Ferenc Gyurcsány
Encyclopedia
Ferenc Gyurcsány (ˈfɛrɛnts ˈɟurtʃaːɲ; born in Pápa
, 4 June 1961) is a Hungarian
politician
. He was the sixth Prime Minister of Hungary
from 2004 to 2009.
He was nominated to take that position on 25 August 2004 by the Hungarian Socialist Party
(MSZP), after Péter Medgyessy
resigned due to a conflict with the Socialist Party's coalition partner. Gyurcsány was elected Prime Minister on 29 September 2004 in a parliamentary vote (197 yes votes, 12 no votes, with most of the opposition in Parliament
not voting). He led his coalition to victory in the parliamentary elections in 2006
, securing another term as Prime Minister. His first rise to power was the result of a coalition conflict. His legitimacy was permanently questioned by opposition parties based on the fact that he withheld information about the actual budget deficit in his 2006 re-election campaign. He is also criticised for using derogatory terms for his own country. He subsequently continued to attempt to make this topic seem relatively insignificant.
On 24 February 2007, he was elected as the leader of the MSZP, taking 89% of the vote. On 21 March 2009 Gyurcsány announced his intention to resign as Prime Minister. He stated that he is a hindrance to further economic and social reforms. President László Sólyom
stated that instead of a short term transational government ruling only until the 2010 elections, early elections should be held. On 28 March Gyurcsány resigned from his position as party chairman, he was the leader of MSZP between 2007-2009. A minister under Gyurcsány, Gordon Bajnai
became the nominee of MSZP for the post of prime minister in March 2009 and he became Prime Minister on April 14.
. Then he studied economics
at the same institution, getting his degree in 1990.
In 1981 he assumed function in the KISZ, the Organisation of Young Communists
, where he mostly handled organizing student programs at the beginning. Between 1984 and 1988 he was the vice president of the organisation's committee in Pécs
. Then between 1988 and 1989 he was the president of the central KISZ committee of universities and colleges. After the political change in 1989 he became vice-president of the organisation's short-lived quasi successor, the Hungarian Democratic Youth Association (DEMISZ).
From 1990 onwards, he transferred from the public to the private sector, working for CREDITUM Financial Consultant Ltd. until 1992, serving as director of EUROCORP International Finance Inc. in 1992. Gyurcsany then took the position of CEO at Altus Ltd., a holding company of which he was owner, from 1992–2002 and thereafter as Chairman of the Board. By 2002, he was listed as the 50th richest person in Hungary.
, the previous Prime Minister of Hungary. From May 2003 until September 2004 Gyurcsány was a minister responsible for sports, youth and children.
He became the president of the MSZP in Győr-Moson-Sopron
county
in January 2004, serving until September 2004. In the summer of that same year it seemed that there were larger problems in his relationship with then current Prime Minister Péter Medgyessy, so he resigned as minister. In a week, problems in the coalition led to the resignation of Medgyessy, and MSZP voted Gyurcsány to become Prime Minister as he was acceptable for the coalition partner, Alliance of Free Democrats
(SZDSZ).
, with his coalition taking 210 of the available 386 parliamentary seats, and making him the first Prime Minister to keep the office after a general election since 1990.
On 24 February 2007 he became the leader of his party (being the only candidate for the post) gaining 89% of the vote.
Since his 2006 election victory he has introduced austerity measures to tackle Hungary's budget deficit that had grown to become 10% of the GDP by the end of 2006. These austerity measures have been criticized by the main opposition party Fidesz
on the one hand as being too harsh on the people, on the other hand by conservative economists for not reducing spending enough on social benefits, including pensions.
Ferenc Gyurcsány has been the first prime minister
since the fall of communism to try to introduce a health care reform in order to rationalize and modernize the national health care system. His efforts for a renewed and more efficient health care however, have been undermined mainly by his own party, as many Socialist Party members regard this reform as a threat to the communist era achievement of free and equal health care service to all.
On 1 October, the governing party suffered a landslide defeat in the local municipal elections. On the eve of the elections, before the results were known, President László Sólyom
gave a speech in which he said that the solution to the situation is in the hands of the majority in Parliament.
, which aimed to supply Russian gas directly to the European Union
(EU); bypassing transit countries such as Ukraine. He signed the contract in Moscow just a week before popularal election at Hungary, which showed around 80% of the votes were against the government reforms.
