Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
07BUDAPEST823
2007-05-22 14:05:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Embassy Budapest
Cable title:  

FROM A WHISPER TO A SCREAM: FIDESZ PARTY CONGRESS

Tags:  PGOV PREL ECON HU 
pdf how-to read a cable
VZCZCXRO2879
PP RUEHDBU RUEHFL RUEHKW RUEHLA RUEHROV RUEHSR
DE RUEHUP #0823/01 1421405
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
P 221405Z MAY 07
FM AMEMBASSY BUDAPEST
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 1301
INFO RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE
C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 BUDAPEST 000823 

SIPDIS

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DEPARTMENT PLEASE PASS TO NSC FOR ADAM STERLING

E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/20/2017
TAGS: PGOV PREL ECON HU
SUBJECT: FROM A WHISPER TO A SCREAM: FIDESZ PARTY CONGRESS
REELECTS ORBAN, PLEDGES CONTINUED OPPOSITION

Classified By: P/E COUNSELOR ERIC V. GAUDIOSI; REASONS 1.4 (B) AND (D)

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 BUDAPEST 000823

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

DEPARTMENT PLEASE PASS TO NSC FOR ADAM STERLING

E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/20/2017
TAGS: PGOV PREL ECON HU
SUBJECT: FROM A WHISPER TO A SCREAM: FIDESZ PARTY CONGRESS
REELECTS ORBAN, PLEDGES CONTINUED OPPOSITION

Classified By: P/E COUNSELOR ERIC V. GAUDIOSI; REASONS 1.4 (B) AND (D)


1. (C) Summary: FIDESZ president Viktor Orban was reelected
by an overwhelming margin at a May 19 - 20 party convention
where sweeping invective against the Gyurcsany government
competed with substantive policy discussion. The party
worked hard - and in large part successfully - to place
itself in the broader context of the European conservative
movement, highlighting its commitment to the trans-Atlantic
relationship on key issues including energy security. On
domestic policy, however, rhetoric from party leaders
including Orban provided little new and less of substance.
Orban's impassioned pledge that he will "never give up and
never go away" may have moved the crowd for a moment, but we
do not believe the convention will ultimately move the needle
from its current rut. End Summary.

CRITICISM: RAW TO WELL-DONE


2. (C) Hard-line MP Laszlo Kover's opening address set the
tone for much of the convention, with harsh commentary
comparing the Gyurcsany government's record to the Red Army's
occupation of Hungary. "We have entrusted our housekeys to
thieves who would steal even the bread from out mouths,"
Kover charged, "and the rule of law cannot exist under rule
by Gyurcsany." With delegates abuzz over the resignations of
several leading police officials (septel),Kover concluded
that only a "New Majority," based on faith and led by FIDESZ,
can overthrow the ruling "mafia."


3. (C) FIDESZ Parliametary faction leader Tibor Navracsics
set a slightly less confrontational tone, highlighting the
party's intention to focus on the themes of justice, quality
of life, public services, and competitiveness. To do so,
FIDESZ is likely to form a shadow cabinet under Navracsics'
direction. His address also emphasized the inclusiveness of
the "New Majority," remarking that "for too long we have
defined the majority only as white men."


4. (C) The party's newly-elected vice-presidents were

featured in short video clips and public remarks.

Popular Debrecen mayor and MP Lajos Kosa was shown arriving
at the convention on a motorcycle set to the strains of
Steppenwolf's "Born to be Wild." He followed with
extemporaneous remarks urging all Hungarians to "do more than
curse the darkness" in the face of the "socialist consumer
society." Denouncing the "tragi-comic opera" where "the
citizens fear the police" and "the government rules by
deception rather than democracy," Kosa argued that Hungary
"has not reached Western standards" and concluded that "the
left will never lead us out of 40 years in the wilderness."

MP Ildiko Pelczne-Gall followed with a strident but stilted
speech, describing the Gyurcsany government as a "moral
cesspool" that must be "excommunicated."

In an address one observer called "too intelligent," MP and
Budapest District XII Mayor Istvan Pokorni took the high
road, urging the party to consider "moderation and
proportion" and "rise above the mud wrestling" in its actions
and its statements. "It is not enough," Pokorni remarked,
"to call the government 'communist' when the question is
'what would FIDESZ do?'" By doing so, he argued, FIDESZ
could ensure "the unemployment we want - Gyurcsany's." By
failing to put forth its policy alternatives, he concluded,
the party will find that "only the ranks of the apathetic
will win the supporters the government loses."

