Transcript TheAustrianperceptionofHungary

Typical cliches
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„Sógorék“ – „Labancok“ – „Schwager“
Sissi movies before WWI
Paprika
Shopping
Dentists
Cheap cigarettes
The Austrian perception of Hungary and its
political actions in the 21st century – a vision for
cultural awareness and political communication
• Short overview in both countries history
• Present diplomatic, economic and societal
discourse
• Current political climate on a European scale
History
• Dichotomy since the 10th century – Expansion of
Hungary against Holy Roman Empire
• 1526 -1541 -1686 – Turkish invasions – Hungary fell apart
– Direct Habsburg influence began
• 1848: fight for independece from Habsburg, unsuccessful
• 1867: Compromise between Habsburg & Hungarian
crown
• 1914: „The unwanted war“ – WWI
• 1920 - 1945: WWII & Consequences, different dealings
• 1956: Hungarian revolution against Sovjet Empire –
Austrian empathy and help
• 1989: Cutting through the Iron Curtain by Mock, ÖVP &
Horn, MSZ(M)P
Present discourse
After 1989:
• Fall of the Iron Curtain
• System change without change of establishment
• Free market democracy
• Austria and other western countries started investing in Hungary by
buying former state owned companies, modernising them and
closing lots of them => creating jobs and GDP growth – mostly
based on cheap export – huge profit
• Hungary wanted freedom of choice and „living like the others in the
West“
• Politically distancing itself from Russia and joining EU and NATO
made Hungary geopolitically dependent, but in lighter ways it
seemed.
Present discourse
• All what happens now between Austria and Hungary was
coded in the EU agreement
• Everyone is equal as marketplayer, but the circumstances are
highly different => EU structural funds were created
• BUT: There comes a time, where a transition country realizes,
that nothing is in ist own hand. Others decide what is
apropriate. The change of thought happenned in 2010
• There were and still are a lot of mistakes and
misunderstandings made on Hungarian side (Spengler), but
the trigger for all that was that Hungary was not able to take
things into ist own hands: a valve of frustration opened
Present discourse
• Land & Real Estate Law
• Bank tax / foreign currency loans
All these laws and taxes were against Austrian interests, but part
of Hungary´s struggle to get rid of dependencies.
Present discourse
• „Hungary bashing“
– As result of not understanding the political processes in
Hungary
– Every major newspaper like „Der Standard“, „Die Presse“,
„Kronen Zeitung“ and „Wiener Zeitung“ started to criticise
the government for not being democratic and not being
european
– Mostly not fact based
– Incoherent an inadequately copied from each other
– Most of the laws implemented were on the basis of
already existing laws in the EU