Following the defeat of the Austro-Hungarian Dual Monarchy
(1867-1918) at the end of World War I, Hungary lost two-thirds of
its territory and nearly as much of its population. It experienced a
brief but bloody communist dictatorship and counterrevolution in
1919, followed by a 25-year regency under Adm. Miklos Horthy.
Although Hungary fought in most of World War II as a German ally, it
fell under German military occupation following an unsuccessful
attempt to switch sides on October 15, 1944. Under occupation, the
Hungarian Government deported or executed and seized the property of
hundreds of thousands of its minority citizens, mostly members of
the Jewish community. On January 20, 1945, a provisional government
concluded an armistice with the Soviet Union and established the
Allied Control Commission, under which Soviet, American, and British
representatives held complete sovereignty over the country. The
Commission's chairman was a member of Stalin's inner circle and
exercised absolute control.
Communist Takeover
The provisional government, dominated by the Hungarian communist
party (MKP), was replaced in November 1945 after elections which
gave majority control of a coalition government to the Independent
Smallholders' Party. The government instituted a radical land reform
and gradually nationalized mines, electric plants, heavy industries,
and some large banks. The communists ultimately undermined the
coalition regime by discrediting leaders of rival parties and
through terror, blackmail, and framed trials. In elections tainted
by fraud in 1947, the leftist bloc gained control of the government.
By February 1949, all opposition parties had been forced to merge
with the MKP to form the Hungarian Workers' Party. In 1949, the
communists held a single-list election and adopted a Soviet-style
constitution, which created the Hungarian People's Republic. Between
1948 and 1953, the Hungarian economy was reorganized according to
the Soviet model. In 1949 and the country joined the Council for
Mutual Economic Assistance (CMEA, or Comecon.) All private
industrial firms with more than 10 employees were nationalized.
Freedom of the press, religion, and assembly were strictly
curtailed. The head of the Roman Catholic Church, Cardinal Jozsef
Mindszenty, was sentenced to life imprisonment.
Forced industrialization and land collectivization soon led to
serious economic difficulties, which reached crisis proportions by
mid-1953. Imre Nagy replaced Rakosi as prime minister in 1953 and
repudiated much of Rakosi's economic program of forced
collectivization and heavy industry. He also ended political purges
and freed thousands of political prisoners. However, the economic
situation continued to deteriorate, and Rakosi succeeded in
disrupting the reforms and in forcing Nagy from power in 1955 for
"right-wing revisionism." Hungary joined the Soviet-led Warsaw Pact
Treaty Organization the same year.
1956 Revolution
Pressure for change reached a climax on October 23, 1956, when
security forces fired on Budapest students marching in support of
Poland's confrontation with the Soviet Union. The ensuing battle
quickly grew into a massive popular uprising. Fighting did not abate
until the Central Committee named Imre Nagy as prime minister on
October 25. Nagy dissolved the state security police, abolished the
one-party system, promised free elections, and negotiated with the
U.S.S.R. to withdraw its troops.
Faced with reports of new Soviet troops pouring into Hungary,
despite Soviet Ambassador Andropov's assurances to the contrary, on
November 1 Nagy announced Hungary's neutrality and withdrawal from
the Warsaw Pact. In response, the Soviet Union launched a massive
military attack on Hungary on November 3. Some 200,000 Hungarians
fled to the West. Nagy and his colleagues took refuge in the
Yugoslav Embassy. Party First Secretary Janos Kadar, defected from
the Nagy cabinet, fleeing to the Soviet Union. On November 4 he
announced the formation of a new government. He returned to Budapest
and, with Soviet support, carried out severe reprisals; thousands of
people were executed or imprisoned. Despite a guarantee of safe
conduct, Nagy was arrested and deported to Romania. In June 1958,
the government announced that Nagy and other former officials had
been executed.
Reform Under Kadar
In the early 1960s, Kadar announced a new policy under the motto of
"He who is not against us is with us," and introduced a relatively
liberal cultural and economic course aimed at overcoming the
post-1956 hostility toward him and his regime. In 1966, the Central
Committee approved the "New Economic Mechanism," through which it
sought to overcome the inefficiencies of central planning, increase
productivity, make Hungary more competitive in world markets, and
create prosperity to ensure political stability. By the early 1980s,
it had achieved some lasting economic reforms and limited political
liberalization and pursued a foreign policy which encouraged more
trade with the West. Nevertheless, the New Economic Mechanism led to
mounting foreign debt incurred to shore up unprofitable industries.
