Rise and Fall of the Middle Class

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825404 825404 Jana Kobzová 02 02 RENEWED TRUST IN STATE AND ITS INSTITUTIONS WWW.VISEGRADINSIGHT.EU WWW.VISEGRADREVUE.EU László Csaba RISE AND Special report by FALL STRATFOR OF THE Global Intelligence MIDDLE CLASS Iveta Radičová, Anna Giza-Poleszczuk, Roman Joch, Vladimír Špidla, Ondřej Liška, Gabor Takacs, Péter Nádas, Tomasz Zarycki

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ON THE COVER: "Gorilla protest" in Slovakia 2012

We kindly thank researchers working for this issue: Agata Brzozowska, Jędrzej Burszta, Justyna Janowska, Krzysztof Mroczkowski, Dorota Piotrowska, Natalia Sawicka, and Izabela Wasilewska.

Visegrad Insight is published by Res Publica Foundation with the kind support of the International Visegrad Fund. The magazine maintains full editorial independence and opinions expressed in the articles are those of the authors and do not necessarily have to reﬂect or represent ofﬁcial position of the International Visegrad Fund, the Visegrad Group or the publisher. EDITORIAL

MASKS AND MARCHES IN NYC AND MADRID THAT HAVE CAPTURED OUR ATTEN- Rise TION SINCE 2011 WERE FORMED BY THOSE AMBITIOUS, HOPEFUL AND GOOD PEOPLE WHO DEMONSTRATED THEIR PROTEST AGAINST A FATEFUL FUTURE.

!e welfare-state is in decline and the free mensely in number. Moreover, the propor- market economy is ruthless to societies in tion of middle class versus the two other of the times of crisis. ends of the societal status spectrum in the !ose protests had their counter- developing world has become higher than Middle parts in V4 countries. Here posters have in the developed world. called for free, equal, and universal ac- !e same year a report prepared by cess to global information in Warsaw, for the Social Situation Observatory a Euro- moral standards in politics in Slovakia and pean Commission research unit, published Class in Prague, or for the welfare state in Buda- interesting data worth juxtaposing against pest, outmoded in a time of austerity. !ey !e Economist's findings. It is rather obvi- mirrored middle-class protests worldwide. ous that what the weekly calls the global WOJCIECH PRZYBYLSKI !is class, however defined, always refers middle class remains unevenly distributed Editor-in-chief to social status and lifestyle. !erefore, between old and new member states of the average income, educational aspirations, EU. However, the developing middle class sensitive morality, and stability are its dis- is proportionally the biggest in the Czech tinctive features. But what else do we know Republic, Slovakia and Hungary. Both about them? Who is behind the mask of studies show that emerging markets can middle class in Central Europe? be far better of in terms of relative equality. Normality has been a twin brother Should we stay happy with those results? of the middle class during the democratic After all, it is not the economy that defines transformation in Central Europe. It was the middle class, or at least it does not de- a common belief that capitalism, democ- fine it to such a degree as !e Economist racy, and the spontaneous social order of would prefer it. ordinary people are essential to peace and Let's start with a simple question put prosperity, which everyone considered to forward by a renowned Hungarian writer be a normal state. We have inherited this in respect to his society. Is the middle WOJCIECH PRZYBYLSKI belief and we have chased it like a dream class equivalent to democrats, people of Editor-in-chief in the region. Alas, the dream has been democratic convictions and standards? No fulfilled by emerging markets, the rule of - answers Péter Nádas. A transformative law, and social standards that have leveled process begun 20 years ago and apparently since 1989, at the same time the source of exhausted has yet another challenge ahead. the fundamental conviction has been fad- It is overall good that people come to ing away. the streets and demand better standards in Sociologists and public intellectuals Central Europe just like in the rest of the have recently presented sets of alarming world. Here no one has removed them by data about rising inequalities in democ- force, unlike in case of Occupy Wall Street, racies and fear that disparity will change and their democratic chatter is spreading. democracies for the worse. Notably, this !ey represent a potential for a further de- refers only to the North, the rich part of the mocratization and perhaps taking the qual- world. Wherever else, be it Brazil or China, ity of decision-making to yet a higher level. but also from Warsaw to Budapest, there is After all, this region has just began experi- a rise of the middle class, just not quite that menting with democracy and it is open to similar to the image of western countries. further innovations. But contrary to such In their 2009 special report Burgeon- hopes stands a long credit of betrayals ing Bourgeoisie, the editors from !e Econ- committed by center-right and center-left omist wrote about two middle classes that parties on the middle class over the last two populate the world. !e first would be the decades. One can hardly imagine that ex- one that is the global middle class whose isting political forces will in fact become its standards of living fall not far from the sta- political representation again. Perhaps this tistical median of countries like Italy. But it is one of the reasons for the number of new also draws attention to a rising number of political parties blossoming and so far with the developing middle class that is relatively quite some electoral success. But after all, in the middle, but yet far from the stand- it is still a question how well do we under- ards of the richest countries. Quoted re- stand the issue at stake, and if the middle search findings show how the middle class class actually has any relevance for the class in China and India has recently grew im- of politicians.

3 CONTENTS

EUROPE ECONOMY AND BUSINESS RISE AND FALL OF THE MIDDLE CLASS CHINA AND THE CLASS PROBLEM SURVEY WHAT IS THE 30 Deregulation and New Trust in the State Interview with Csaba László by Martin Ehl CONDITION AND POLITICAL 32 Who Fights for the Middle Class? SIGNIFICANCE OF THE Igor Janke 34 Chinese Middle Class at European Doorsteps MIDDLE CLASS IN THE Marta M. Golonka REGION? INTERVIEW LIFE AND DEBT 38 The Traumatic Symbol of the Middle Class. Interview with Don Kalb by Zoltán Sidó and Dénes Csurgó

INTELLIGENT MIND THE END AND THE FUTURE 42 The End of Future Rudolf Chmel 44 Farmers in Fairy-Tale Land. Poland and the European Crisis Marcin Król 48 The Land of Dilemmas Magdalena M. Baran PROSPECTS FOR EUROPE Interview with Timothy Garton Ash Wojciech Przybylski Europe looks shattered, yet PAGE 6 there is hope In recent years, the middle class have for even further demonstrated throughout the world more than enlargement ever. Some have protested about economic and integration. conditions, some about perspectives for higher Wojciech education, others fought for regime change. Przybylski Despite cries for its end, the middle class is interviews Timothy on the rise, including Central Europe. Garton Ash This question is answered by sociologists, analysts and – a renowned politicians from four V4 countries: British historian Iveta Radičová ||, Gábor Takács ||, of Central Europe Anna Giza-Poleszczuk ||, Roman Joch, Vladimír Špidla, Ondřej Liška | | and Professor of European Studies at 17 The Way Things Stand Péter Nádas Oxford University. 23 In Search of a Usable Past: Who Were the Ancestors of !ey discuss the Polish Middle Class? Tomasz Zarycki political condition of the continent THINK TANKS WATCH and perspectives GEOPOLITICS AND MONEY for Turkey and 26 Banking Battlegrounds Maghreb countries PAGE Marc Lanthemann (Stratfor's Europe Analyst) to join EU. 50

4 VISEGRAD INSIGHT 2|2012 CONTENTS

VISEGRAD ABROAD IN COOPERATION WITH EUROPEUM URBAN EASTERN AND TRANSATLANTIC ANALYSIS POLITICS OF EUROPEAN CAPITAL OF CULTURE 54 Ukrainian “Stagnarchy” Buries the Eastern Partnership 76 The Chances of Cultural Renewal in Hungary As We Know It Alexander Duleba András Bozóki A VIEW FROM POTENTIAL OF ARTS ARTS/LOOKING BACK THE POTOMAC BOOKS MUSEUMS IN V4 Robert Kron WINNING BOOK AWARDS number of museums 82 When Literature Becomes Politics: Probing the Visegrád number of visitors 2,788,200 Countries' Systems of Literary Awards source: www.stat.gov.lt numberMarek of employees Sečkař 43,974,011,1 LTL source: www.culturalpolicies.net 82 Winged Victory of the Nike. The Systemfunding of Literary Prizes in Poland Cezary Polak PAGE 85 Literary Awards as Feedback in Literary 3,088 source: www.culturalpolicies.net 57 Communication: The Typology of Literary Awards 62 The Visegrad Group in Eastern Europe: an Actor, Not a in Slovakia Pavol Rankov 916 Leader (Yet) Jana Kobzová source: www.kongreskultury.pl 88 Conservative Conﬁ rmation or Progressive Lottery? 106 The World of Czech Literary Awards Eva Klíčová source: www.stat.gov.lt COMMUNITIES 90 M y P r i z e s Endre Kukorelly 22,215,656 NATIONS WITHIN NATIONS 92 Literary Prizes in Hungary. A Shortsource: Survey www.platformakultury.pl Orsolya Karaﬁ áth 64 The Rusyn Revival in Slovakia - or How to Create a 195,000,000 ZŁ Nationality at the Margin of Europe source: www.platformakultury.pl 6,890 Paul Bauer source: www.platformakultury.pl LOOKING BACK / ARTS REPORTAGE IN COOPERATION WITH EUROPEUM POTENTIAL OF ARTS 2,660 HOLIDAYS OF THE MIDDLE CLASS 128,979,290 EUR source: www.egmus.eu 94 Irritation, Unrest and the + PUBLIC FUNDING TRAMPS, HIKERS, Politics of Questioning: the 1,162 NATURE LOVERS Eventful Relationships source: www.egmus.eu of Art and Nationalism 164 – A NEW ERA OF Margaret Tali source: www.stat.si 671source: www.egmus.eu WANDERLUST ART Szabina Kerényi MUSEUMS 335,774,708 EUR Photo reportage + PUBLIC FUNDING 10,123,438 from the Tatra mountains AMONG by Krzysztof Pacholak TECTONIC 2,882,440 source: www.stat.si

MOVEMENTS 99 Gábor Rieder PAGE97 OPPORTUNITIES AND ANNOUNCEMENTS 100 Social Innovation in the Limelight Judit Barta 102 Summer School Central Natalia Sawicka

ESSAY 104 The Metamorphosis of the District Gergely Angyalosi Essay on a book by Adam Bodor, 2012 literary award PAGE winner of the Belletrist Society. Bodor's latest book The 67 District at the New York is coming out later this year.

5 In recent years, the middle class have demonstrated throughout the world more than ever. Some have protested about economic conditions, some about perspectives for higher education, others fought for regime change. Despite cries for its end, the middle class is on the rise, including Central Europe.

