Budapest, Tuesday, May 21, 2024 (MSZF)

They ask the Hungarian Social Forum (HSF) who they should vote for in the June 9 European Parliament and municipal elections.

     Being a social political cooperation framework, the HSF does not participate in the election campaign. He considers it a private matter of the people who and what party they vote for and who they don't vote for. But many, many private matters become public matters as a result of the vote, so we cannot avoid expressing an opinion on the two most pressing problems, peace and livelihood.

     Our country is threatened by the danger that, if it does not resist, its NATO and European Union allies could drag it into a war against Russia, from which it could only emerge as a loser. The Western federal system, to which we belong, lulls itself into the illusion that it can defeat Russia.

It is now considering sending NATO troops and deploying tactical nuclear weapons. If NATO goes to war against Russia, Hungary could not stay out of the war even if it wanted to. NATO's job is made easier by the fact that the Hungarian government, with Decree No. 1294 of 2022, allowed NATO forces to pass through the territory of our country by land and air, and to settle in Hungary if necessary.

     Viktor Orbán's government, despite all its duplicity, is a pro-peace government. His "Kállay double dance" stems from the geographical location of our country and its dual ties. We conduct 80 percent of our trade with the EU, but 80 percent of our energy carriers come from Russia.

It must meet both the Western federal system requirements and the Hungarian national interest in peaceful cooperation with the East. It is not an easy task, and it is not always successful. The Hungarian government should probably talk less about peace and do more for it.

     This government is just as indebted to eradicating poverty and ensuring a decent living for the 2-2.5 million citizens living below the subsistence minimum, as its predecessors were. None of the governments that followed the regime change changed the subhuman status of broad social strata, did not consider it necessary to elevate them, but described them as a "debris society" as if they had nothing to do with them.

     The consequence of this is that nearly half a million people in our country live on 25,000 forints (100 dollars) a month, with all its consequences for their health and longevity. Every year, hundreds of people freeze in their unheated homes. Due to the unprecedented runaway of prices, the financially more unstable part of the middle class is also impoverishing. Nothing is more characteristic of our political and moral conditions than the fact that a person who declared as his social creed: "He who has nothing, is worth as much" could become a minister. Ever since capitalism replaced socialism in Hungary, the gap between the rich and the poor has continuously deepened, and in the midst of today's power client relationships, the situation has become so repulsive that it can be broken down into individuals, that many millions turn away from it with disgust even if they are aware of it, knowing the history, that the pro-war socialist-liberal opposition not only does not change their livelihood concerns, but may even put their lives in danger with its saber rattling policy.

No matter how bad the situation is, we have to decide what we think is more important: life, even if it is miserable, or the "solution" to our social problems with war.

     We have to decide with the knowledge that there is no parliamentary force in Hungary today that wants to resolve this contradiction. Outside of the parliament, there is not a single one of the newly-appeared self-made politicians who wants to change the value distribution in favor of the majority living on wages and salaries and pensions. They are also pro-war.

     There are smaller parties and civil organizations that profess community values, but they cannot kick the ball, because both the government majority and the opposition have a common interest in isolating them. Neither the state-owned nor the privately-owned media provide the opportunity to promote the views of associations and movements that want to limit the power of the financial oligarchy and to put capital at the service of the social interest, ensuring the return necessary for its operation and a decent profit, but not leaving it to dictate policy.

     The task of the people is to choose a political force that is for them, not for a narrow handful of strata. It is a big task, but it is unavoidable, even if the election on June 9, 2024 is not about this.

Peace is at stake in the European Parliament elections. If the current political setup remains, then the war policy will continue, and they may even start a war against Russia, dragging us into it as well. If, on the other hand, we succeed in bringing the pro-peace European forces to a majority, then we can replace the current leadership of the EU and embark on the path of reconciliation with the Russians. Although NATO is not directly affected by the outcome of the EP election, the US presidential election due in November is even more so. While we have no influence on the latter, the outcome of the EP election also depends on us.

     As far as local government elections are concerned, HSF's experience is that in the selection of mayoral candidates and local government representatives, voters are often, more and more often, not guided by party affiliation, but rather by personal qualities such as honesty, a decent human attitude, community concrete goals and the will to do for them.

Edited by the Hungarian Social Forum (MSZF)

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