On 6 October, Gyurcsány won a vote of confidence in Parliament, 207-165, with no coalition MP voting against him. The vote was public. Gyurcsány has been called to step down several times after this incident.
stated that instead of a short term transational government ruling only until the 2010 elections, early elections should be held. In the search for PM György Surányi
became the frontrunner candidate for the post however on the 26th of March he pulled out of the race saying he would not take the job. On 28 March Gyurcsány resigned from his position as party chairman, he was the leader of MSZP between 2007-2009.
again in 2010 when he won a seat from the Socialist Party's national list in the elections.
On 5 October 2010 Gyurcsány announced to the party executive that he is founding a platform named the Democratic Coalition within the party. He said he will organise “a broad, open social community for 1989 democrats”, and a political representation for them. The mood at the meeting was calm, but several party officials expressed disagreement with him. The Democratic Coalition held its inaugural meeting at 2 p.m. in the Szent István Park in the 13th District on 22 October 2010. Meanwhile, Socialist deputy chairman András Balogh
told Népszava
in an interview that the party performed poorly at the elections because Gyurcsány's cabinet made mistakes while in government, abandoned left-wing values and became complacent, and because of corruption. The former Prime Minister's group became the Hungarian Socialist party's seventh platform.
Balogh in occasion of an interview in November said socialists must reclaim the vote of the worker from the far right, and to the extent that Gyurcsány wants to build a liberal-centrist wing. he also stated the Democratic Coalition, sought to open a “big front” embracing liberal and certain conservative forces. He added that Gyurcsány would have to accept the party’s concept of renewal, which revolves around emphasising its left-wing credentials, if he wanted the party’s leadership to cooperate with him. Ominously, he called on party members who were directly responsible for the difficult situation of the Socialist party, and society in general, to quit the party. In January 2011 unnamed sources close to the party reported the Magyar Hírlap
that Attila Mesterházy
and the current Socialist leadership does not want Gyurcsány to get too strong within the party but neither do they want him to leave as a martyr.
László Puch, one one of the most influential Socialist politicians, said that Gyucsány should found his own liberal party instead of breaking up his party. Platforms within the Socialist Party in May 2011 held a debate on whether the party should be developed as a cooperation between left-wing groups or a collective party welcoming non-leftist groups or politicians – a broader alternative to ruling Fidesz. The latter idea was only supported by the Democratic Coalition Platform. All seven platforms of the party agreed that the Socialists do not need a "chieftain", an “Orbán of the Left” but a team leader, István Hiller
, the head of the Social Democratic Platform, told reporters during a break of the meeting. He dismissed Gyurcsány’s idea of embracing liberal and conservative trends. Gyurcsány’s model would make the party dysfunctional, he said.
On 22 October 2011 Gyurcsány has announced he is leaving the Socialist Party and will set up a new parliamentary group after succeeding in persuading the necessary number of lawmakers to join him. The new Democratic Coalition
party is to be a “Western, civic centre-left” formation with ten lawmakers, Gyurcsány announced on the first anniversary that its forerunner, the Democratic Coalition Platform, was set up. He said the reason why he had decided to leave the Socialists was because the party had failed in its efforts to transform itself. Socialist representatives strongly condemned Gyurcsány, who had only last week signed a pledge to stay on in the party. Gyurcsány in his speech branded the new constitution as “illegitimate”, and insisted that members and heads of the independent branches of state such as the constitutional court and the public prosecutor “exclusively serve Viktor Orbán”.
Mesterházy, the chairman of the MSZP responded that the Socialists would emerge stronger after Gyurcsány forms his own party and parliamentary group, because the opposition force’s lawmakers would no longer be engrossed in an internal struggle. Radical nationalist party Jobbik lawmaker Előd Novák
told MTI
that Gyurcsány’s new party was “anti-Hungarian”. He also said that Jobbik would now be in a position to provide the stable alternative to Fidesz. Parliamentary group leader of green party LMP
, András Schiffer
, told MTI his party had a policy of keeping its distance from the internal affairs of other parties. He added that LMP’s main enemy was the “Fidesz two-thirds [majority]“.
Ferenc Gyurcsány lives in his third marriage. He has two sons (Péter and Bálint) from his second marriage with Edina Bognár, and two children (Anna and Tamás) from his third marriage. His spouse is Klára Dobrev
, whose maternal grandfather Antal Apró
was Hungary's Minister of Industry in the 1950s–60s.
He got his nickname "Fletó"Not to be confused with the Spanish word fleto] from one of his teachers. While prime minister of Hungary, he did not pick up his paycheck, but instead, he donated it to varying organizations.
writes about a biography of Gyurcsány: "[it] concludes that talent played a greater role than corruption in Gyurcsány's success. We have to question this claim. Not just because former functionaries are massively overrepresented among Gyurcsány's business partners, but also because, despite his enormous talent for business, Gyurcsány would never have got where he is today without making use of the contacts and support base of the former state party." József Debreczeni, the biographer in question, originally reached the conclusion "regarding party connections and performance, the latter has been more important".