" is question is answered by sociologists, analysts and politicians from four V4 countries. RISE AND FALL OF THE MIDDLE CLASS EUROPE Gabriella Csoszó

"Gorilla Protests" in Bratislava

7 EUROPE RISE AND FALL OF THE MIDDLE CLASS Gabriella Csoszó

f"Gorilla Protests" in Bratislava IVETA RADIČOVÁ are: upper classes, middle classes, stress this – is the weakness of the a Slovak politician, former Prime lower middle classes, qualified middle class. Minister, professor of sociology workers, qualified manual work- It is worth mentioning that the up- at Comenius University in ers and the rest – dependent upon per class in Slovakia, as well as in Bratislava the state. Distribution over these other post-communist states, re- classes helps us define a particu- tains a strong linkage to the com- We are all aware that the lar society. "e well-known “ap- munist past; it is robustly pursuing attempt of the Eastern bloc to ple” distribution is based on the its interests and, in a way, makes eliminate social differences strength of the middle classes and up a class of its own. Certain seg- had resulted in the emergence lower numbers of citizens from ments of the upper middle class of other types of inequalities. the upper and lower classes. Such also profit from their past, as a re- It led to personal freedoms and societies are economically and po- sult of more advantageous starting dignities being lost, and the litically stable, characterized by conditions, better education, access entire order of interpersonal high standards of living and hu- to information and contacts. Over relations dislocated. man development. By contrast, the time, this segment is enlarged by “pear” type is distinct by populous experts who have been allowed to "e post-1989 transformation, lower classes and weak or non-ex- prosper in “normal” conditions, as even as it safeguarded freedom istent middle class. Politically and well as the younger generation of and democracy, contributed to an economically, societies marked by managers and other higher income increase in social and economic in- such stratification lag behind those earners who are no longer held back equality and impinged on patterns with a strong middle. by the past. of stratification of a society seeking We typically gauge the status of Yet, the middle class – which oc- to approximate the model of devel- citizens based on their position in cupies a hegemonic position in the oped Western societies. the labor market. Here, it needs politics, economics and culture of "e stratification hierarchy rests, to be pointed out that, after more Western societies – remains in- in effect, on three criteria: wealth, than twenty years, eastern parts of significant, especially in Slovakia, power and prestige. An analysis of Europe still differ from the West. whether in terms of numbers or the three criteria typically yields Our distributions are different: influence. I must say that our so- six basic categories or strata. "ey one such specificity – and I must cial stratification remains that of

8 VISEGRAD INSIGHT 2|2012 RISE AND FALL OF THE MIDDLE CLASS EUROPE

a “pear” shape, with commensu- GÁBOR TAKÁCS those living beneath it”, and made rate consequences on political, a Hungarian political analyst at clear that his aim was to make it economic and social structures, the Nézőpont Intézet possible for as many people as pos- and on behavioral patterns more (Point of View) think tank sible to join the middle class. Of broadly. course, the economic crisis plays "e middle class is at the core of I believe that the existence of strongly against fulfilling this vi- European economies. It drives a large and strong middle class sion, but as for policies, we can spending. It is the key force behind is crucial for a healthy society see a clear determination. Some economic growth. In recent years, in any country, and in Europe, examples: however, the European middle this is clearly the preferred tUIFnBUSBUFQFSTPOBMJODPNFUBY class has been facing one crisis af- model of society. is meant to “reward those who ter another. It is now trying to find work”, with tax burdens shifted a modus vivendi – a sustainable For countries in our region, that toward a taxation of consumption; response to the persisting crisis in is, the countries that used to be tJOTPDJBMUSBOTGFSTBOEQFOTJPOT Europe and beyond. To safeguard part of the Habsburg Empire and a strong emphasis has been laid on its future, the middle class shifted later the Communist bloc, it is es- incentives to work – e.g., revision its priorities – and this applies to pecially crucial to make sure that of disability pensions, elimination middle classes in the East as well society develops this way, instead of early retirement, large-scale as in the West – toward social of establishing a Latin-American public works projects offering jobs, protection, purchasing power, type of society with one-third liv- instead of passive support, to the and children’s future well-being. ing in relative affluence and the long-term unemployed; "is triangle of interests is becom- other two-thirds hopelessly lag- tBOJNQPSUBOUQBSUPGUIFNJEEMF ing translated into newly defined ging behind. "is would result in class philosophy is to encourage strategies for success: a strong unbearable social tensions. childbearing through tax incen- workplace position and investment In this context, the current Hun- tives (a highly supportive family in education. "is is a significant garian government’s policies are tax system was introduced at the shift, insofar as the use of instru- rather clear and consistent. Prime beginning of 2011), with automatic ments of education and enhanced Minister Orbán has always em- income supports being rolled back. work activism has not been as phasized that his government’s I think that the results of these pol- pronounced in the past: the future g"Gorilla Protests" election success was built on icies can only be seen in the long clearly lies with the children. in Bratislava a “coalition of the middle class and run. "e principles of “rewarding Gabriella Csoszó

9 EUROPE RISE AND FALL OF THE MIDDLE CLASS

work” and “supporting childbear- ANNA GIZA-POLESZCZUK ing such controversial ones as the ing of working and taxpaying a Polish sociologist, Professor of biography of Andrzej Bagsik. families” are rather popular and, if Sociology, and Vice-Rector at the But the actual point is how these accompanied by appropriate and Warsaw Univeristy middle class members were pic- consistent measures throughout tured. A brief overview of these several government cycles, they Anticipating the emergence materials shows that a typical rep- can surely contribute to strength- of the middle class used to resentative of this hopefully antic- ening Hungary’s society and be one of the basic threads of ipated class created by the writer, economy. Polish transformation: on the and presented to the public, was During the left-liberal govern- one hand, its emergence was modelled on a 19th century shop- ments in Hungary, the notion of to be a watermark of systemic keeper, small manufacturer, small the middle class was not strongly reforms success, on the other, business owner. It did not occur to communicated; liberal thinking it sparked hopes of “capital anyone that a modern – or post- fostered a focus on equal opportu- accumulation”, and therefore, modern – middle class consists, nities for all, small state and simi- of sustainable, organic first of all, of a hired workforce, lar policies, while socialists clearly economic growth. high rank professionals, and new emphasized that “nobody will be types of businesses operating left behind” – in effect, promising Social scientists would conduct more on the market of symbols to pay the ever higher costs of so- research and write books on the rather than object production. cial support through ever increas- condition of the middle class, pol- #e third class, the bourgeoisie ing taxation of the middle class. In iticians would invest in programs played its historical role, intro- essence, the socialist government to support entrepreneurship, and ducing new principles and val- made a deal with the people be- the media would promote the ues into the mechanism of social neath the middle class: you will not self-made man role model. Gaze- differentiation. Today, owning get much higher even if you work ta Wyborcza devoted a whole year a small shop producing ice cream hard, but you will not fall behind of articles to present portraits of is not a way towards a top social too much even if you do not work. successful businessmen – includ- career, but can frequently be an alternative to unemployment. In the era of transnational corporations, which consolidate production and distribution, it is difficult for small

Gabriella Csoszó business owners to go all the way from rags to riches. It is doubtless, nevertheless, that the masses of small business owners, especially those with the legendary camp- beds, laid the foundations for our economic success – although few have been “chosen” to fill the ranks of the middle class. Another issue is the development of the class of professionals, which in Poland has undoubtedly arisen: never before had we a class of well-paid “managers” in new market niches, such as banking and finance, or marketing and distribution. In short, we looked for a middle class not in the place where it was being formed. No one has also noticed that the middle class should be defined not in terms of its occupation, but in terms of the role it has in the social structure. Generally speaking, the middle class is a sort of “intermediary” between the upper class and the lower class: both in the sense that through its own as- c"Gorilla Protests" pirations it conveys and promotes in Bratislava the practices and values of the

10 VISEGRAD INSIGHT 2|2012 RISE AND FALL OF THE MIDDLE CLASS EUROPE Gabriella Csoszó

upper class, but also that it forms chance for promotion, tradition- dren, then in Poland, undoubtedly f"Gorilla Protests" an in- and out-channel between ally invested a lot in their children this class is very well represented. in Bratislava the extreme segments of the so- (their education, position, etc.), #ere is no point, however, in cial structure. In his fundamental and had relatively fewer of them. waiting for the prime moment of work on changing mores in West- As can be confirmed by the data the middle class. In well-devel- ern civilization, Norbert Elias put meticulously gathered by historic oped countries, but also in Po- forward a thesis that the driving demographers, the middle class land, one can notice an increasing force for change in Western Eu- was in the vanguard of the mod- dichotomization of social struc- rope since the 16th century had ernization of reproductive behav- ture, including growing distances been the competition for social iors. Either you could “promote and income differentiation. #ere distinction between the “aspir- your children to a higher level” is less and less space for the trans- ing” middle class and the upper – bearing the high costs of educa- fer of values and practices, or for class. At the same time, as one tion, travel, equipment, which ex- an intermediary sphere between anecdote has it, Louis XIV, the cluded the option of having more the elites and the masses. No one Sun King, asked his banker why children, or – if you had too many should either have high hopes he had so few children. “I cannot of them to assure them a good linked with the middle class, as afford more” – was supposed to be start – you risked social degrada- it will not lead to a creation of the answer by the latter. Indeed, tion to the lower classes. If one is a new capitalism in the present the middle class, always in danger therefore to measure the existence conditions. of degradation – falling into the of the middle class by the aspira- lower class, and always seeing the tions related to investing in chil-

11 EUROPE RISE AND FALL OF THE MIDDLE CLASS

ROMAN JOCH alien. A different situation existed together it represents the political director of the Czech in Poland and Hungary where consensus of its respective coun- conservative think tank The there was a local aristocracy. Both tries and calls the tune of the life of Civic Institute and advisor to countries used the services of the the country. $e forms of how its Prime Minister Petr Nečas on aristocracy, for example, in diplo- political interests are promoted are foreign policy and human rights macy during the interwar period. open and direct, because due to it ($is is the reason why Polish and being plentiful, it does not have to The middle class in Central Hungarian diplomacy was more be ashamed and afraid of anything Europe is the majority group of successful than the Czechoslovak – which is different from the high- people in society who create, one that was created de novo.) est and richest class, which has to share, and are interested in I suppose the middle class in Cen- hide its interests, being afraid of public opinion – the conviction tral Europe will continue to be the jealousy of the majority; which of which creates a majority a political hegemon in its respec- is also different from the poorer consensus in society. tive countries. $anks to it being lower class, which is less active so numerous, its political repre- in politics and not so open about Socially, it is a group of people sentation will be representative sharing its opinions and interests with independent or sufficient and considerable enough. in case there is peace and consen- incomes. In countries like the $e middle class does not neces- sus in the society. It starts to be g Protestst Czech Republic or Slovakia (un- sarily share one political opinion, more active when society slips into against the Anti- Counterfeiting til recently) there was practically it does not represent necessarily crisis and consensus, created by Trade Agreement a non-existent class higher than only one narrowly defined political the middle class, causing it break (ACTA) in Warsaw the middle one, because the do- direction, and does not necessarily up (e.g. - Greece). (2012) mestic aristocracy was viewed as vote for only one party. However, Bartosz / Agencja Bobkowski

12 VISEGRAD INSIGHT 2|2012 RISE AND FALL OF THE MIDDLE CLASS EUROPE

ONDŘEJ LIŠKA chairman of the Czech Green Party and head of the study project Czechia Maps the Future, think-tank-like project

The middle class in Central Europe has undergone a deep revision of its identity: who it is and what is its representation.

"is is the result of numerous disap- pointments and a recognition that voting according to cultural identity, the content of electoral programes, and actual politics did not work together during the last two decades. I do not know whether I can speak on behalf of other countries than my own, but I am persuaded that the basic instincts of the middle class have been going through profound change.While it was the natural choice of the middle class

Gabriella Csoszó in the 1990's to vote for what had been receding into the past, today f"Klub Radio we see only pro-market, (center) VLADIMÍR ŠPIDLA It is necessary to stress that the Protests" in right-wing formations who are not a Czech politician, former Prime middle class is the main user of Budapest (2012) able to represent the interests of the Minister and EU Commissioner public services, and therefore there middle class properly. I see around for social affairs is a strong connection with the idea myself traditional right wing voters of a social state. A classical social questioning their electoral decisions It is very complicated, and to state of the European type is a state from the past and moving into the certain extent, unproductive of the middle classes. "ey fully center or left of center. Why? Be- to compare the middle class use systems of education, health cause in their electoral choice based existing before the Second care, and publicly subsidized cul- on economics they begin to include World War to present times. ture. "ose things which the mid- much more strongly also social as- Let us remember only the dle class has received previously pect. And not only that. "ey feel huge difference in the level of directly through its property sta- the erosion of politics itself. To put education. tus, they now receive indirectly it simply, they see it is not about the through public services. successful development of capital- Only a few percent of society had "e middle class of modern times ism, but about reasonable survival a secondary school-certifying is very heterogeneous. It is not pos- inside that capitalism. exam in these old times. We can sible to put it in the same category At the same time, I suppose the im- conclude that between the middle as independent producers and pact of the crisis and the plain poli- class in the classic sense, and the freelancers. tics of austerity of the government current middle class, there is fun- "e representation of the middle as a reaction to this crisis will cause damental discontinuity. "e old class in a narrowly defined politi- a very dramatic decrease of living middle class derived its position- cal sense is impossible in practice. standards of part of the middle class. ing from its property status, from Attempts to create specifically "is is already taking place. "e es- wealth. "e main feature of the middle-class parties were unsuc- sential situation would be to moni- current middle class is cultivated cessful historicaly due to the social tor not only how people will change human capital. status heterogeneity of this group. their self-perception on the left-right In general, we can say that the In general, the middle class strive- scale, but also whether the liberal modern middle class are people spolitically toward liberal and so- instict of the middle class, so far the with quality education who are cial democratic political concepts. ruling one, would prevail, or wheth- well positioned in the structure of "e situation of the middle class in er we would witness a stronger ten- society. "eir status is not derived political reality was stabilized un- dency toward self-encapsulation, mainly from property, but from der the condition that both of these nationalism and euroscepticism. position. First, they are qualified two political lines in a given society I wish the former, but I seriously fear employees and, or professionals. were not to undergo a crisis. the latter.

