HUNGARY'S ELECTIONS: THE ROMA (C-RE6-00145)

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 BUDAPEST 000711

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS

DEPARTMENT FOR EUR/NCE

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: KDEM PGOV PHUM SOCI HU
SUBJECT: HUNGARY'S ELECTIONS: THE ROMA (C-RE6-00145)

REF: STATE 22644

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Summary
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1. (U) There are an estimated 600-800 thousand Roma in
Hungary, yet most Hungarians do not view them as a viable
political force. Disagreements among national leaders, social
marginalization and poverty, "tribal" differences, and a
tendency to focus on short-term, local issues, have resulted
in the Roma not establishing strong affiliations with any
particular party. The new Roma Unity Party (RUP),however,
has managed to field twenty-nine individual mandate
candidates in the April 9/23 general elections, and to
qualify for representation on the regional and national
lists; a first for a Roma party. Still, observers doubt that
the RUP will receive even the one percent of the vote
necessary to qualify for funding, and some in the Roma
community view attempts to create a Roma political bloc like
the RUP as a stumbling block to full integration.

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Key National Figures
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2. (SBU) There are four key Roma leaders, each with his own
agenda and philosophy:

- Laszlo Teleki: Teleki, a Beas Roma, is an MSZP MP and the
State Secretary for Roma Affairs. A member of Parliament
since 2002, Teleki is pro-U.S. and has attributed much of his
success to Embassy and USAID programs. Citing the lack of
any mention of Roma programs in the most recent National
Development Plan (NDP),many in the Roma community have said
they view Teleki as ineffective in promoting aid for Roma;

- (SBU) Florian Farkas: Farkas is a FIDESZ MP and head of
the Roma Organization Lungo Drom, which is widely viewed as a
FIDESZ puppet organization. Farkas was head of the Roma
National Minority Self Government (MSG) from 1995 - 2002.
FIDESZ has campaigned hard in the Roma community and may win
a majority of the Roma vote as a result. Farkas is an Ungro
Roma. (Comment: Many here perceive both Teleki and Farkas as
"token" Roma who will follow their respective political party
lines in order to stay in power.)

- (SBU) Aladar Horvath: Horvath, who is of a mixed Roma
background, was the first Roma elected to Parliament (SZDSZ)
and he is currently the head of the Roma Civil Rights
Foundation. He was also the head of the Roma National MSG in
2002 but internal political squabbles forced him out after
just a few months. Andor Urmos, a close friend of Horvath,
told Poloffs that Horvath probably has the most altruistic
intentions for the Roma community, but his single-mindedness
of purpose and unwillingness to compromise makes it difficult
to work with him.

- (SBU) Kolompar Orban: Orban has been head of the Roma
National MSG since 2003. Orban, an Olah Roma with a sixth
grade education, founded the RUP in October 2005 as an
alternative to the mainstream parties. Some Roma attribute
the party's remarkable growth to Orban's use of MSG resources
for personal political gain and allege that Orban has filled
the MSG with Olah cronies (who also dominate RUP).

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Roma Groupings
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3. (SBU) The Roma community in Hungary is divided into three
main "tribes" or groupings, the Roma-Ungro, Olah, and Beas.
The Roma-Ungro or "Hungarian Roma" comprise approximately 85
percent of the Roma population and are the stereotypical
"Hungarian Gypsy." Spread throughout Hungary, many Ungro do
not speak a Romani language. The majority of assimilated
Roma come from this group. The Olah Roma make up fifteen
percent of the Roma population and are situated mainly in the
eastern part of Hungary, where many of them live in extreme
poverty. The smallest group, at 3 percent are the Beas, who
primarily reside in southern Hungary. The Beas tend to be
the most traditional, "old-fashioned" Roma. Tamas Csik,
director of a Roma news webpage and a Centrum Party national
list candidate, told poloffs on April 4 that "although we
don't like to discuss it, "tribal" affiliations make a
difference in which candidates we support." In an April 5
meeting, Laszlo Teleki also told poloffs that "tribal"
affiliations do make a difference as "tribal" leaders are
important decision makers. According to Teleki, attempts to
influence the Roma vote will often go through the "tribal"

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leaders. (Comment: It is likely that such leaders are often
approached for help in vote fraud has well.)

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"The Roma Have Never Had a Martin Luther King"
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4. (SBU) Ferenc Fodor, a non-Roma staffer for RUP told
poloffs that the reason the Roma have never united as a
political force is that they "have never had a Martin Luther
King." According to Fodor, none of the other Roma leaders
are charismatic enough to unite the whole group. When
pressed about why there they had differing political agendas,
he observed that, realistically, most of the leaders rely on
their political office for their livelihood and tend to
support Roma interests to those of their respective parties.
Tamas Csik suggested that social and education differences
also play a role, comparing Orban's sixth-grade education to
Horvath's college background. Other Roma have expressed
their concern over their feuding leaders as well. In March,
Roma businessman and FIDESZ supporter Sandor Danyi told
Poloffs that the only way for the Roma to move forward would
be for Teleki, Farkas, Orban and Horvath to put aside their
personal agendas and unite for the long-term benefit of the
Roma.