Opposition MP Péter Szijjártó, as the head of a committee set up to investigate the origins of Gyurcsány's wealth, stated in his report that one of Gyurcsány's companies leased the former vacation site of the Hungarian government in Balatonőszöd and rented the site back to a state-owned company so that the rent paid by the government covered exactly the leasing fee during the first two and a half years of the ten-year lease term (1994–2004).
A person named "Gyurcsányi" was mentioned by Attila Kulcsár, the main defendant in the high-profile "K&H Equities" money laundering scandal in Hungary. The prime minister denied he had any connections with the case.
and anti-semitism. However, he is the subject of criticism by his political opponents for the luxury villa of Rózsadomb
in which he lives and is now the property of his recent wife, having been taken away from a Jewish
family twice;
first it was misappropriated when Hungary was under the rule of Arrow Cross Party
, and then again during the time of the communist dictatorship of Mátyás Rákosi
.
On 2 September 2004, he said in the Hungarian national television
: "Who has a two-room-apartment, would in general deserve three; who has three, four; who has four, a house. Who has an eld..., olderly, elderly?... olderly [struggling with an unintended portmanteau] wife, a younger one; who has a badly behaved kid, a well-behaved. Of course, he would deserve." This triggerd outrage from feminist organisations, women in general, and the opposition.
On 2 February 2005, at the birthday party of the Hungarian Socialist Party
, for the sake of a joke, Gyurcsány referred to the players of the Saudi national football team
as terrorists. Later he apologized, but the kingdom recalled its ambassador from Hungary for a time.
During the 2006 general election campaign, a video appeared where Gyurcsány danced as Hugh Grant
in Love Actually
. According to government officials, the spokesperson of the government asked Gyurcsány to dance, as they re-made most parts of the film as a special gift for the wedding of spokesman András Batiz. Opposition claimed that the video was made public on purpose, as part of the election campaign, to gain popularity for the PM among young adults.
After his return to politics, Gyurcsány was at first tight-lipped on his religious affiliation, leading many to assume that he is an atheist . In an interview aired on TV2 during the 2006 parliamentary election campaign, Gyurcsány said that as a teenager, he "took part in confirmation for about two years" and even considered becoming a priest
. Since confirmation can only be taken once, some regarded this claim as a giveaway that he was not telling the truth, while others such as Catholic bishop Endre Gyulai supposed he meant he took part in preparations for a confirmation.
In connection with the unrest fuelled by his speech, he has been criticised in The Economist
for "turning a blind eye to police brutality".
On 2009 January 13, Dominique Strauss-Kahn
, the Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund
, travelled to Budapest to ask Gyurcsány about their agreement made in October, regarding the stabilization of Hungarian government spending.
Pápa
Pápa is a historical city in Veszprém county, Hungary, located close to the northern edge of the Bakony Hills, and noted for its baroque architecture. With its 33,000 inhabitants, it is the cultural, economic and tourism centre of the region....
, 4 June 1961) is a Hungarian
Hungary
Hungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...
politician
Politician
A politician, political leader, or political figure is an individual who is involved in influencing public policy and decision making...
. He was the sixth Prime Minister of Hungary
Hungary
Hungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...
from 2004 to 2009.
He was nominated to take that position on 25 August 2004 by the Hungarian Socialist Party
Hungarian Socialist Party
The Hungarian Socialist Party describes itself as a social democratic party in Hungary. It is the partial successor of the communist Hungarian Socialist Workers' Party , which ruled Hungary between 1956 and 1989. The decision to declare the party a successor of the MSZMP was controversial, and...
(MSZP), after Péter Medgyessy
Péter Medgyessy
Péter Medgyessy is a Hungarian politician and was the fifth Prime Minister of the Republic of Hungary from May 27, 2002 until September 29, 2004...
resigned due to a conflict with the Socialist Party's coalition partner. Gyurcsány was elected Prime Minister on 29 September 2004 in a parliamentary vote (197 yes votes, 12 no votes, with most of the opposition in Parliament
National Assembly of Hungary
The National Assembly or Diet is the parliament of Hungary. The unicameral body consists of 386 members elected to 4-year terms. Election of members is based on a complex system involving both area and list election; parties must win at least 5% of the popular vote in order to enter list members...
not voting). He led his coalition to victory in the parliamentary elections in 2006
Hungarian parliamentary election, 2006
The schedule of the 2006 Hungarian parliamentary elections, as announced by president László Sólyom was as follows:* first round on April 9, 2006* second round on April 23, 2006...