13 EUROPE RISE AND FALL OF THE MIDDLE CLASS FACTS and FIGURES

HOW MANY TIMES IN THE LAST TWELVE MONTHS HAVE YOU VISITED MUSEUMS OR GALLERIES?

PL CZ

SK HU EU27

Not once 1-2 times 3-5 times more than 5 times

Visegrad citizens are visiting museums and galleries less often than the average European Union citizen. While the statistics for Czech and Slovak citizens’ frequenting of the museums and galleries is not diverging too greatly from the average, the data from Hungary and especially Poland shows lacking in culture-seeking habits. Source: Eurobarometer - Cultural values 2007

14 VISEGRAD INSIGHT 2|2012 RISE AND FALL OF THE MIDDLE CLASS EUROPE

SITUATION OF THE MIDDLE CLASS AND INCOME POLARIZATION DISTRIBUTION OF POPULATION ACCORDING TO INCOME GROUPS, DEFINED RELATIVE TO THE MEDIAN, 2008 INCOME YEAR

100% Below 50%

90%

80% 50%-80%

70%

60% 80%12-%

50%

40% 200%+

30%

. 20% Y A EP A I NY R NI ARK A ND A ND E AK GAR M 10% VI N LA NM ECH OV OV ER U L L AT

L UK IRELA PO G H S S CZ DE source: EU-SIILC 2009, European Social Situation Observatory - Income distribution and living conditions

TOTAL CONSUMPTION EXPENDITURE OF HOUSEHOLDS

€ 15000,- 56.0% Eurozone

56.3% EU27 56.9%

56.8% € 12000,- 57.4%

61.5% Czech Republic 57% 66.2% Slovakia € 9000,- 53.9% Hungary 64.5% 61.5% Poland

58.8% 56.5% 61.3% 64.5% € 6000,-

55.9% 61.3% 53.9%

€ 3000,-

1996 2001 2006

Per capita (PPS) As a Proportion of GDP

!is table represents consumption expenditure of households. While overall consumption represents a similar share in total expenditure (from 1996 to 2006), the growth per capita expenditure on consumption depicts growing aﬄuence of households, choosing more expensive consumer goods in step with rising incomes. source: Eurobarometer – Cultural Values – 2007

15 EUROPE RISE AND FALL OF THE MIDDLE CLASS

16 VISEGRAD INSIGHT 2|2012 RISE AND FALL OF THE MIDDLE CLASS EUROPE

Even if there had been Revolution – as there was not in 1989 – every great change is followed, as surely as night follows day, by Restoration; which more often than not serves to highlight that a path once taken cannot be retraced.

THE PÉTER NÁDAS he current regression had its inception in a twenty-year old progressive trend that grew weaker and weaker, and had – by the first years of the new WAY millennium – stalled completely. "e progress of Hungarian society has once again entered a regressive phase. But it was plain to see, even at the time of Transition, the kind of trouble we could expect. János Kenedi lost no time in describing THINGS it. Even though there are committed Hungarian democrats (if Tsurprisingly few), Hungarian society has no democratic tradition. "us, our "ird Republic was bound to oscillate between two historical models, the paternalistic one of the state social- STAND ist model, and the ordered authoritarian model of the capitalist state, or, in other words, between the political legacy of the Kádár period and the Horthy period. In fact, it had to be like (EXTRACT) this, because in our first ten years of democracy, everyone had to start their democratic training with the very basics – and apparently no-one made it much beyond. "e author himself included. He did not really have a chance. For in none of the countries of the region was it the case that the people had had their fill of Soviet dictatorship, had craved democracy instead and had fought for it, working out for itself the means of seizing power, and then sweeping the old order away to build a carefully constructed new one – in other words, made a revolution. No, it was more a case of the endlessly vast Soviet empire collapsing under the weight of its economic and military unviability and dragging with it the peoples of the region, who had gotten used to their economies of perennial shortages, and had learned, somehow, to survive. "ey were left to their own devices, faced with their freedom, without any sort of economic plan, strategy for the future, or survival tactics to fall back on. "ey had models for development, but their societies did not have, either organically, or through planning, the prerequisite mechanisms that that kind of development demanded. "e region accepted democracy as the doctor’s prescription – but they did not un-

Occupy Wall Street library (2012) Gabriella Csoszó derstand what the doctors wanted of them.

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Prosperity was what attracted them. And it was the vis- government, in the service of this anarchic principle, even ible symbols of prosperity that attracted them most, the cars, destroyed the agricultural co-operatives, which were working exotic fruit, and washing machines. "e countries of the re- well. At a stroke, this turned a third of the rural population gion even understood that the rich cornucopia of these func- into ’have-nots’. "e worst affected was the Gypsy population, tional, shiny, sweet-smelling and beautifully wrapped things whose numbers at the time were estimated at 600,000, which was somehow connected with the inner workings of democ- is to say 6% of the population. "ey had been employed as racy, with human rights and citizen’s rights. But how could forestry workers, agricultural workers, and day-laborers in the they know what it was they had to do to see past the individual agricultural co-operatives, and as skilled workers in the related interest to the welfare of society as a whole, what institutions industries. "ese industries provided institutional cover for they had to create, and how those institutions should func- the shadow economy that it was impossible to legalize. "ey tion? "e democratic Transition ran its course without the saw to it that society was provided with the things it needed concept of democracy becoming part of the public discourse. to keep functioning. "us, it was in the long-term interest of How could it have done, since everyone was focused on living Hungarian society to push through the process of privatiza- and working according to the old survival strategies? "ese tion at any cost, at once, even if it went against common sense. strategies were not sufficient to encompass the drawing up of For the last decade of the Kádár period had shown that the ab- a social system which would promote the generation of the sence of legal private property stood in the way of the organic benefits of a welfare society. "e model and the mechanism, process of modernization. the decisions and the desires, did not match each other. "e "e first democratically-elected Hungarian govern- citizens of these countries were too much occupied with the ment, which considered itself heir to the 19th-century’s practical matters of organizing their everyday lives, which ideals of freedom, thus all at once opened the door to privati- produced lively debates – the unusual thing being, that they zation, to that twice-interrupted process of modernization could now have these debates in public. "e novel wonder of in Hungary. It saw what it wanted to see, but did not care to public debate enchanted them. At most, it would have been take into account all that it had inherited from dictatorship. the constitutional experts who debated amongst themselves It had inherited a shadow economy and a black economy, the various possible conceptions of democracy. "e public and in these spheres, a secret privatization had already taken debates, the strikes, provocations, blockades, demonstrations place, despite the fact that the legal framework of the Kádár and counter-demonstrations were born of the survival strate- regime did not allow this pro forma privatization to come gies, and as such, did not have compromise as their goal – but into force de jure. In other words, it did not give perma- rather zero-sum competition – and this made the cacophony nence to those little local oligarchies that had developed on of noise and action complete. "e subject of debate was always the back of the profit generated by the industries operating subsumed by the debate itself. People were happy that their within the framework of the agricultural co-operatives, with lives were no longer under a mechanism of dictatorial control. which the more dynamic entrepreneurial section of the rural Nonetheless, they then went on to evade or break the new laws population could – in theory – have joined the ranks of the with the same methods they had developed under dictator- moneyed middle classes. "e administration of the Kádár ship. "e police, lawyers, and the judiciary turned a blind eye, regime strictly controlled the legal investments of the co- or did the same. "ey carried out investigations, brought or operatives; it did not want their property to dominate state dismissed charges, and deliberated in cases as if it were not the property, and thereby forced the actual movements of money law that they were supposed to serve, but their own individual into illegality. For the most part, it forced the participants of convictions. "ey were, and are to this day, unable to separate these secret deals into the barter economy that had preceded the ethics of convictions from the ethics of responsibility. "is currency controls. It substituted verbal agreements for writ- is how first the rule of law, and then the new democratic orten contracts, and effectively moved the participants of the der itself, were swept into danger. One of the preconditions secret deals outside the realm of written records and banking of surviving in a dictatorship is identifying legal gray areas. operations. Everyone knew about this – and almost everyone Adhering to the law is not merely cowardice, but a sign of be- benefited from the blessings and anomalies of this second ing unable to cope with life; it is idiotic, something to be ridi- economy, but practically no-one talked about it in public. culed, but even more than that it is zealotry, which prejudices Silence was, so to speak, in everyone’s interest, in order to other people’s chances of survival. preserve this benighted situation. A person’s word, and the invoice, lost their meaning in business for several decades. You had no legal recourse against someone who broke the promise that they had given illegally (and you still do not "e ostentatious dominance of the principle of the state as to this day) – in those cases, violence was your only tool of provider in the decade-and-a-half following the Transition justice. "us, after forty years of Socialism, the effective dif- served to allow the privatization process to be carried through, ference in the Hungarian language between “yes” and “no” under the guise of providing for the people, for the benefit of was eroded to the point of non-existence. "e pliable use isolated individuals and party-political interest groups, at the of language thus became king; a refusal had to serve as an expense of the common good. "e transition from a planned acceptance as well (when necessary) and vice versa. And the economy, in which no-one actually has possession of property, invoice, for example, acquired definitely negative connota- but in principle everyone has a share of ownership, to a free- tions. If someone asks for, or complains about the lack of, or market economy, can only be done at someone’s expense. We demands, an invoice, to this day it is taken to mean that that don’t yet know who these people will be, but we do know that person is either secretly a tax inspector, or the sort of rotten they will exist. "e first democratically-elected Hungarian egg who does not take part in the time-honored and sacred