MP and former Minister of Economy Mihalj Varga described
Gyurcsany's tenure as "chaos without consequence," Charging
that the government has systematically eroded Hungary's
democratic institutions while mismanaging its economy. "Let
Gyurcsany answer that in his blog," he challenged, reminding
the audience that "Hungary has survived worse and will
survive this government too."

STEERING TOWARD THE EUROPEAN MAINSTREAM?


5. (C) Though neither Croatian PM Sanader nor former Israeli
PM Netanyahu attended (as had been rumored in the weeks
leading up to the event),the conference was noteworthy in
its conscious focus on international issues. With addresses
by both European Peoples Party President Wilfred Maertens and
EPP Parliamentary faction leader Joseph Daul, FIDESZ was at
pains to emphasize their place in the broader European
conservative movement. Both Maertens and Daul hammered the
themes of energy security and immigration, looking forward to
a European body politic anchored by "Sarkozy in France,
Merkel in Germany, and Orban in Hungary." (Note: In a

BUDAPEST 00000823 002 OF 002


departure from past practice, FIDESZ staff paid close
attention to the diplomatic representatives in attendance,
arranging a private audience with Orban and ensuring
high-level escort by selected MPs throughout the proceedings.
The party has also been particularly effusive in its praise
for the embassy's non-partisan approach of late. End Note.)


6. (C) Representatives of the Hungarian communities in
Slovakia and Serbia made brief remarks, emphasizing their
solidarity and their support for a common European future but
steering clear of the controversial issue of citizenship for
ethnic Hungarian abroad.

WHO DIED?


7. (C) The mood outside the convention hall, meanwhile, was
far less enthusiastic. Composed overwhelmingly of men in
their 40s and 50s, the delegates were a somber lot.
Conversation was desultory, and vendors hawking nationalist
trinkets did slow business despite the beautiful spring
weather. Younger FIDESZ staff commented on the irony of the
party sharing the convention site with a baby fashion show
and a morticians' convention, and one observer described the
downbeat crowd as an "al fresco funeral."

THE CLOSER


8. (C) Orban took the stage after the announcement of his
unopposed reelection as party president. Describing FIDESZ
as "Hungary's the last hope" in the face of a government that
believes in "an invisible hand ... that picks your pocket."
Railing against the atmosphere of "lies, hypocrisy, and
betrayal," he warned that "things can always get worse." The
solution to this "humiliation," he continued, is "not just a
new policy but a new system" of "Mutual Responsibility"
between the government and its citizens. Taking aim at
familiar targets, Orban called on Hungarians must reject a
"cut-rate nation" based on "immigration and speculation."
They must "give up giving up" and continue the "labor of
honor" to demand the restoration of Hungary's traditional
strength and traditional values.


9. (C) The party's ultimate goal should be the establishment
of "plebian politics" committed to people - not privilege.
The party's proximate objective should be to "build the
strongest FIDESZ ever to defeat the weakest MSZP ever" in the
next elections. A referendum in the fall can serve as a
"wake-up call," but Gyurcsany's removal alone is not enough
because "MSZP politicians are all the same." Concluding
that he had "never dreamed Hungary would be so weak so long
after 1989," Orban vowed the he would "never accept this" and
"will never go away."

NOT WORSE ... BUT BETTER?


10. (C) Comment: Orban's closing words will give little
comfort to many in the government ... or to some in his own
party. With more daring party staff commenting in private
that "Gyurcsany will not give up either" and criticizing
Orban for "always being ready to win the last election,"
there is some sense that even his unopposed campaign and his
overwhelming reelection cannot fully paper over differences
within the party. In his private comments to the diplomatic
corps, Orban emphasized that the party's goal is to
demonstrate its "readiness to be part of the changes that
will come in Hungary." The party's obvious efforts to
highlight its European credentials helped in this regard, as
did the efforts of moderates to press for a focus on policy
alternatives. That said, the majority of the rhetoric from
party leaders including Orban was often vague and always
backward-looking, focusing on resentment rather than renewal.
Political analyst Zoltan Kiszelly observed that Orban's
speech - while less vitriolic than his remarks in the fall -
will win few new converts and no new coalition partners and
thus "failed both in terms of politics and policy." Although
his remarks played well with the party faithful and coincided
with a rough weekend for a government plagued by a series of
scandals in the law enforcement community (septel),it is
difficult to see how the convention will give FIDESZ the
momentum it needs to move beyond the current atmosphere of
trench warfare. End Comment.


LARSON