, securing another term as Prime Minister. His first rise to power was the result of a coalition conflict. His legitimacy was permanently questioned by opposition parties based on the fact that he withheld information about the actual budget deficit in his 2006 re-election campaign. He is also criticised for using derogatory terms for his own country. He subsequently continued to attempt to make this topic seem relatively insignificant.
On 24 February 2007, he was elected as the leader of the MSZP, taking 89% of the vote. On 21 March 2009 Gyurcsány announced his intention to resign as Prime Minister. He stated that he is a hindrance to further economic and social reforms. President László Sólyom
László Sólyom
László Sólyom is a Hungarian political figure, lawyer, and librarian who was President of Hungary from 2005 to 2010. Previously he was President of the Constitutional Court of Hungary from 1990 to 1998....
stated that instead of a short term transational government ruling only until the 2010 elections, early elections should be held. On 28 March Gyurcsány resigned from his position as party chairman, he was the leader of MSZP between 2007-2009. A minister under Gyurcsány, Gordon Bajnai
Gordon Bajnai
György Gordon Bajnai was the seventh Prime Minister of Hungary from 2009 to 2010. In March 2009, following Prime Minister Ferenc Gyurcsány's announced resignation, Bajnai was nominated by the ruling MSZP party to become Hungary's next prime minister...
became the nominee of MSZP for the post of prime minister in March 2009 and he became Prime Minister on April 14.
Early years
Ferenc Gyurcsány was born in Hungary. He attended the Apáczai Csere János High School in Budapest for two years, then he left to his hometown Pápa to graduate. Ferenc Gyurcsány studied as a teacher and obtained his B.Sc. in 1984 from University of PécsUniversity of Pécs
The University of Pécs is the Hungarian university with the largest number of students and faculties.-History:...
. Then he studied economics
Economics
Economics is the social science that analyzes the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services. The term economics comes from the Ancient Greek from + , hence "rules of the house"...
at the same institution, getting his degree in 1990.
In 1981 he assumed function in the KISZ, the Organisation of Young Communists
Organisation of Young Communists
The Hungarian Young Communist League was a communist youth movement in Hungary. It was founded in , following the break of 1956 Hungarian Revolution...
, where he mostly handled organizing student programs at the beginning. Between 1984 and 1988 he was the vice president of the organisation's committee in Pécs
Pécs
Pécs is the fifth largest city of Hungary, located on the slopes of the Mecsek mountains in the south-west of the country, close to its border with Croatia. It is the administrative and economical centre of Baranya county...
. Then between 1988 and 1989 he was the president of the central KISZ committee of universities and colleges. After the political change in 1989 he became vice-president of the organisation's short-lived quasi successor, the Hungarian Democratic Youth Association (DEMISZ).
From 1990 onwards, he transferred from the public to the private sector, working for CREDITUM Financial Consultant Ltd. until 1992, serving as director of EUROCORP International Finance Inc. in 1992. Gyurcsany then took the position of CEO at Altus Ltd., a holding company of which he was owner, from 1992–2002 and thereafter as Chairman of the Board. By 2002, he was listed as the 50th richest person in Hungary.
Return to politics
Ferenc Gyurcsány returned to politics in 2002 as the head strategic advisor of Péter MedgyessyPéter Medgyessy
Péter Medgyessy is a Hungarian politician and was the fifth Prime Minister of the Republic of Hungary from May 27, 2002 until September 29, 2004...
, the previous Prime Minister of Hungary. From May 2003 until September 2004 Gyurcsány was a minister responsible for sports, youth and children.
He became the president of the MSZP in Győr-Moson-Sopron
Gyor-Moson-Sopron
Győr-Moson-Sopron is the name of an administrative county in north-western Hungary, on the border with Slovakia and Austria. It shares borders with the Hungarian counties Komárom-Esztergom, Veszprém and Vas. The capital of Győr-Moson-Sopron county is Győr...
county
Counties of Hungary
Hungary is subdivided administratively into 20 regions which are the 19 counties and the capital city : Budapest...
in January 2004, serving until September 2004. In the summer of that same year it seemed that there were larger problems in his relationship with then current Prime Minister Péter Medgyessy, so he resigned as minister. In a week, problems in the coalition led to the resignation of Medgyessy, and MSZP voted Gyurcsány to become Prime Minister as he was acceptable for the coalition partner, Alliance of Free Democrats
Alliance of Free Democrats
The Alliance of Free Democrats – Hungarian Liberal Party is a liberal party in Hungary, led since July 2010 by Viktor Szabadai . The SZDSZ is a member of the ELDR and of Liberal International...