18 VISEGRAD INSIGHT 2|2012 RISE AND FALL OF THE MIDDLE CLASS EUROPE

tribal – or national – sport of cheating, and therefore, loses from the spirit of Hungarian progress – is kin to the rural spirit their place in society. of national and tribal belonging. It preserves, like some sacral Society, at the moment of Transition, was starving for relic, the patriarchal spirit connecting housemaids, rentiers, private property, though it were not prepared for the necessity the gentry, day-laborers, minor peasantry and the aristocracy. of saying “yes” and “no”, having – in their interests of survival To follow Radomir Konstantinović’s phrase, it preserves the – cultivated double standards and double meanings. Neither spirit of the countryside. !ose who embody this spirit resent was it prepared for the responsibility of ownership, invest- monarchy, but by loyal service of the nearest feudal lord try to ment, invoicing, paying taxes or taking care of one’s property. buy themselves a little security in the absolutist system. !ey !e model which it wanted to follow was not matched by the do not think big, they do not like the concept of universality social mechanisms in which Hungarians lived and, somewhat even in church, and they stay peacefully within the limits of pushily, maintained themselves. the family, the nation. Accordingly, they have a deep incom- Without privatization, however it was done, a reconnec- prehension and rejection of individualism. And though they tion with the tradition of modernization, and progress itself have moved to the city and to the most expensive districts to would no longer have been possible either. Successive govern- boot, they hate the city. All their hours on earth, they long to ments decided to continue with the tradition of moderniza- return to that desolate countryside on which they so scornfully tion, so that the Hungarians could be, within a reasonable turned their backs, and in whose destruction they themselves space of time, the equal partners of the great industrialized were partner to. !ey want a weak state, so that they can inflict societies – and it was precisely to this end that they decided those family, tribal, and national values that they dragged with to maintain the structural legacy of dictatorship. !ey counted themselves to the city on the community of taxpayers, even at on the leaders of the shadow, second, and black economies their own expense, in peace. !ey are inimical to anyone who for the simple reason that they did not know anyone else is unwilling to serve them in this goal, but if they are willing to with the necessary skills. Prime Minister Orbán, as a youthful serve, they are an instant friend. But their friendship extends party leader, did not grasp the significance of this strategic only so long as the service, and only in return for service. In decision for years, or rather, he found the concomitant double this question, there has been, and is, total consensus from the standards, double meanings, and doublethink morally unac- American-educated neo-liberals to the national conservatives ceptable. In theory, of course, it would have been possible to of the French and English schools. !ey want a weak state. carry out privatization in such a way that it gave precedence, A weak state that will only serve them, their families, their in the Republican sense, to the common weal, but in order tribe, their nation, and their party, with the means they have for that to have happened, the participants of that privatiza- taken away from someone else. Privatization was enacted by tion would have had to have been conversant with the basic the parties in the framework of a mortally sick system inca- rules of democracy and would have had to adhere to them, pable of reforming itself or even monitoring itself, on a tribal, and ask others to do the same. But how could they have known national basis, in the spirit of the countryside. !ey all wanted these rules? I do not recall a single political grouping that re- a weak state. Without that, the variegated daylight robbery ally offered society this chance – the chance for transparency of the common good and the absolutism would have hardly and oversight, responsibilities and rights, and the principle of been possible. a fair price for goods or services. !ey would have had to offer One fine day, when the privatization process had ended, a strong state. a little before the new millennium, we awoke to the realization ...Nonetheless, the traditions of capitalist economics that gang warfare had openly broken out in the country, and were not entirely alien to Hungary. !e problem was the same that daylight robbery, street murders, and bombings were now as with the understanding of the concept of democracy. In possible. Of course, not everything was possible, and much parallel to the process of the attempts to reform the Socialist more to the point, not everything was possible for everyone. planned economy and the strengthening of the black econ- Only attempted murder, assassination, blackmail, and rob- omy, Hungarian society by the end of the 1970s had genu- bery, went unpunished, as did embezzlement – so long as it inely forgotten the earlier anomaly of Hungarian capitalism, involved sums in the millions and the billions of forints. For as it had forgotten its own workers’ and peasants’ movements. the political parties, even in the second phase, in the teens of Amnesia set in again at once. Hungarian society was attracted this century, and despite the security risks, it seemed more to the model of a developed social market economy which was sensible to operate the emerging market economy within the unknown to it, and the previous conditions of which, and the guise of the state as provider. !is was the price for the crea- circumstances of its former birth and infancy, it had no wish tion of a market economy. I would rather not enter into the to remember. Hungarian society wanted illusions, not real- debate on whether or not this was too high a price to pay. ity. Although, with its shadow economy basking in illegality, it !e price we paid was political regression, the impover- came closest of all the Warsaw Pact countries to capitalist eco- ishment of the middle class, and lasting economic stagnation. nomics. !is was not well-organized, social market economics !e upper middle class and the elite, on the other hand, have that regulates the unchecked egoism of capitalist excess with gotten stronger. 13% have emerged from the ranks of the ru- laws and with institutions for the democratic distribution of ral well-to-do. !is is no coincidence. Over the course of the power; rather, it was the unregulated, unlawful kind which following decade, if you were willing to pay, you could still perpetuates the egotistical relationships of kinship, nation use, under the guise of state provision, the network of illegal and tribe. !is kind of capitalism is skilled in secret deals and contacts that had developed in the shadow economy both in barter trades, avoids paper trails like the devil, knows the law the city and in the countryside. !is extended to the police, only from its loopholes, and accordingly adjusts its validation lawyers, and the judiciary, and meant that embezzlement, to the ideals of an authoritarian society, which is far removed blackmail and corruption could be organized and institution-

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alized for the benefit of the new interest groups. !is made it !e authoritarian tradition does not reason, but appeals possible to incorporate – sometimes legally – into the life of to communitarian beliefs, feelings that we are all meant to the state the financial crime that now extended beyond even share, and above all, induces common passions, collective hys- Hungary’s borders. Whether they knew it or not, the political teria, and collective ignorance. Its definitions are arbitrary and parties thus incorporated into the legal life of the state the il- it has no affinity for discussion or compromise; it sees no direct legal practices that, during the years of dictatorship, had kept connection between the duty to pay one’s taxes and the rights the economy ticking over, and had guaranteed a certain level of the taxpaying citizen. !e dominance of the new Hungarian of welfare, or at least lifted the rural population out of lack. In authoritarian tradition will no doubt turn out to be merely the grand production that was the Socialist economy of want, a cover in the same way that previously the state as provider it defined the system of actual social relationships, and thus turned out to be. Borrowing from the language of psychology, represented progress in the face of dictatorship. It served as we are again not dealing with the substance, but merely the an alternate reality in the face of the economy of want. It was surface of the dream. !e doublespeak, the anti-capitalist and an independent system, which based itself on the recogni- anti-globalization slogans, the neoliberal acts which smack of tion of want. It had its own language which, together with its the ethos of capitalism in its infancy, the special taxes and the distinctive methodology, became a legitimate part of the new kickbacks introduced in the guise of various laws, the ad hoc Hungarian capitalism, and its language of legal thievery. It is lawmaking and the insult of retrogressively valid laws, the dif- not possible now to undo this linguistic, systemic, and meth- ferent political language used for domestic and international odological integration from the otherwise positive process of purposes, and the selective restriction of press freedom all transformation. prejudice the country’s chances, since from the outside the ...!e unstated needs of the weak Hungarian state...have chaos that Prime Minister Orbán is apparently trying to curb changed considerably over the last two decades. !e state’s looks far too dangerous. But the most serious thing of all is the task is no longer to apply the law to keep social tensions in redrawing of the Hungarian constitution along ethnic lines. check in the interests of illegal or semi-legal capital accumula- But apparently they prejudice the chances of the moderniz- tion at the expense of the public good, but rather now in the ing economy only to the same extent that they strengthen the defence of the accumulated wealth of the rich and the upper Hungarian nationalist bourgeoisie. !is will also play badly in middle classes, which is to say the nouveaux riches. !is was the eyes of the world. But we cannot say that there is no logic no longer possible under the guise of the state as provider. !e behind this. !e strengthening of the moneyed middle class, majority of the population, who voted for the extreme Right which is to say the Hungarian bourgeoisie, is inevitable in the or the national conservatives, formally contributed to this sig- long run. Without this strengthening, it is impossible to con- nificant shift. !e very substance of the weak Hungarian state ceive of the transformation of the social system. At the time changed, and to this change they gave their seal of approval. of the Budapest disturbances, Prime Minister Orbán, driven But not at all because the infamous Budapest street protests by the needs of the distribution of EU funds, undertook the (from the autumn of 2006 to the spring of 2007) shook their representation of the Hungarian bourgeoisie, and his political faith in the weak Hungarian state, or even the Socialist and deviance since then is concomitant with the difficulty of his Liberal majority government, which kept that weak state func- task. And we could hardly say that the more developed world tioning throughout the disturbances. Quite to the contrary. around us is ignorant of the logic of nationalist protectionism, !e street protests showed those in Hungary who were will- and of the tricks that it employs. And we would be foolish ing to see that these tensions were not really social in nature, to forget that the transition to free-market economies in the despite the fact that a third of the rural population had de- region is now complete. !e process of transformation has no scended into poverty. !is weak state, in whose interest it is more hidden resources; it pulls no political weight of its own. to sustain and even deepen this poverty, is very strong indeed. It is a success story that can no longer be sold either to its chief !is was not the classic conflict of workers and employers, of foreign and domestic beneficiaries, or to the domestic camp of rich and poor played out on the streets of Budapest, but the its victims who have descended into poverty, as the great hope war of the different propertied interest groups. It was a re- of a final victory or of a blossoming European integration. !e hearsal for a war. It was an urgent warning that the balance divvying-up of state property is over. !ere is no more left between the different propertied interest groups had been to hand out, there is barely anything left to take away from upset, and that the unstated agreements no longer function. someone and to make it a present for others. !is could only It could actually grow into civil war. If we want to, we could be achieved by a full re-nationalization ,or by the complete blow the situation wide open. !at’s a threat. Right now, we expropriation of whathever group of people was designated may not want to. In Budapest, the inter-party pact that li- a scapegoat. It is not moral decency that prevents this from censed daylight robbery was dissolved far earlier than it was in happening, but the tradition of the needs of modernization, Szombathely. !ey made it into a war of ownership which was which was the same reason that Hungarian public opinion did willing, if needs be, to risk not only the stability of the country, not accept the nationalization fever of the Communists. !is and even perhaps stability in Europe, but also the long-term is not to say that it was not prepared to enjoy its benefits, and interests of Hungarian modernization. !e distribution of EU did not have a whale of a time as a petit bourgeois in the Kádár money was the big prize. But nonetheless, the ideal for these period. But the structural problems accrued during the first propertied interest groups, whether they clothed themselves twenty years of transformation nonetheless have to be solved in the party colors of the Socialists, neoliberals, national con- at someone’s expense. servatives or the extreme Right-wing, remained a weak state ...In the first phase of the third experiment at moderni- that now worked to funnel taxpayers’ money to serving them, zation in Hungary, which is to say the twenty years since the and them alone. Transition, Hungarian society has been given the impossible

