
years. Hungary will &undertake8 to contribute some 1,000
troops to NATO, EU and UN peacekeeping operations. (Note:
The previous MSZP-SZDSZ government committed itself to
fielding 1,000 troops on international missions.) A special
focus will be on geographic areas with direct implications
for Hungary,s security. Hungary will increase its role in
the exchange of information between allies. NATO radar
installations will be put in place; Gripen jets will enter
into service; a modernization of transport and armored
vehicle fleets will begin; better training will be offered to
Hungary,s all-professional army personnel.

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Foreign Policy Objectives
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4. (U) One of the primary responsibilities of the government
will be to increase the significance/weight of Hungary
internationally; the business sector, civil society and
individuals should all have a role to play in this endeavour,
says the program. As the primary directions of Hungarian
foreign policy, the document names the countries of the
European Union, the United States, NATO allies, Russia and
&the swiftly developing nations of Asia.8


5. (U) Hungary has a vested interest in a strongly
integrated, democratic and transparent European Union, as
well as in an effective transatlantic relationship. The
government will support the further expansion of the EU, the
development of a common energy policy, as well as the
implementation of the Lisbon Strategy. The GOH also looks
forward to closing the gaps between old and new EU member
states, to adopting the euro, entering the Schengen border
regime, and fostering the free movement of labor within the
European Union. The GOH will promptly begin preparing for
Hungary,s 2011 EU presidency.


6. (U) Hungary intends to play a proactive and cooperative
role in the Central and Eastern European region; the Visegrad
Partnership will be a key aspect of the country,s foreign
policy. Regional cooperation will also be important, and
Hungary will pay &close attention8 to initiatives to bring
Ukraine and the western Balkans closer to Europe. Hungary,s
foreign policy will also take into consideration the
interests of ethnic Hungarians living in surrounding

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countries; the GOH will also work to protect minorities and
human rights, both in the CEE region and the world over.

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A Just Hungary
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7. (U) According to the program, although Hungarians have
reacquired their legal rights since the transition, they are
still not free in a social sense, and various social groups
still require added attention from the state. In this
regard, more attention must be paid to basing social
advancement on individual capability and not on factors such
as family environment and location of dwelling. According to
the section of the program entitled &A Just Hungary8, new
forms of support must be found for the under-privileged,
while those with greater means must take on added
responsibility.

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Child Poverty
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8. (U) One aspect of realizing a just Hungary is the
elimination of child poverty, which the program cites as
afflicting 1 in 5 Hungarian children. The government wants
to tackle the issue through its National Program Against
Child Poverty, which foresees a broad range of measures, from
inclusive education to more fairly-distributed family
allowances to employment for impoverished parents, as the
solution to be implemented over a 25 year period. To this
end, more targeted measures will be introduced to assist job
seekers, and employers will be offered incentives for hiring
undereducated workers and creating jobs in disadvantaged
regions.


9. (U) In the same vein, schools and early education
institutions will be tweaked to make them more accommodating
of impoverished families.
Program points here include the expansion of free school
meals, an increase in kindergarten spaces and expansion of
opening hours to assist working parents. The integration of
children from disadvantaged backgrounds will be strengthened,
and incentives given to provide extra assistance to children
who require it.


10. (U) Other measures to fight poverty, and particularly
child poverty, include new regulations governing debt
management and eviction, which will give more protection to
poor families. Housing support will be calibrated to benefit
those with less. The program promises to redouble GOH
efforts to reduce what are still high infant mortality rates,
to equalize child care services country-wide, in an effort to
expand the number of hospitals with specialized infant care
sections.

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Roma
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11. (U) The program offers continued support for defending
the rights of Roma, in part through the ombudsman system and
the Equal Opportunity Authority. More concretely, the
program states that tolerance training will be made
compulsory for all participants in the criminal justice
process (i.e. police and prosecution) and that incentives
will be provided for Roma to join these institutions in
greater number.


12. (U) The program recognizes the diversity within
Hungary,s Roma community and suggests that
anti-discrimination measures are sufficient to improve the
condition of most Roma. (Comment: However, the program does
propose specific, additional measures targeted to those Roma
who live in isolated and/or dilapidated settlements.) The
program also emphasizes desegregation in adult education and
incentives to increase and diversify Roma employment.

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Other Vulnerable Groups
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13. (U) The program also promises to do more to combat
discrimination against women, both in hiring practices and in
social attitudes, to enhance efforts to fight family violence
and to provide comprehensive support for battered women.
While the program offers little new to present pensioners,
whom it considers to be more or less justly treated, in loose
language it does note that the next phase of pension reform
will be initiated in order to maintain the viability of the

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entire system for future generations. Finally, the program
offers to support a host of actions designed to enhance
opportunities for those living with handicaps, as well as to
tighten legislation related to consumer protection.

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Comment
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14. (SBU) While this agenda is an ambitious one, it consists
largely of generalities and hortatory language. Opposition
parties FIDESZ and MDF have been sharply critical of the
program,s lack of concrete measures and specific plans. For
example, the previous MSZP-SZDSZ government had already
pledged to field 1,000 Hungarian troops on international
missions at any given time, and has in practice maintained
between 800 and 900 troops abroad over the last year. Given
deep cuts to the defense budget in 2005 and 2006, with
additional cuts projected for 2007, it is difficult to see
how Hungary can increase its troop presence abroad, let alone
equip that presence with modern capabilities. Financially,
the only feasible opportunities for increasing foreign
deployments may be in the Balkans.


15. (SBU) On social policy, the program is broadly consistent
with PM Gyurcsany,s tendency to eschew ethnically-based
policy in favor of a &color-blind8 approach to education,
healthcare and poverty. Perhaps of note, in light of PM
Gyurcsany,s nomination of former Minister of Youth, Family,
Social Affairs and Equal Opportunity Kinga Goncz as the new
Minister of Foreign Affairs, is the program,s contention
that civil society and private citizens each have a role in
foreign affairs. As Gyurcsany mentioned, much of foreign
policy in the context of the European Union revolves around
&social and domestic8 affairs -- thus, Goncz,s appointment
may serve to link these two sectors and foreign policy in the
traditional sense, according to the prime minister.


16. (SBU) In foreign policy, the document orders Hungary,s
priorities as neighboring countries, EU members, the U.S.,
NATO allies, Russia and &the rapidly-developing countries of
Asia.8 Among the latter, China is highlighted. The only
other two references to the U.S. in the paper are in the
security-policy section, where the United States is
identified as Hungary,s &strategic partner,8 particularly
from the security-policy perspective. Russia merits special
mention as well: &we ascribe a prominent role to the
further strengthening of relations with the United States and
Russia.8 While the document presents Visegrad as a useful
forum, solidarity therein may be challenged, if only
temporarily, by the wrangling over the U.S. visa-waiver
amendment. All in all, this is a European social-democratic
document with a liberal, forward-leaning vision. It is also
based principally in domestic policy, where the twin tasks of
downsizing the government and reining in the deficit are
front and center.

WALKER