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The Roma Unity Party:
Integration, Not Assimilation
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5. (SBU) The RUP's campaign slogan is "For the Future, for
work, for respect, for ourselves" and its underlying theme is
"integration, not assimilation." Fodor explained that the RUP
envisions a society where Roma are identified as Roma without
fear of discrimination. The RUP platform calls for the
following:

- employment opportunities for Roma, including state support
of Roma businesses;

- educational opportunity, including vocational training,
subsidized school food programs and an end to segregation;

- elimination of the most dilapidated settlements where an
estimated 150 thousand Hungarians (Roma and non-Roma) live in
extreme poverty;

- a focus on Roma identity and culture in all aspects of the
party's platform.


6. (SBU) The RUP is fielding 29 individual candidates
(including three non-Roma) in ten counties, and the party has
also qualified for county list ballots in eight regions and
even the national list; unprecedented for a Roma party.
Speaking realistically, Fodor said that only one candidate
has a chance of winning election, but the party hopes for
several third-place finishes. If the RUP gains one percent
of the vote, it would qualify for government funding, and
Fodor claimed that other parties would then recognize it as
the party to work with on Roma issues. Fodor thought the RUP
had a chance to win one percent of the vote. Csik predicted
that RUP would not attain one percent of the vote. Csik, who
does not like Orban, predicted that if RUP won one percent of
the vote and received GOH funds, it would allow Orban to
solidify his hold over the National MSG. (Note: Csik himself
has political aspirations. He told poloffs that he plans to
leave the Centrum Party and form his own "Roma Alliance"
party before the next election.)

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FIDESZ Populism for the Roma, Too
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7. (SBU) Dr. Andor Urmos, Head of the Equal Opportunity
Ministry's Department of Roma Integration, and himself an
SZDSZ sympathizer, told poloffs April 6 that he expects that
FIDESZ will receive slightly more Roma votes than the other
parties. Urmos attributed this to FIDESZ's aggressive
courting of the Roma. According to Urmos, the Roma have not
traditionally identified with, or voted en masse for a
particular party because they tend to focus on short term and
local issues. (Comment: Much of that focus is the product of
poverty, which politicians often address through populist
promises or outright bribery.)


8. (SBU) Despite the expectation that many FIDESZ supporters
would be unsympathetic to Roma issues, Urmos suggested that
FIDESZ was able to appease its base by couching its promises
in racist terms. As an example, Urmos quoted FIDESZ

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President Viktor Orban promising "housing and work for Roma
who are eager to work and learn." Roma susceptibility to
FIDESZ appeals is also anomalous given FIDESZ's usual
nationalist and xenophobic bent. Urmos mentioned that many
in the Equal Opportunity Ministry were concerned about
comments FIDESZ deputy prime minister candidate Istvan Mikola
had made earlier in the week about his vision of a "pure and
wholesome" society, a Hungarian phrase loaded with distinct
racial overtones. Urmos speculated that many Roma brushed
aside such comments; attributing them to "everyday racism."


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The Liberal Approach
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9. (SBU) Urmos also said that MSZP and SZDSZ should be
viewed as the parties of the Roma, but that Prime Minister
Gyurcsany has been noticeably silent on Roma issues. Per
Urmos, there are two possible reasons for this. First, in
2002 then MSZP Prime Minister Peter Medyessey made
extravagant promises to the Roma, which made him popular, but
were not fulfilled. Perhaps, said Urmos, Gyurcsany is not
making a fuss about the Roma in order to avoid drawing
attention to the MSZP's track record. The second reason,
according to Urmos, is that Gyurcsany is an idealist, who
refuses to differentiate between Roma Hungarians and non-Roma
Hungarians. Gyurcsany, said Urmos, believes that poverty and
lack of education in the Roma community should not be viewed
as Roma issues but as social issues. This is the true liberal
view on minority issues, said Urmos, and the reason he does
not support the RUP. On the contrary, Urmos added, true
integration will have arrived when Roma are genuinely
represented in all parties, including even the far-right
MIEP.

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The Road Ahead
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10. (SBU) The typical Hungarian view of Roma in politics is
that they are apathetic and easily manipulated and therefore
of no political consequence. All interlocutors (including
Roma) agree that Roma are often the pawns of fraudulent
voting. However, Dr. Urmos claimed that an estimated sixty
percent of Roma voted in the 2002 elections, and Laszlo
Teleki asserted that the same percentage of Roma as
Hungarians vote. The rapid development of the RUP and
FIDESZ's assiduous courting of the Roma community demonstrate
that there is at least some interest in Roma as a potential
vote pool, but what path the Roma themselves will take to
greater representation is not yet clear.


11. (U) Visit Embassy Budapest's classified website:
www.state.sgov.gov/p/eur/budapest/index.cfm
WALKER