20 VISEGRAD INSIGHT 2|2012 Gabriella Csoszó Occupy Wall S treet (2012)treet

R ISE AND FALL OF THE MIDDLE CLASS E U RO P 21 E EUROPE RISE AND FALL OF THE MIDDLE CLASS

task of accumulating capital, in the classic Marxist sense of the even there it will remain the limp ideology of expansionism. If term. !is it did. It had the further task of transferring state the democrats do not want it, if they do not work for it, or if or co-operative property into private hands, either domestic there are no democrats, there will be no democracy. !ere are or international. !is it did. It was then tasked with making rich people in Hungary today, there are plenty of well-to-do, these grow, largely by illegal methods, or – for fear of competi- but for all that the country does not have a national bourgeoi- tion – making them bankrupt. !is it did – making them grow sie. It has not yet gotten organised. It is getting that way now, largely in illegal ways and mostly using the law to bankrupt and it is an ugly process. According to the results of a study by them. !e entire time, of course, it was also meant to preserve Tamás Kolosi and Tamás Keller, the number of people belong- peace in society, which it did (although with difficulty), and ing to the upper middle class has doubled since the Transition, become economically competitive both on a national and an while the higher category, the elite, took a longer time to crys- individual level in the globalized environment so that it did not tallise, and was only completed in 2009. !eir organization come out a loser when brought into the world of the interna- has more to do, of course, with the practicalities of power than tional capital of much larger countries with colonial pasts and with democracy. Democracy clearly does not interest them, post-colonialist structures; which is to say that it was expected and they have not yet found out that without a strong middle to finish modernizing, and – once this new and desirable state class, they will not get anywhere at all – no matter the size of of affairs had been reached – to take its equal place in the their fortune. !ey too, are only now learning the basics, their European Union. !ere is a long way to go indeed before these path is still long. expectations are satisfied... But the rich and the well-to-do nevertheless made up their minds during the 2006 disturbances. After two electoral cycles, they would now withdraw their support from the Socialists (who were just getting ready to distribute the If someone is of the opinion, looking now at the negative EU funds), and transfer it to the national conservatives, who omens, that the time of the strong, all-powerful and totali- would tilt the inequalities of distribution to the favour of their tarian state has arrived in Hungary, they are almost certainly own clique, and would address the epic needs of the one-third mistaken. !ey will have to make do with a boring, and in of the population who had descended into poverty in accord- its essence peasant, authoritarianism. Watch carefully, if you ance with their own views. !eir calculation included the most will, ladies and gentlemen, my hands, as the magician advised serious risk of all. !e richest Hungarians allied themselves his anxious colleagues. !e traditional logic of social progress with destabilisation, which theoretically, no person of prop- in Hungary has for the past two centuries given priority to erty anywhere should do. !ey must have seen a chance for modernization, and the best hope of successfully completing success for something in the framework of national conserva- the process of modernization in Hungary comes with the risky tism that is inevitable in any political framework, which is un- politics of the national conservatives. I know this will pain the interrupted modernization, or rather, a place as an accepted Socialists and the Liberals, who like to consider moderniza- global player in continuous modernization. !ese days, one tion their own preserve, but on the other hand, I am pained by can only build a national bourgeoisie within the framework their chronic blindness. !ey have reason enough to represent of international capital flow, but it cannot be done without progress in Hungary, but they did not do so during several a middle class. !e development of a national bourgeoisie is electoral terms, and they are still not doing so, having wit- unavoidable even if we know that its ultimate triumph comes nessed now their most serious defeat. with the systematic destruction of the natural world around us A strong democracy is a strong middle class’s most pow- and regional efforts for modernization, even in the framework erful weapon for continuous modernization. !ough there of most spotless democracy. are of course rich people in Hungary today, there are many !e power of reason in capitalism is purely local and applies more poor, and the development of the middle class already only on a case-by-case basis. !is is why capitalism in its highly faltered during Orbán’s first national conservative (but much developed form cannot exist outside of a democratic structure. more cautiously protectionist) prime ministership, while in !ere is no society that can deal with such copious and the two electoral terms under the Socialists and the Liberals it serious wants, necessities, and blinding contradictions as I have markedly regressed. !e middle class has shrunk accordingly, outlined above in less than fifty years. When Helmut Kohl gave which – as far as democracy is concerned – is the gravest pos- his emptily idealistic speech about fields of flowers after the fall sible danger. !ey should have realized this. In order to be able of the Berlin Wall, I thought that in order for the region to be to work at strengthening the middle class, they first should able to catch up in terms of modernization where it had fallen have made some order in the public administration. Without behind and eradicate its deficit, and in order to change people’s a strong middle class, the political climate becomes strongly attitudes, we would need fifty catastrophe-free years of peace. But prone to extremes, and remains so. in this respect, I was very wrong. !e region needs far longer than !e free market will tolerate not only authoritarianism, that to complete its transformation and European integration, but dictatorship as well. !e Liberals and the Socialists should and even if those transformations ultimately succeed, Europe as have known that too. !is is not very nice, and certainly not a whole will still preserve the historic frontiers of its three distinct too moral of the free market, but past experience tells us that regions. that is the way it is. Only the most blinkered proponents of free Translated from Hungarian by Mark Baczoni. trade, or the indescribably naïve, could believe that one day, democracy will simply grow out of the free market economy. The author is a Hungarian writer, playwright, and essayist. His book Parallel It will not. !e only acceptable place to nurture and teach this Stories: A Novel came out last year in English, German and French as well. charming little misconception is at American universities, but

22 VISEGRAD INSIGHT 2|2012 RISE AND FALL OF THE MIDDLE CLASS EUROPE IN SEARCH OF A USABLE PAST Who Were the Ancestors of the Polish Middle Class?

!e fall of communism in Central Europe has brought a very clear ideological demand for the revival of the middle class project. At the same time, the new economic system has actually started to produce a new social group which could technically be considered a middle class. Positivist sociologists who deﬁne the middle class in terms of income and occupation have immediately started to note the development of this new formation. It was supposed to replace both the old intelligentsia and its communist variants including the “working intelligentsia” or the technocrats. !is view, inspired by the modernization theory, assumed that the rise of the middle class and the ﬁnal demise of the intelligentsia are both determined by the logic of the post- communist transformation which will inevitably make social hierarchies of Central Europe similar to those observed in the Western European societies.

TOMASZ ZARYCKI

t is difficult to assess the degree of the intelligentsia. "e guardians of the members themselves and what they criti- to which this process is in fact old intelligentsia identity are to be found cize is usually the competing intelligentsia producing the expected result. in all parts of the elite; however, they are projects and particular intelligentsia fac- Any attempt of such an assess- most numerous in its cultural wing. "e tions. "is trend can be contrasted with ment could always be seen as an proponents of the intelligentsia argue that the Russian situation where there is no act of intervention in the ideo- its identity may be seen as a historically lack of voices condemning the intelligent- logical confrontation between contextualized form of middle class in sia as such. In the Polish case however identity projects of a class which Central Europe. "ey suggest that anyone those moving socially upward or moving are at the same time linked to particular aspiring to membership in the contempo- horizontally towards the occupations re- Iinterpretations of social structure. "us, rary elite of the middle class, or the upper lated to the business sector are confront- on the one hand we have the above men- middle class, in the Central European con- ed with overlapping pressures. On the tioned modernizer functionalist sociolo- text, should also somewhat identify as part one hand, they are confronted with the gist, and their allies in other fields, looking of the intelligentsia. still influential intelligentsia discourses at societies of Central Europe through the "is widespread insistence on the promoting specific values, lifestyles and lens of classic Western sociological mod- relevance of the intelligentsia identity social milieus. "ose aspiring to a higher els considered as patterns to follow. "ey does not mean that there is no criticism of social position are thus expected not only can already see large crowds of the new the intelligentsia, its identity, heritage and to be successful in material terms but to middle class members in the region and uses. "ese two apparently contradictory be “cultured” according to intelligent- many other Central Europeans on their trends, which seem to serve the overall re- sia standards. "ose not fulfilling these way to joining them. On the other hand, inforcement of the intelligentsia identity, expectations may hear caustic remarks we have no less influential guardians of the are particularly visible in Poland. Here we about the “newly-educated” who do not intelligentsia, both liberal and traditional- can note that most of the critiques of the deserve to be called the “true intelligent- ist, arguing about the invariable relevance intelligentsia are in fact by intelligentsia sia members” or should rather be called

23 EUROPE RISE AND FALL OF THE MIDDLE CLASS

the “nouveau riche”. !e other stream of historical regions of Poland. Kraków is and industrial centers surpassed the two expectations directed towards the new located in the southern part of Poland, other divisions of Polish lands: one under middle class members is based on the di- which was controlled by Austria in the Austrian rule (Galicja) and the other un- rect import of Western middle class mod- 19th century. Szczecin and Wrocław, under Prussian occupation (Greater Poland). els, images and lifestyle patterns. I would til 1945, not only belonged to Germany !e cities of Białystok, Sosnowiec, Łódź not like to assume a typical intelligentsia and earlier Prussia, but were practically and Warsaw were developing at a spec- defender’s position, however, as I would purely German speaking towns. Wrocław tacular pace. Warsaw became the third argue some degree of historical and cul- is the most positive case in the Kubicki's metropolis of the Russian Empire and in tural contextualization appears indispen- report, which quotes young citizens of the all these urban centers the bourgeoisie sable for the development of identity for city declaring a sense of common identity was growing in numbers and in wealth. those aspiring to assume a role of the mid- with the pre-war inhabitants of Breslau. To be sure, a major portion of the capi- dle class. Mere imitation of the Western According to Kubicki, this is the way the tal, on the basis of which the region was identities leads to situations where aspir- present day Wrocław middle class elite is developing, was coming from outside ing middle class members are put into a able to get rid of East European and post- and the new capitalist class was largely disadvantaged position both in relation to communist complexes of inferiority and non-Polish in ethnic terms. At the same their national competitors, the intelligent- create a new, open, European and region- time, a large percentage of the Polish elite sia, as well as their Western counterparts ally rooted middle class modern identity was developing in the framework of the who will always enjoy the privilege of be- braking with the burden of the old intel- intelligentsia identity, emphasizing the ing a superior role model. Identity strate- ligentsia myths. superiority of the post/neo-gentry values gies based on direct imitation may expose A high degree of arbitrariness and over the bourgeois ideals. Nevertheless, the weakness of the new middle class not very loose indirect historical linkage with there was a clear group of Polish urbanites only in terms of mastery of higher culture, the present day urban life is particularly advancing rapidly in social and economic but also the weakness of the mastery of problematic with this identity project. !e terms. Simultaneously, many had been de- the Western culture intimate knowledge linkage is mostly based on the regional di- veloping hybrid identities. !ey included of which becomes indispensable in such mension, which in the case of cities like Jewish, German, Russian and other roots a situation. One could find several other Breslau/Wrocław is largely restricted to and loyalties which were competing and reasons for which a project of develop- the geographical and material dimension. interfering inside of particular groups, ment of an endogenous middle class iden- Given the almost total replacement of the families or even individually. Two famous tity rooted in the historical heritage of the pre-war German population by the Polish Polish novels have immortalized the im- region seems needed. !e open question settlers and the vestigial size of the town’s ages of these processes of complex social is of course how such an identity should Polish community before the war, it is dif- transformations and emergence of the look like and what kind of heritage it could ficult to talk about any substantial cultural, Polish bourgeoisie. !ey were !e Doll by allude to. In other words, who should be institutional or social continuity between Bolesław Prus and !e Promised Land by chosen by the new middle class as its an- the pre-war bourgeoisie of Breslau and Noble Prize winner Władysław Reymont, cestors? In any case, such an identity will the new middle class of Wrocław. In fact, both featured stories of successful busi- be largely an arbitrary reconstruction as this regional project seems to be not much ness people making their careers under the level of continuity between the pre- more than another attempt at the imita- Russian rule. However, besides these war and post-communist era elites of tive reconstruction of the Western middle spectacular, but exceptional, histories of the bourgeoisie, rather than intelligentsia class culture and identity legitimized by the Polish bourgeoisie development under character, is very low. Among current at- the narratives of urban history. the late Russian Empire, almost the entire tempts at the reconstruction of the middle One could note that similar endeav- memory of the Russian-controlled Poland class non-intelligentsia project in Poland ors did not usually appear in the Eastern has been lost and is currently blurred by is Paweł Kubicki’s report entitled “New part of Poland. However, it is namely in dominating narratives of the Russian po- Burghers” (Nowi Mieszczanie), which Eastern Poland, more precisely in its for- litical oppression and the Polish resistance could be quoted. Published in 2009, it mer Russian sector of the 19th century pe- to it. It includes both every day opposition sparked a wide discussion. Here I want to riod of division of the Polish lands, where to Russification as well as periodical mili- touch on only one of its aspects. Kubicki one could look for patterns and inspiration tary uprisings, which occupy the promi- identified “the new burghers” in the milieu for those trying to meet the challenges nent place in the Polish narratives of the of young Poles living in major cities and of integration of the Polish middle class 19th century national history. their gradual move from the countryside. project with a wider international com- One could also speculate that among As he argues, they are creating a community. One of the reasons for this is that the many reasons why the heritage of the pletely new urban stratum which could the contemporary mainstream images of rising business class in the Polish part of be considered as the future model of the the former Russian zone of Poland are the Russian Empire was largely forgotten Polish middle class. Kubicki criticized mostly very negative. !e entire eastern has not only been its “eastern connection”. the intelligentsia traditions and as many part of Poland is considered to be back- It could also be linked to historical reasons; have argued that the intelligentsia’s mis- ward due to the heritage of Russian rule in particular, to the Bolshevik Revolution, sion is over. As his case studies Kubicki until 1915. !is dominating image of the which annihilated the economic system of selected the towns of Kraków, Szczecin region’s history usually ignores that in the the Russian Empire and destroyed the ca- and Wrocław. !is choice was probably second part of the 19th century it become reers of almost all of its business elite. !is not accidental and it is important to note one of the fastest developing parts of the was also the fate of a large percentage of the that these cities belong to two specific Russian Empire, and in effect, the urban Polish bourgeoisie and a significant num-

