Beautification and Election Day

Kossuth Ter

Election day has been on the mind of many Hungarians for the entirety of my stay here. In 2010 Victor Orban of the Fidesz party became prime minister and won a 2/3 majority in parliament. Since then he completely overrode the existing constitution and created a new one in 2012, has passed numerous amendments to the new constitution which passed without any opposition due to holding the majority, and the European Union has become more and more skeptical about the direction that Hungary is going politically. I could go on and on about Hungarian politics, but I will not bore you with that on this particular occasion.

What I do want to focus on though is all the beautification that has been occurring around Budapest and Hungary due to the upcoming elections. About a year ago I started seeing small 'improvements' in the city that I knew were linked to winning favor among the people in preparation for re-election. These past three months though, and especially the past three weeks has seen a full on blitz that I did not think was possible. I see benches and revamped public space springing up everywhere, and more flowers than usual adorning the often empty flower beds. Last weekend I walked  by the Hungarian parliament, and the area in front of the building that had been under construction for one year is now complete; with bright green grass, new seating areas, and beautiful landscaping. Within two blocks there was a brand new park that did not previously exist, and the number two tram line running along the Danube which had only been operating half of its route for about one year is now fully functioning. The greatest miracle of all is that the Metro Line 4 has finally opened! Before I even moved to Hungary I read guidebooks that mentioned Metro Line 4 would open in 2010, and now in April 2014 we are finally seeing the fruits of this long labor. 

Olympic Park

Rakoczi Ter 

Rakoczi Metro Line 4 Station

As much as I am loving the facelift the city is getting, I don't agree with the manipulation behind the changes, and the lack of care and money being put towards issues that matter more. There are other small 'changes' that have been occurring which serve the same purpose as these visual improvements. Within the last two months the price of a monthly transportation pass was slightly reduced, for the past year a 'discount' is highlighted on your gas and electric bills (thanks to Fidesz), and the government stipulated that banks need to allow their customers 'two free cash withdrawls per month'. None of this was happening in my first six months in Hungary to my knowledge, and I doubt if these types of improvements continue beyond six months after elections.