Hofstra Odyssey

Talking to People in Budapest

While in Budapest we had the opportunity learn the opinions of many interesting people, and their takes on what has been going on politically in the country. Eva Nagy is currently a teacher in Budapest, and was very helpful in answering the questions that we had.

Eva talked to us about everything from the discrimination of Roma people, to the new constitution. One thing that Eva talked about that really stood out to me was when she spoke about the politics in Budapest. She said that because of the two party systems, the parties were constantly fighting against one other and no longer worked for the people. She said this was damaging the relationship with the people, who felt as though the government has stopped trying to help the people. The new government officials are still using the old government techniques, showing how they government has not been moving forward.

Another very interesting topic that Eva explained to us was the new constitution of Hungry. As a group, we had been looking at the constitution and discussing the problems and wrestling with the idea of democracy. Eva said that the people protested the first week after the constitution had been voted through, but then after that week, they stopped. Eva described the people of Hungry as lacking the ability to follow through to ensure that their ideas and desires were acted out in the government. She also made the point that if people would rise up it would not be peaceful; it would be a bloody battle.

After hearing, what Eva said, and the background that she gave us it was then interesting to talk to other Hungarian people and see their opinions on what was going on politically. When I spoke with one Hungarian man, who was currently in University studying business, I asked him about his thoughts on the EU and the new constitution. He said that Hungry would not be able to survive without being in the EU. That if the council was upset about the constitution that they would have to adjust it, that they could not afford to loose their charter. He also made a point to say that Hungry was still growing, that since the communist era, they were still trying to figure out what would work in the country. However, he felt that the constitution would not really change all that much.

Seeing all the different points of views in Hungry, for different people of different ages, was very interesting. Everyone seems to have a different take on what is going on in the country. However, it is all of these different views that make up the political voice of the people, they are all important and should be taken into account.