24 VISEGRAD INSIGHT 2|2012 RISE AND FALL OF THE MIDDLE CLASS EUROPE

ber of urbanites, who lost their savings and relevance. One could note that the domi- husband to undertake such an ambitious property that appeared to be located east nating narrative of the memory of the pre- project in Poland was the aforementioned of the border that the Soviet Union set by war Jewish heritage in the contemporary novel !e Promised Land by Władysław the Riga Treaty. Polish landowners also suf- Poland is skewed towards motives of the Reymont. !e title of the book refers to fered major losses with the victory of the provincial Jewish shtetls, usually inhabited the city of Łódź and its dynamic growth in Bolsheviks; however, they retained most of by poorer and more traditional, religious the late 19th century. !e Reymont novel their lands inside the newly independent communities. !e memory of the success- clearly foregrounds the spectacular growth Poland until the Second World War. !e ful Polish-Jewish business people, usually and opportunities which appeared in this blow to the bourgeoisie was much more more or less secularized and Polonized or unique city during the late Russian Empire. painful as they were part of the dynamic Russified, appears to be marginalized. !ey !e fact that contemporary Polish business economic and financial systems of the were, however, an essential part of the core people find in it a source of self-confidence Empire with major nodes in St. Petersburg emerging bourgeoisie of the Russian part may be seen as a sign of the hidden poten- and Moscow. !e cities of Warsaw or Łódź of Poland. !e revival of the memory of tial in other narratives of the successful were not able to regain their pre-revolu- their achievements, failures, and dilemmas Polish entrepreneurs in Russian Poland. tionary economic dynamics, and for the could thus be instrumental both as an in- As I would argue, they can be much more political elite of inter-war Poland, this was spiration for the new middle class project in inspiring for the new Polish middle class the period of the rise of the intelligentsia to contemporary Poland, as well as for foster- as role models given their embeddedness power. !eir identity was built primarily ing a Polish-Jewish dialogue. in Polish history, which makes them much on myths of patriotic movements, suffer- A rare example of reaching to the more familiar as role models. At the same ing under foreign domination, and stories memory of that heritage is Bank Handlowy time, besides the inspiration provided by of the resistance. To this day, the end of the in Warsaw. It is the second oldest Polish the successful stories of ancestors they are First World War has been identified with commercial bank, set up in 1870 by a offering a rich stock of stories which intro- Poland regaining independence in 1918, group of investors under the leadership duce the dilemmas that the pioneers of cap- which continues to play the role as the cru- of Leopold Kronenberg. Currently, the italism were faced with. Many of them are cial positive event in the nation’s history. bank tends to emphasize its Westerness still valid, even if in somewhat new forms. !ere is no mention of the economic ca- by pointing out its American ownership, Among them one can mention dilemmas tastrophe for most of the business elite, as with City Group as the major stakeholder, of conflict between national interests and well as the elite landowners of Poland. For and using the name of “Citi Handlowy”. global capital, the accusation of serving for- many of their members who remained in However, it is also slowly rediscovering the eign interests, and the need for maneuver- the Soviet Union after 1918 these tragedies power of its Russia-related heritage. !e ing between state and private institutions. were not only economic, they involved ex- Kronenberg Fund (Fundacja Kronenberga) !e very question of relations be- tensive persecution, including imprison- set up by the Bank Handlowy highlights tween the intelligentsia and middle class ment and execution. the spectacular career of Kronenberg on identities can also be related to the history Reviving some of their memories may its website. What is also emphasized is the of late Russian Poland. !ey include ten- appear useful from the point of view of the bank’s “ability” to cooperate with Polish sions between the two sides of the landed abovementioned project of development landowners, as well as the Russian “authori- gentry and the aristocratic elite, a major of an indigenous middle class identity. In ties” and Polish patriots. It has also recently part of which transformed into the intel- contrast to the bourgeoisie of Breslau or supported the publication of the biography ligentsia and the emerging bourgeoisie. Stettin, the bourgeoisie of pre-1915 Łódź of the Kronenberg Family. !at tension has even older roots, going and Warsaw were in many ways integrated One could of course argue that such back to the pre-partition period when the into Polish society. !e same could be said memory projects are no less arbitrary than Polish nobility was curtailing the rise of about numerous Poles making their careers others, and their potential for mobiliza- the Polish burghers. In fact, this continued in central Russia or Siberia. !e stories of tion, in particular, their chances of reso- until the inter-war period. In any case, this their careers, businesses and families are nating with the new middle class identity way of relating the contemporary mid- often fascinating and inspiring in many is minimal. One could however quote at dle class identity with the historical past dimensions. One of them is intercultural least one example of special power of in- seems to provide an alternative source dialogue and integration. !is is, in partic- spiration of the memory of the bourgeoi- of self-confidence to the new economic ular, the case of the Polish-Jewish families sie of the late Russian Poland. !is is the elites, who may choose to depart from the who represented a considerable part of the case of an intriguing declaration of the traditional intelligentsia projects. At the economic elite of the time. Among them CEO of one of the most successful, tech- same time, turning the interest of the new were such famous families as Wawelberg nologically-advanced contemporary Polish middle class towards the heritage of their or Kronenberg, known for their crucial companies - the bus-maker “Solaris Bus ancestors in Eastern Poland could help the role in the development of the banking sys- & Coach”. Solaris buses are a rare case of mutual understanding between Poland tem and industry. Today, when the Polish- a Polish brand known in several coun- and Russia, and more broadly, Poland’s Jewish dialogue is considered an important tries around the world. !eir buses, trol- process of coming to terms with its non- element of development of the civil society leybuses, and coaches can be seen on the Polish heritage, in this case mostly Jewish, in Poland. !e revival of the heritage of streets of several cities around the world: Russian, and German. Polish Jews is considered as an important from Abu-Dhabi to Sweden. !us, Solange priority of the state memory policy. Revival Olszewski, a co-founder of the company, The author is a Polish sociologist. He is an Asso- of memory about famous Polish-Jewish mentioned several times that one of the ciate Professor at the Institute for Social Studies bourgeois families seems to have particular key inspirations that motivated her and her (ISS) at the University of Warsaw.

25 THINK TANK WATCH GEOPOLITCS AND MONEY

Recent developments on the world's ﬁnancial markets and Russia's strategic need to change the tool of gas and pipelines result in new acquisitions on the Central European market. USA based intelligence unit - Stratfor - shares a projection of possible outcomes. POLAND ANALYSIS BY STRATFOR GLOBAL INTELLIGENCE THINK TANK

CZECH REP. Banking SLOVAKIA Battlegrounds

MARC LANTHEMANN HUNGARY

tratfor's forecasting methodology relies, in essence, on the understanding of the geopolitical constraints faced by nations, or a collective thereof. "e largely immutable constraints established by geography can be used to CROATIA Sexplain the cyclical nature of history. "e growing reach of Russia's financial arm in Central Europe is only the latest in the cycles of Central European history – cycles marked by outside powers' influence in the region. "e rotation of influential foreign players in Central Europe is triggered by SERBIA discrete events that severely debilitate one party or strengthen another. "e trigger for the current decline of Western been weakened by the global economic influence in its former Central European European influence in the region, and the downturn, and compounded by the esca- periphery. rise of Russian influence, is the financial lating eurozone existential crisis. At the Central Europe has historically crisis that began in 2007. "e European same time, Russia, resurging under the been a battleground for forces to its east Union's influence in Central Europe was leadership of President Vladimir Putin, and west. "e current shift in influence founded on its promises of prosperity has found itself in a position to capitalize from Western Europe to Russia is simply and on the creation of liberalized mar- on Western Europe's losses, acquiring as- a bloodless evolution of this continual kets in the region. "is foundation has sets that will allow it to yield a measure of struggle.

26 VISEGRAD INSIGHT 2|2012 GEOPOLITCS AND MONEY THINK TANK WATCH

Soviet Union with NATO and Putin's Russia with the European Union. So too have the tactics changed, with military conﬂicts replaced by economic competition. "e current contest for Central Europe is fought within boardrooms rather than on the banks of the Danube, UKRAINE pitting corporations and bureaucratic institutions in place of armies. "e game remains the same though: all are vying for a position of strength in Central Europe as a defensive buﬀer for their own borders, a launching pad for nfographics © Stratfor 2011 I actions within each other's territories and a way to extend their empires to enrich themselves.

AUSTRIAN Stuck Between BANKS Great Powers IN CENTRAL "e end of World War I spurred a radi- ROMANIA EUROPE cal shift in the power structure around Central Europe: the Ottoman and Aus- tro-Hungarian empires, setting aside centuries of strife, had joined Otto von Bismarck's alliance and suffered an ir- s AUSTRIA reparable defeat that led to their dissolu- s EHOME COUNTRY tion. Austria, which had been the main s OTHER provider of capital for the region through its cross-Danube banking system, saw its privileged access to the region cut with s ERSTE BANK the fall of its empire. "e Russian Empire s HYPO ALPE-ADRIA-BANK also collapsed, paving the way for what BULGARIA s PORSHE BANK would eventually become the Soviet s RAIFFEISENBANK Union. "ree decades later, the ravages of s VOLKSBANK World War II once again transformed the s WUESTENROT BANK forces at play in Central Europe. "e war truly crippled Western Europe this time around, setting the stage for the rise of ests, the region has suffered from being the Soviet Union as a world power. "e Geographic wedged between the geopolitical forces exhausted West was unable and unwill- of Western Europe, Russia, and Turkey. ing to prevent Stalin's Iron Curtain from Challenges "e players in the historical compe- cutting off its access to, and influence in, tition over this region have periodically Central Europe. For nearly half a century, Without an internal power strong enough changed in name: "e Ottomans have the political and financial system of the to unify Central Europe's several ethnic vied with the Habsburgs, the Swedish region was molded and integrated within groups and often-varied internal inter- Empire with the czardom of Russia, the the socialist bureaucracy of Moscow.