(SZDSZ).
Prime Minister
Gyurcsány was reappointed Prime Minister after the 2006 parliamentary electionsHungarian parliamentary election, 2006
The schedule of the 2006 Hungarian parliamentary elections, as announced by president László Sólyom was as follows:* first round on April 9, 2006* second round on April 23, 2006...
, with his coalition taking 210 of the available 386 parliamentary seats, and making him the first Prime Minister to keep the office after a general election since 1990.
On 24 February 2007 he became the leader of his party (being the only candidate for the post) gaining 89% of the vote.
Since his 2006 election victory he has introduced austerity measures to tackle Hungary's budget deficit that had grown to become 10% of the GDP by the end of 2006. These austerity measures have been criticized by the main opposition party Fidesz
Fidesz – Hungarian Civic Union
The Fidesz – Hungarian Civic Union is a major conservative party in Hungary. At the 2010 election in Hungary, Fidesz-KDNP won a two-thirds majority of seats by gaining 52% of the votes, with Fidesz winning 227 seats and KDNP winning 36...
on the one hand as being too harsh on the people, on the other hand by conservative economists for not reducing spending enough on social benefits, including pensions.
Ferenc Gyurcsány has been the first prime minister
Prime minister
A prime minister is the most senior minister of cabinet in the executive branch of government in a parliamentary system. In many systems, the prime minister selects and may dismiss other members of the cabinet, and allocates posts to members within the government. In most systems, the prime...
since the fall of communism to try to introduce a health care reform in order to rationalize and modernize the national health care system. His efforts for a renewed and more efficient health care however, have been undermined mainly by his own party, as many Socialist Party members regard this reform as a threat to the communist era achievement of free and equal health care service to all.
Audio recording resulting in riots
On 17 September 2006, an audio recording surfaced, allegedly from a closed-door meeting of the Prime Minister's party MSZP, held on 26 May 2006, shortly after MSZP won the election. On the recording, Gyurcsány admitted "we have obviously been lying for the last one and a half to two years." Despite public outrage, the Prime Minister refused to resign, and a series of demonstrations started near the Hungarian Parliament, swelling from 2,000 to about 8,000 demonstrators calling for the resignation of Gyurcsány and his government for several weeks. The Prime Minister admitted the authenticity of the recording.László Sólyom
László Sólyom is a Hungarian political figure, lawyer, and librarian who was President of Hungary from 2005 to 2010. Previously he was President of the Constitutional Court of Hungary from 1990 to 1998....
gave a speech in which he said that the solution to the situation is in the hands of the majority in Parliament.
Vote of confidence
As Prime Minister, Gyurcsány was a strong advocate of the South Stream pipeline projectSouth Stream
South Stream is a proposed gas pipeline to transport Russian natural gas to the Black Sea to Bulgaria and further to Greece, Italy and Austria. The project is seen as rival to the planned Nabucco pipeline...
, which aimed to supply Russian gas directly to the European Union
European Union
The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...
(EU); bypassing transit countries such as Ukraine. He signed the contract in Moscow just a week before popularal election at Hungary, which showed around 80% of the votes were against the government reforms.
On 6 October, Gyurcsány won a vote of confidence in Parliament, 207-165, with no coalition MP voting against him. The vote was public. Gyurcsány has been called to step down several times after this incident.
Resignation
On 21 March 2009 Gyurcsány announced his intention to resign as Prime Minister. He stated that he is a hindrance to further economic and social reforms. Gyurcsány asked his party to find a new candidate for prime minister in two weeks. President László SólyomLászló Sólyom
László Sólyom is a Hungarian political figure, lawyer, and librarian who was President of Hungary from 2005 to 2010. Previously he was President of the Constitutional Court of Hungary from 1990 to 1998....
stated that instead of a short term transational government ruling only until the 2010 elections, early elections should be held. In the search for PM György Surányi
György Surányi
György Surányi is Hungarian economist the CEO and chairman of CIB Bank and former president of the Hungarian National Bank between 1990–1991 and again in 1995-2001...
became the frontrunner candidate for the post however on the 26th of March he pulled out of the race saying he would not take the job. On 28 March Gyurcsány resigned from his position as party chairman, he was the leader of MSZP between 2007-2009.
Post-Prime Ministerial career
He became a member of the National Assembly of HungaryNational Assembly of Hungary
The National Assembly or Diet is the parliament of Hungary. The unicameral body consists of 386 members elected to 4-year terms. Election of members is based on a complex system involving both area and list election; parties must win at least 5% of the popular vote in order to enter list members...
again in 2010 when he won a seat from the Socialist Party's national list in the elections.