Transition to Democracy
Hungary's transition to a Western-style parliamentary democracy was
the first and the smoothest among the former Soviet bloc By 1987,
activists within the party and bureaucracy and Budapest-based
intellectuals were increasing pressure for change. Young liberals
formed the Federation of Young Democrats (Fidesz); a core from the
so-called Democratic Opposition formed the Association of Free
Democrats (SZDSZ), and the neo-populist national opposition
established the Hungarian Democratic Forum (MDF). Civic activism
intensified to a level not seen since the 1956 revolution.
In 1988, Kadar was replaced as General Secretary of the MKP, and
that same year, the Parliament adopted a "democracy package," which
included trade union pluralism; freedom of association, assembly,
and the press; a new electoral law; and a radical revision of the
constitution, among others. The Soviet Union reduced its involvement
by signing an agreement in April 1989 to withdraw Soviet forces by
June 1991.
National unity culminated in June 1989 as the country reburied Imre
Nagy, his associates, and, symbolically, all other victims of the
1956 revolution. A national roundtable, comprising representatives
of the new parties and some recreated old parties--such as the
Smallholders and Social Democrats--the communist party, and
different social groups, met in the late summer of 1989 to discuss
major changes to the Hungarian constitution in preparation for free
elections and the transition to a fully free and democratic
political system.
Free Elections and a Democratic Hungary
The first free parliamentary election, held in May 1990, was a
plebiscite of sorts on the communist past with the Democratic Forum
(MDF) winning 43% of the vote and the Free Democrats (SZDSZ)
capturing 24%. Under Prime Minister Jozsef Antall, the MDF formed a
center-right coalition government with the Independent Smallholders'
Party (FKGP) and the Christian Democratic People's Party (KDNP) to
command a 60% majority in the parliament. Parliamentary opposition
parties included SZDSZ, the Socialists (MSZP), and the Alliance of
Young Democrats (Fidesz). Peter Boross succeeded as Prime Minister
after Antall died and the Antall/Boross coalition governments
achieved a reasonably well-functioning parliamentary democracy and
laid the foundation for a free market economy.
In May 1994, the socialists came back to win a plurality of votes
and 54% of the seats after an election campaign focused largely on
economic issues and the substantial decline in living standards
since 1990. A heavy turnout of voters swept away the right-of-center
coalition but soundly rejected extremists on both right and left.
The MSZP continued economic reforms and privatization, adopting a
painful but necessary policy of fiscal austerity (the "Bokros plan")
in 1995. However, dissatisfaction with the pace of economic
recovery, rising crime, and cases of government corruption convinced
voters to propel center-right parties into power following national
elections in May 1998. The Federation of Young Democrats (renamed
Fidesz-Hungarian Civic Party (MPP) in 1995) captured a plurality of
parliamentary seats and forged a coalition with the Smallholders and
the Democratic Forum. The new government, headed by 35-year-old
Prime Minister Viktor Orban, promised to stimulate faster growth,
curb inflation, and lower taxes. Although the Orban administration
also pledged continuity in foreign policy, and continued to pursue
Euro-Atlantic integration as its first priority, it was a more vocal
advocate of minority rights for ethnic Hungarians abroad than the
previous government.
In April 2002, the country voted to return the MSZP-Free Democrat
coalition to power. The Medgyessy government placed special emphasis
on solidifying Hungary's Euro-Atlantic course, which culminated in
Hungary’s accession to the European Union on May 1, 2004. Prime
Minister Medgyessy resigned in August 2004 after losing coalition
support following an attempted cabinet reshuffle. Ferenc Gyurcsany
succeeded Medgyessy as Prime Minister in September 29, 2004.
In the April 2006 election, Prime Minister Ferenc Gyurcsany and his
Socialist-liberal coalition were re-elected, the first time since
communism that a sitting government has renewed its mandate.
Currently, the MSZP is ruling as a minority government as the SZDSZ
pulled out of the coalition in April 2008. The present configuration
of Parliament includes MSzP with 190 seats, SZDSZ with 19 seats;
Fidesz and KDNP with 161 seats, MDF with 10 seats, and five
independent Members of Parliament. One seat is currently vacant,
awaiting a by-election in January 2009. Following the dissolution of
the coalition with SZDSZ the Prime Minister reduced the number of
ministries in the cabinet from 17 to 13. |
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