27 THINK TANK WATCH GEOPOLITCS AND MONEY

!e dissolution of the Soviet Union stagnated for decades. Central European confidence. For “high-risk” countries, in 1991 exposed these grievously sclerotic purchasing power shot up, radically loan availability diminished as well as structures in Central Europe. !e region changing the economic and social out- the number and size of subsidiaries. !e embarked on a period of deep restruc- look in all segments of the population. dearth of credit has become a self-tight- turing under the aegis of the European !e rising consumption rates and low ening noose for nations already strug- Union and NATO, which looked to en- labor costs relative to Western Europe gling with high budget imbalances and sure these countries would turn west made Central Europe extremely at- plummeting market confidence. for their political, financial and security tractive to Western investors, spurring Beyond the banking issue, the fi- needs. Simultaneously, the European steady growth for the better part of nancial crisis in Europe has other grave Union began talks in 1993 with Central a decade. implications for the Central European Europe to enact joint reform plans that nations. Since 2008, the ability of the could eventually lead to EU membership. European Union to project influence A little less than 10 years after hard eco- !e Decline of in Central Europe through financial as- nomic and political reforms, the Czech sistance and investment programs has Republic, Poland, Hungary, Slovakia, the European waned. !e push for austerity measures Slovenia and the three Baltic nations be- has dried up funds for infrastructure came part of the largest EU expansion in Union projects from Lithuania to Bulgaria. 2004. Bulgaria and Romania joined the Moreover, the eurozone – the EU core bloc three years later. However, this financial boom came to – is looking increasingly inward for so- a halt in 2007 as the global economic lutions to the internal challenges rising crisis took hold of Central Europe and from its single currency, the catalyst !e Western ravaged its financial sector. In particu- of the sovereign crisis in the so-called lar, Austrian banks and Central Europe- PIIGS countries (Portugal, Italy, Ireland, Miracle an nations found themselves grappling Greece, and Spain). EU members that with the issue of foreign-denominated retain a separate currency have been !e opening of the Central European loans. Large parts of the loans in Eastern sidestepped in many decision processes markets and the promise of political and European countries were issued in for- at the supra-national level – a trend that financial stability guaranteed by NATO eign currency during the days where the Central European countries, particularly and the European Union brought in large seemingly endless prospects of growth Poland, have vehemently protested. amounts of capital from Western Europe. made foreign-denominated debt seem Germany, for example, saw the opportu- more advantageous. However, when nity to explore untapped consumer and the local currencies began strongly de- !e Rise of labor markets through massive foreign valuating against the Swiss franc and the direct investments into the industrial and euro, these loans became compounding Russia manufacturing sectors. liabilities. However, the biggest beneficiary In 2011, more than two-thirds of !e decline of the European Union's of the opening of Central Europe was Austrian bank loans to households in ability to yield economic influence in Austria, which went from a frontier state countries such as Hungary, Romania, Central Europe has coincided with the at the edge of the Iron Curtain to the and Croatia were foreign-denominated. resurgence of a familiar player in the geographic center of the EU’s eastward In these countries, foreign-currency region: Russia. After 15 years of domes- expansion. Austria's robust banking sec- household loans exceeded 20 percent tic restructuring, Moscow has become tor also thrived in countries that, after of gross domestic product. !e result more assertive in its former periphery. decades under Soviet rule, had neither of this process was a dramatic increase With the inclusion of the former Soviet the expertise nor the capital to open their in delinquencies, as borrowers became Baltic states into the European Union own banks. progressively unable to pay their loans and NATO, Russian leaders understood Vienna saw this as an opportunity – with the average non-performing loan that the West was looking to ensure that for financial gain, as well as to reclaim ratio for Austrian banks operating in Russia could never rise again. But it was some of the influence it possessed at the Central and Eastern Europe being twice the 2004 Orange Revolution in Ukraine height of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. that of banks operating exclusively in that forced Russia to react to Western It took advantage of these historical ties Western Europe. expansionism much more quickly than in the region to claim the lion's share dur- Western European banks have anticipated. ing the privatization of formerly state- therefore had to update their business !e tactics changed, but the game owned banks, opening its own banks in strategy by tightening credit conditions remained the same. While Russia could former Soviet satellites and providing and lending approval standards, increas- not duplicate the military and politi- direct cross-border loans. As a result of ing interest rates, and scaling back op- cal takeover of Central Europe from this process, Austrian banks today hold erations in the region. In this regard, the Soviet era, it turned to its principle a market share of almost 20 percent in Austrian banks sought to consolidate leverage over Central Europe: energy. Central and Eastern European countries. their presence in a few “low-risk” EU From 2005 on, Russia used its control For the region, this influx of cheap countries such as Poland, where the over the supply of oil and natural gas to credit from the West was an unprec- healthy domestic economy and stable Central and Eastern Europe to gain stra- edented fortune for economies that had political outlook has maintained market tegic inroads in the region, threatening

28 VISEGRAD INSIGHT 2|2012 GEOPOLITCS AND MONEY THINK TANK WATCH

supply cuts and price hikes to gain po- to invest an additional 300 million eu- tween the eurozone and the periph- litical favor. However, these aggressive ros in its VBI operations in 2012. #e eral (non-eurozone) Central European energy policies attracted the ire of many purchase has made Sberbank the larg- countries, which are increasingly left European nations, which suffered from est bank in Central and Eastern Europe, to fend for themselves. Regional ar- lower supply levels during Russia's spats with assets of more than 368 billion eu- rangements have begun taking place to with its Central and Eastern European ros at the end of 2011. counter this trend, such as the Visegrad neighbors. Despite diversification efforts Russia's focus on banks is not ac- Group and the increased linking of by Western Europe, Russia continues to cidental. Besides potentially large reve- Central Europe's natural gas network. supply roughly a quarter of the continues if the financial downturn eases and Alternatively, individual nations have nent's energy needs, with an even higher capital returns to the markets, Russia begun exploring independent solutions proportion in Central Europe. has found that this particular avenue to the problem: Poland, for example, is Moscow continues to capitalize on of penetration is not as susceptible to seeking to strengthen its banking sec- its energy wealth through the threat of resistance by the Central European na- tor by encouraging the merger of local price hikes and cut-offs, but it also is tions themselves as, for example, en- banks into larger, more fiscally healthy evolving its tactics in Central Europe. ergy asset acquisition operations. #is entities, and by urging Polish companies Instead of directly controlling the flow of is largely due to the lesser perception of to tap the home market for capital. oil and natural gas, Russia transformed banking as a national interest industry However, the geopolitical realities its hydrocarbon wealth (aided by high and the avoidance of the usual allergic of Central Europe remain unchanged. oil prices) into a high purchasing capac- reaction of nations when they feel their Russia's pursuit of greater influence ity for aggressive asset acquisitions in strategic assets are being compromised. in the region will continue as Europe's Central Europe. #e decline of EU eco- shadow retracts. While NATO may nomic influence in the region and the still safeguard the military security of union's need for recapitalization at home !e Road Central Europe, the new offensive for the has driven asset prices down, giving control of the region has evolved, step- Russia the opportunity to regain the up- Ahead ping away from hard-line politics and per hand in Central Europe. Particularly, military threats, and into an era where it has allowed Russia to exploit the weak- #e trend of bank acquisitions by Rus- asset acquisitions are the new tactics ness of Western European banks. Falling sia is only likely to continue. EU regula- required for a rising power to challenge interest and shrinking credit availability tions have been set in motion to require a waning one. from the Western European banking increasingly high tier-one capital ratios #e rise and fall of geopolitical sector have enabled Russia to purchase from European banks (9 percent by the powers is, however, inexorable. While banks with large operations in Central end of the year) to protect their domes- Russia is currently on the upswing in and Eastern European countries at at- tic economies, which will further require the region, it also has its share of upcom- tractive prices. the banks with assets in Central Europe ing structural weaknesses. Significant In February 2012, Russia's state- to limit both lending availability and the economic and demographic challenges controlled Sberbank acquired the en- size of operations in those markets. In loom on the horizon for Russia that tirety of Volksbank International (VBI) turn, this will create both a high demand won't allow it to achieve true primacy for 505 million euros ($642 million). for sources of liquidity in the Central Eu- in Central Europe. In the meantime, this VBI's subsidiary banks are among the ropean banking sector and further asset is no consolation for Central Europe, top 10 financial institutions in terms of purchase opportunities from European which still has to deal with the wider assets in Bosnia-Herzegovina, Slovakia, sellers unwilling to shoulder the addi- political and economic implications. the Czech Republic, and Croatia, and tional risk of the region. are among the top 15 financial institu- Russia's most recent inroads in The author is Stratfor's Europe Analyst. tions in Hungary, Serbia, and Slovenia. Central Europe are part of a broader Sberbank has already announced plans trend: the deepening disconnect be-

www.stratfor.com Stratfor is a subscription-based provider of geopolitical analysis. Individual and corporate subscribers gain a thorough understanding of international affairs, including what’s happening, why it’s happening, and what will happen next. Unlike traditional news outlets, Stratfor uses a unique, intelligence-based approach to gathering information via rigorous open-source monitoring and a global network of human sources. Analysts Sthen evaluatet events lookingr through the aobjective lenst of geopolitics.f Our goalo is simple: to rmake the complexity of the world understandableGlobal to an intelligent Intelligence readership, without ideology, agenda or S t r at for national bias. Global Intelligence

29 ECONOMY CHINA AND THE CLASS PROBLEM

AND NEW TRUST IN THE STATE

Professor László Csaba from Sándor Csudai Central European University is one of the economic voices that is heard and respected both by the government of Viktor Orbán and its opponents.

interview by MARTIN EHL

is opinion that Hungary does not need How is the recent crisis different from previous ones in re- a loan from the International Monetary gards to the impact on the middle class in Hungary? Fund (IMF) was widely discussed in March Currently, inﬂation is much less devastating than it was in and April. “!ere are two stories: Hungary the 1980s and 1990s when it hit double digit levels. On the needs a loan as a guarantee against any pos- other hand, the trimming of jobs in the public sector is not sible turmoil. Second, having a loan would being complemented by an expansion of private sector jobs, be a strong signal that Hungary is prepared not least because of stagnation since 2007, and because of the for reforms. But for me such an agreement pessimistic evaluation of business futures by entrepreneurs, would be not a commitment for reforms, but for troubles,” said especially small and middle sized enterprises (SMEs). HCsaba. “Commitment for reforms would be to introduce a credible reform plan with the date of introduction of the euro. !en On paper, it seems the government wants to strenghten the we can ask for an IMF loan, even though usually it is reversed: middle class with its programs. How is this strategy success- reforms are introduced under IMF pressure.” ful? What would you see as the biggest achievement and big- He usually goes deep into history to explain the roots of gest failure from the side of the government? Hungary’s economic problems. “!e Fidesz government did !e middle class grows to a large degree because of trans- not take over the booming economy in 2010, even though nationalization and because of exit strategies of individuals when looking at some media you might have this assumption. wanting to escape from unemployment. Also, the spread of Hungary has been losing its growth potential for a much longer tertiary education, many fee paying courses, contribute to im- time,” explains professor Csaba. But Hungarians giving their proved abilities to start up new businesses. votes to Fidesz in 2010 were somehow expecting miracles. !e In terms of pluses, the Széll Kálmán Plan stipulated a new government, with its rapid introduction of new laws, has series of changes away from transfer schemes and favoring added to the growing mistrust in state institutions among the income earning through work. Also, closing down the exit general population, and has created an unstable business en- routes of early retirement and disabilities are steps in the vironment. “To regain trust in state institutions would be the right direction. Some deregulation also took place.!e biggest most diﬃcult task for any government in Hungary,” he says. omission is perhaps twofold. First the government could not

30 VISEGRAD INSIGHT 2|2012 CHINA AND THE CLASS PROBLEM ECONOMY

adhere to its promise of generating growth, in part owing to ing any business, not producing anything, not employing anybody. the procrastination of crisis management in the euro-zone, But deregulation is in line with the general philosophy of Fidesz, so particularly, but by no means exclusively, in Greece. Second, in it would be possible to go this way. We need deregulation. We need keeping the deficit down, the government improvised a series to revive the entrepreneurial spirit that was present here in the of measures instituted during the calendar year without any 1970's, which would lead to the creation of a stronger middle class. prior notice. !is has undermined calculability and foresight, two pil- What are people's strategies in dealing with debts? Is there lars of business management, based on trust. Business was any prevailing strategy? struggling mainly with the unpredictability of the environ- !e debt problem is not resolved at all, just restructured. As long ment. My friend, Deputy Prime Minister Tibor Navracsics, as the economy does not grow by a significant margin, i.e by is proud of the fact that during the first year parliament has 2.5-3.0 percent per year, there is no way to improve the income passed more than three hundred laws. I am proud of any of generating ability of most households and firms. !us muddling these three hundred laws which were not amended during the through prevails over dynamic adjustment strategies. !e early next twelve months. repayment scheme [of mortgages, negotiated by the government