Hungarian parliamentary election, 2010
A parliamentary election was held in Hungary on 11 and 25 April 2010 to choose MPs for the National Assembly. They were the sixth free elections since the end of communist era. The 386 members of parliament were elected in a combined system of party lists and electoral constituencies...
On 5 October 2010 Gyurcsány announced to the party executive that he is founding a platform named the Democratic Coalition within the party. He said he will organise “a broad, open social community for 1989 democrats”, and a political representation for them. The mood at the meeting was calm, but several party officials expressed disagreement with him. The Democratic Coalition held its inaugural meeting at 2 p.m. in the Szent István Park in the 13th District on 22 October 2010. Meanwhile, Socialist deputy chairman András Balogh
András Balogh
András Balogh is a Hungarian historian and diplomat, the current ambassador to Thailand. His party, the Hungarian Socialist Party nominated him to the position of President of Hungary in 2010...
told Népszava
Népszava
Népszava is a Social-democratic newspaper established in 1877 in Budapest by Viktor Külföldi. It was the official newspaper of the Hungarian Social Democratic Party until 1948....
in an interview that the party performed poorly at the elections because Gyurcsány's cabinet made mistakes while in government, abandoned left-wing values and became complacent, and because of corruption. The former Prime Minister's group became the Hungarian Socialist party's seventh platform.
Balogh in occasion of an interview in November said socialists must reclaim the vote of the worker from the far right, and to the extent that Gyurcsány wants to build a liberal-centrist wing. he also stated the Democratic Coalition, sought to open a “big front” embracing liberal and certain conservative forces. He added that Gyurcsány would have to accept the party’s concept of renewal, which revolves around emphasising its left-wing credentials, if he wanted the party’s leadership to cooperate with him. Ominously, he called on party members who were directly responsible for the difficult situation of the Socialist party, and society in general, to quit the party. In January 2011 unnamed sources close to the party reported the Magyar Hírlap
Magyar Hírlap
Magyar Hírlap is a Hungarian daily. It started in 1968 as a newspaper of the Hungarian government. In 1990 it became independent. In November 2006, media tycoon Gábor Széles bought Magyar Hirlap...
that Attila Mesterházy
Attila Mesterházy
Attila Mesterházy is a Hungarian politician, chairman of the Hungarian Socialist Party since 10 July 2010. He was the party's candidate for the position of Prime Minister of Hungary in the Hungarian parliamentary election, 2010.-Biography:Mesterházy was born in 1974 in Pécs...
and the current Socialist leadership does not want Gyurcsány to get too strong within the party but neither do they want him to leave as a martyr.
László Puch, one one of the most influential Socialist politicians, said that Gyucsány should found his own liberal party instead of breaking up his party. Platforms within the Socialist Party in May 2011 held a debate on whether the party should be developed as a cooperation between left-wing groups or a collective party welcoming non-leftist groups or politicians – a broader alternative to ruling Fidesz. The latter idea was only supported by the Democratic Coalition Platform. All seven platforms of the party agreed that the Socialists do not need a "chieftain", an “Orbán of the Left” but a team leader, István Hiller
István Hiller
Dr. István Hiller is a Hungarian politician and former chairman of the governing Hungarian Socialist Party between 16 October 2004 and 24 February 2007, succeeding László Kovács, succeeded by Ferenc Gyurcsány...
, the head of the Social Democratic Platform, told reporters during a break of the meeting. He dismissed Gyurcsány’s idea of embracing liberal and conservative trends. Gyurcsány’s model would make the party dysfunctional, he said.
On 22 October 2011 Gyurcsány has announced he is leaving the Socialist Party and will set up a new parliamentary group after succeeding in persuading the necessary number of lawmakers to join him. The new Democratic Coalition
Democratic Coalition
The Democratic Coalition , abbreviated to DK, is a centre-left political party in Hungary led by former Prime Minister Ferenc Gyurcsány. Founded in 2010 as a group within the Hungarian Socialist Party , the party split from the MSZP in 22 October 2011 and became a separate party...
party is to be a “Western, civic centre-left” formation with ten lawmakers, Gyurcsány announced on the first anniversary that its forerunner, the Democratic Coalition Platform, was set up. He said the reason why he had decided to leave the Socialists was because the party had failed in its efforts to transform itself. Socialist representatives strongly condemned Gyurcsány, who had only last week signed a pledge to stay on in the party. Gyurcsány in his speech branded the new constitution as “illegitimate”, and insisted that members and heads of the independent branches of state such as the constitutional court and the public prosecutor “exclusively serve Viktor Orbán”.
Mesterházy, the chairman of the MSZP responded that the Socialists would emerge stronger after Gyurcsány forms his own party and parliamentary group, because the opposition force’s lawmakers would no longer be engrossed in an internal struggle. Radical nationalist party Jobbik lawmaker Előd Novák
Előd Novák
Előd Novák is a Hungarian politician and one of the deputy chairmen of the Movement for a Better Hungary.After the 2010 elections he was elected to the National Assembly of Hungary. His wife is Dóra Dúró.-External links:...
told MTI
Magyar Távirati Iroda
MTI is a Hungarian news agency. One of the oldest news agencies in the world, it was founded in 1880.MTI is owned by MTI Rt., founded by the Parliament. The members of the Owners’ Advisory Body are elected by the National Assembly of Hungary on four-year terms. It's a marketleader, and is...
that Gyurcsány’s new party was “anti-Hungarian”. He also said that Jobbik would now be in a position to provide the stable alternative to Fidesz. Parliamentary group leader of green party LMP
Politics Can Be Different
Politics Can Be Different , abbreviated to LMP, is a Hungarian green liberal political party. Founded in 2009, it was one of four parties to win seats in the National Assembly in the 2010 parliamentary election.-History:...
, András Schiffer
András Schiffer
András Schiffer is a Hungarian politician, leader of the Politics Can Be Different parliamentary group.He received his Juris Doctor degree at the Eötvös Loránd University in 1995...
, told MTI his party had a policy of keeping its distance from the internal affairs of other parties. He added that LMP’s main enemy was the “Fidesz two-thirds [majority]“.
Personal life
Klára Dobrev
Klára Dobrev is the wife of former Hungarian Prime Minister Ferenc Gyurcsány. She was born in Sofia, Bulgaria to a Hungarian mother, Piroska Apró, and a Bulgarian father, Petar Dobrev...
, whose maternal grandfather Antal Apró
Antal Apró
Antal Apró was a Hungarian Communist politician, who served as Speaker of the National Assembly of Hungary between 1971 and 1984.-Early life:...
was Hungary's Minister of Industry in the 1950s–60s.
He got his nickname "Fletó"Not to be confused with the Spanish word fleto] from one of his teachers. While prime minister of Hungary, he did not pick up his paycheck, but instead, he donated it to varying organizations.
Wealth
The origin of his wealth is regularly questioned by the media and political opposition. The weekly paper HVGHeti Világgazdaság
Heti Világgazdaság is a Hungarian weekly economic and political magazine with its editorial office in Budapest. Some articles are also available online and in English....
writes about a biography of Gyurcsány: "[it] concludes that talent played a greater role than corruption in Gyurcsány's success. We have to question this claim. Not just because former functionaries are massively overrepresented among Gyurcsány's business partners, but also because, despite his enormous talent for business, Gyurcsány would never have got where he is today without making use of the contacts and support base of the former state party." József Debreczeni, the biographer in question, originally reached the conclusion "regarding party connections and performance, the latter has been more important".
Opposition MP Péter Szijjártó, as the head of a committee set up to investigate the origins of Gyurcsány's wealth, stated in his report that one of Gyurcsány's companies leased the former vacation site of the Hungarian government in Balatonőszöd and rented the site back to a state-owned company so that the rent paid by the government covered exactly the leasing fee during the first two and a half years of the ten-year lease term (1994–2004).
A person named "Gyurcsányi" was mentioned by Attila Kulcsár, the main defendant in the high-profile "K&H Equities" money laundering scandal in Hungary. The prime minister denied he had any connections with the case.
Other
He often displays himself in the role of an anti-fascist politician, who is strongly against the Hungarian radicalismPolitical radicalism
The term political radicalism denotes political principles focused on altering social structures through revolutionary means and changing value systems in fundamental ways...
and anti-semitism. However, he is the subject of criticism by his political opponents for the luxury villa of Rózsadomb
Rózsadomb
The area known as Rózsadomb is a wealthy area of the Buda side of Budapest, the capital of Hungary.Rózsadomb is part of the 2nd district in Budapest, in the Buda Hills, one of the most prestigious areas in Hungary. Most of the city's wealthiest and most famous residents live here . House prices...
in which he lives and is now the property of his recent wife, having been taken away from a Jewish
Jews
The Jews , also known as the Jewish people, are a nation and ethnoreligious group originating in the Israelites or Hebrews of the Ancient Near East. The Jewish ethnicity, nationality, and religion are strongly interrelated, as Judaism is the traditional faith of the Jewish nation...
family twice;
first it was misappropriated when Hungary was under the rule of Arrow Cross Party
Arrow Cross Party
The Arrow Cross Party was a national socialist party led by Ferenc Szálasi, which led in Hungary a government known as the Government of National Unity from October 15, 1944 to 28 March 1945...
, and then again during the time of the communist dictatorship of Mátyás Rákosi
Mátyás Rákosi
Mátyás Rákosi was a Hungarian communist politician. He was born as Mátyás Rosenfeld, in present-day Serbia...
.
On 2 September 2004, he said in the Hungarian national television
M1 (TV channel)
m1 is a Hungarian television channel own and operated by Magyar Televízió. It is also transmitted in high definition.It was 24 hours in 2000 along with m2...
: "Who has a two-room-apartment, would in general deserve three; who has three, four; who has four, a house. Who has an eld..., olderly, elderly?... olderly [struggling with an unintended portmanteau] wife, a younger one; who has a badly behaved kid, a well-behaved. Of course, he would deserve." This triggerd outrage from feminist organisations, women in general, and the opposition.
On 2 February 2005, at the birthday party of the Hungarian Socialist Party
Hungarian Socialist Party
The Hungarian Socialist Party describes itself as a social democratic party in Hungary. It is the partial successor of the communist Hungarian Socialist Workers' Party , which ruled Hungary between 1956 and 1989. The decision to declare the party a successor of the MSZMP was controversial, and...
, for the sake of a joke, Gyurcsány referred to the players of the Saudi national football team
Saudi Arabia national football team
Saudi Arabia national football team is the national team of Saudi Arabia and is controlled by the Saudi Arabia Football Federation...
as terrorists. Later he apologized, but the kingdom recalled its ambassador from Hungary for a time.
During the 2006 general election campaign, a video appeared where Gyurcsány danced as Hugh Grant
Hugh Grant
Hugh John Mungo Grant is an English actor and film producer. He has received a Golden Globe Award, a BAFTA, and an Honorary César. His films have earned more than $2.4 billion from 25 theatrical releases worldwide. Grant achieved international stardom after appearing in Richard Curtis's...
in Love Actually
Love Actually
Love Actually is a 2003 British romantic comedy film written and directed by Richard Curtis. The screenplay delves into different aspects of love as shown through ten separate stories involving a wide variety of individuals, many of whom are shown to be interlinked as their tales progress...
. According to government officials, the spokesperson of the government asked Gyurcsány to dance, as they re-made most parts of the film as a special gift for the wedding of spokesman András Batiz. Opposition claimed that the video was made public on purpose, as part of the election campaign, to gain popularity for the PM among young adults.
After his return to politics, Gyurcsány was at first tight-lipped on his religious affiliation, leading many to assume that he is an atheist . In an interview aired on TV2 during the 2006 parliamentary election campaign, Gyurcsány said that as a teenager, he "took part in confirmation for about two years" and even considered becoming a priest
Priest
A priest is a person authorized to perform the sacred rites of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particular, rites of sacrifice to, and propitiation of, a deity or deities...
. Since confirmation can only be taken once, some regarded this claim as a giveaway that he was not telling the truth, while others such as Catholic bishop Endre Gyulai supposed he meant he took part in preparations for a confirmation.
In connection with the unrest fuelled by his speech, he has been criticised in The Economist
The Economist
The Economist is an English-language weekly news and international affairs publication owned by The Economist Newspaper Ltd. and edited in offices in the City of Westminster, London, England. Continuous publication began under founder James Wilson in September 1843...
for "turning a blind eye to police brutality".
On 2009 January 13, Dominique Strauss-Kahn
Dominique Strauss-Kahn
Dominique Gaston André Strauss-Kahn , often referred to in the media, and by himself, as DSK, is a French economist, lawyer, politician, and member of the French Socialist Party...
, the Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund
International Monetary Fund
The International Monetary Fund is an organization of 187 countries, working to foster global monetary cooperation, secure financial stability, facilitate international trade, promote high employment and sustainable economic growth, and reduce poverty around the world...
, travelled to Budapest to ask Gyurcsány about their agreement made in October, regarding the stabilization of Hungarian government spending.
Gazprom
As a Prime Minister, Ferenc Gyurcsány was said to be an advocate of the South Stream pipeline project, which is aimed to supply Russian gas directly to EU, bypassing transit countries such as Ukraine. He signed the contract in Moscow just week before a referendum at Hungary, which showed around 80% of the votes were against the government reforms.External links
- The Official Website of the Prime Minister of Hungary (only a few facts in English yet)
- Hungarian PM appears on Internet as Hugh Grant
- The blog of Ferenc Gyurcsány
- His biography
- The 100 richest people in Hungary, 2002., origo.hu. (Original URL)