The economic strategy of the government in the media (do- last year with the banking sector – author’s note] actually helped mestic as well as foreign) is under severe criticism. But do about twenty percent of the sector. !is is a final number from households and small businesses see anything positive? the banking association. !ese tend to be the better-offs, while Yes, I think the signs of improvement are around. Net real wages weaker and overstretched families will continue to struggle. !e in 2011 grew by 5 percent, the number of employment grew both new relief scheme, based on fixing the exchange rate, has proven in 2011 and 2012, if not by the robustness forecast by the govern- to be quite unpopular. Very few clients have actually registered for ment. !e tax system has indeed become less complex, though it such an option. is still not simple. How would it be possible to renew the trust of people in the You performed research on small and middle businesses in state and its institutions? Hungary. What did they perceive as the biggest problem con- Regaining trust is perhaps the most – by far the most – difficult nected with the economic situation and their development task ahead of any government in this country, where the stand- strategies? ing of the political class in general is quite low, according to the One thing is stagnant domestic markets, which pose a major con- Euro barometer and other quantitative surveys. In my view, com- straint. Small business research based on representative surveys ing up with a credible strategy, which anybody can check, as the indicate that small ventures find lack of calculability, frequent introduction of the euro by 2016, would be such an exit strategy. changes in regulation and the arbitrary interpretation of rules by Second, a phase of consolidation, implying more transparency and the authorities to be a more important burden than lack of fund- less improvisations, would help. Finally, returning to a rules-based ing. In our research, we have asked SMEs whether they know solution in fiscal policy, stabilizing rather than constantly changing about three hundred new laws. !e result? Ninety percent of small existing legislation would also help. But this is a painful process of businesses do not have a clue about ninety percent of the new in- trial and error, which is to last for many years, even under the best struments. So deregulation is really very important. Just a recent of circumstances. example: One of my colleagues has moved to the countryside. For the reconstruction of his house he needed 53 different permits. Martin Ehl is a Czech journalist, chief international editor of the International And it was only the reconstruction of the house, he was not do- Section in Hospodářské noviny daily.

31 ECONOMY CHINA AND THE CLASS PROBLEM

wenty-two years ago we insurance systems. #ey clashed with started to build Central well-organized large corporations, which European capitalism. How- opened their chain stores, service centers ever, it has never been capi- and giant supermarkets. Only the most talism based on the middle efficient entrepreneurs survived – often class, unlike in countries resorting to working under the table for with a longer democratic some time. tradition. I see the mid- #e state – apart from the initial dle class as small-business owners and opening – has done nothing, or almost Tmanagers of large companies. State of- nothing, to support its own middle class. ficials are usually also included, but in #e class was to be created on its own, post-communist countries, officials are and the invisible hand of the market was usually people earning little and perform- expected to regulate everything well. ing work which is not considered very What was done turned out to be Middle class prestigious. misguided. #e authorities of post-com- in Poland and It was not the middle class that set munist states fought like lions for foreign up companies which later turned into gi- investment and large capital, assuming Hungary fell ants setting the tone in the market. #ere that this was the only way to develop short of political was no middle class here. Large capital democracy. representation. came from two different sources: foreign For years no policies directed at the investors and ex-communists. #e for- emerging middle class have been imple- Transformation eign investors were large corporations mented. #e middle class – which was did not serve to which gradually took over the majority gradually being re-built – was created not of large state-owned companies or cre- the interests of small and medium business owners

as much as it KE

N Who fights A benefited large J multinational GOR GOR companies. I for the We are yet to await a serious shift Middle Class? in that respect, ated their own ones. #e well-connect- communist regime, who liberalized a vast ed former communists privatized state part of economic legislation, and Leszek but for the time property in a very obscure way, obtain- Balcerowicz, who liberated everything being middle class ing low-interest loans from banks run that could be liberated. He initiated the by other ex-communists, and “winning” development of quite a wild version of remains small and government contracts from middle-rank capitalism, but capitalism nonetheless. weak – writes Igor officials, who, at the beginning of the ’90s, He said: “take matters into your own usually still represented the interests of hands”. Back then, after the fall of com- Janke, the editor the former regime. munism, thousands of Poles went out to of the Salon24 Initially therefore, capitalism de- the streets, setting up camp-beds or met- veloped without a middle class. #ere al street stalls nicknamed “jaws,” where blog aggregator. were very few people in Central Europe they traded products often imported in owning any kind of assets which could be their own personal cars from Germany or increased through sound investment. At other countries. #is was where capital- the beginning of the ’90s, the manage- ism developed, spontaneously and cha- rial class was also not very numerous, and otically, wildly and uncontrollably. #e many of them were foreigners. When we sprouts of capitalism started to spring up. ask today who protected the interests of However, this fledgling class did not have the middle class, the answer is no one, or enough time to develop. Many of those virtually no one – because there was not who started failed, crushed by compli- anyone to be protected. cated legislation, an unfriendly wall of Two people in Poland can take cred- administration, and fast-changing market it for building the middle class: Mirosław conditions. #ey could not cope with ad- Wilczek, one of the last ministers of the ministration or the complicated tax and

32 VISEGRAD INSIGHT 2|2012 CHINA AND THE CLASS PROBLEM ECONOMY

thanks to the state, but despite the state, Paradoxically, in the 2000s, it was aim. However we evaluate the policy of despite the politicians. the biggest populist in Poland during Victor Orban, he makes many decisions !is was partly a result of the fact these years – Andrzej Lepper, the late which help rebuild this social group, or that if politicians had any knowledge of leader of “Self-Defense” – who tried to are intended to do so. Orban is an apt economic mechanisms, it was very of- appeal to small business owners, the ones politician. He directly states: “I want to ten purely theoretical. !ey gave in to who had failed. He was fighting for the support those who buy flats, who build post-communist oligarchs growing in votes of the smallest business owners, houses, those who set up small compa- strength and to the arrival of thousands who fell into financial and legal trouble. nies, those whose small property can help of Western advisors, who, in the best ho- He talked about their actual problems. build Hungarian prosperity in the fu- tels, advised new states on how to build He understood their problems – he was ture.” Faced with a choice of who should capitalism according to Western mod- one of them. An indebted farmer and shoulder a bigger burden of taxes – small els: in fact, how to create conditions to business owner, he spoke their language, Hungarian business owners or huge mul- entice huge Western corporations to in- which does not mean, however, that he tinational companies – he makes an un- vest there. In Warsaw, they were called actually did anything that could help equivocal decision. He lowers the taxes “Marriot landings”. solve their problems. on the former and increases them on At the beginning of the ’90s in !e party which would probably the latter. He introduces pro-family tax Poland, a party called the Liberal- aspire to describe itself as a representa- reliefs. Naturally, he is criticized for do- Democratic Congress was created. It tive of the middle class in Poland is Civic ing all of that, especially abroad, because aspired to appeal to the middle class, Platform. If we look, however, at the re- it is abroad that the companies Orban is but the life of this party was quite short. cord of achievement over the past 5 years not so keen on supporting in fact reside, However, politicians from this group of its government, it is difficult to find any in contrast to his predecessor Gyurcany, have played an important role for many policies which could be counted as being who made life easier for Western manag- years, and today they are in the govern- in the interests of this social group. Many ers in all fields. ment. It was this circle that promoted economists who attached high hopes to It is difficult to say whether Fidesz’s the idea of giving back some property to this party are now severely disappointed. actions will achieve the desired aim. But millions of people during the process of Paradoxically, more was done by the Law we have to admit that Orban’s policy is general privatization. and Justice party, now in the opposition, consistent. He initiated these policies !e National Investment Funds which lowered taxes for wealthier Poles when he was prime minister for the first were set up – groups of companies cre- and reduced the number of tax rates from time, now he is continuing them. He is ated by the state, which took part in the three to two, which was beneficial for one of the few Central-European politi- privatization process. Shares in the Funds wealthier citizens. cians, if not the only one, who supports were meant to be held by citizens. !eir In fact, it is now difficult to de- the middle class in such an unequivocal value was to grow. !e aims were noble. cide which of the largest Polish parties way. Of course, one would be mistaken But different actors profited from the –Civic Platform; Law and Justice; the to claim that Orban is a classical liberal. NIF and the privatizations led to many Polish People’s Party; the Democratic What Orban is trying to do is to join the controversies. !e citizens did not profit Left Alliance; or Palikot’s Movement – interests of poorer Hungarians with the from them. No middle class grew thanks represents the interests of the middle interests of the middle class. He also con- to them. After several years, the value of class. Janusz Palikot sometimes gives the siders that the state has an important role property transferred to the NIF fell by impression of wanting to do this, but it to play in this process. half and the shares became worthless seems that he mainly wants to build his It might be, however, that Viktor pieces of paper. Not only did the citizens popularity on the back of the anticleri- Orban’s case shows how difficult it is to not profit from the whole process, but calism factor. Also, Palikot is known to actually protect the interests of this group the image of privatization suffered dra- regularly change his mind and opinions in this part of the world. !e middle class matically, causing liberalism to be asso- – sometimes he voices extreme liberal and its problems in Poland, the Czech ciated by millions of people with financial economic views, sometimes he is a so- Republic, and Hungary is fundamentally scams. !e policy intended to help build cialist calling for redistribution. Once he different than the middle class and its the middle class in Poland ended in a flop. was a conservative – now he is a leftist. problems in France, Italy, Germany, or Since that time, no party has taken !is might be the syndrome of all the USA. any real actions to provide serious sup- of Central Europe: the problem with the !ere, the middle class is the natural port to wealthier citizens beginning to middle class. Besides, the times of par- backbone of capitalism. !ey are the ones get on their feet. !e big parties currently ties representing the interests of specific building capitalism. Here, the middle in power are not divided along economic social groups are now long gone. !e class is struggling for survival. It remains lines, but along cultural, or even more Polish middle class can now vote for small and weak. often, purely emotional and social ones. the Democratic Left Alliance, Palikot’s If we look at the electoral choices Movement, Civic Platform, or Law and The author is a Polish journalist, editor of the of small Polish capitalists, it is difficult to Justice. !e only problem is that none of daily Rzeczpospolita and an editor and founder see a pattern. !ey do not vote for par- these parties represents their interests. of Salon.24.pl blog agreggator. ties which protect their interests, but for Interestingly, there is a politician in parties to which they are closely aligned Hungary who directly stated his willing- emotionally. !is is because there has ness to rebuild the middle class, and who been no party to protect their interests. undertook specific actions towards this

33 ECONOMY CHINA AND THE CLASS PROBLEM CHINESE MIDDLE CLASS AT EUROPEAN DOORSTEPS

experienced a very different version of China-Central Europe summit held in April capitalism, agrees with me. CEE capital- 2012 raised eyebrows as well as expectations ism is being built by elites. !e ordinary Pole or Slovak is often left behind in the for China FDI in the region. Not surprisingly, growing expansion of wealth visible in the CEE region. Hungary has already had a long term Today, China holds ⅓ of the world’s currency reserves. By 2030, the Chinese economic relationship with Beijing, while economy will surpass the United States, Poland is only building up on this experience. becoming the world’s largest market. Shifts in economic power usually signal With a lot of outsourcing of American jobs to changes in economic relations. Chinese money is coming to CEE, as are Chinese China, already it is fair to ask if this business firms and Chinese competition. !e next relationship will influence middle class. phase of CEE development will depend on how CEE countries and firms take advantage of this. Are we ready? As such, who will take advantage of the opportunities MARTA M. GOLONKA provided by growing economic ties? If the middle class is the engine of growth in capitalism, how capable is the CEE mid- he recent surge in interest model to that of her own country. A rep- dle class of taking on the vast challenges around the topic of China resentative of the growing strength of the ahead? and Chinese investments in Chinese middle class, well-raised, educat- !e CEED report aims to explore Poland cannot purely be ated, and travelled, Weilli, sipping her café Chinese investments in CEE, as well as op- tributed to media frenzy. In latte and mixing her fluent English, Polish portunities for CEE investments in China. fact, the CEED/CSM report and Chinese, pronounced that Poland Despite gloomy predictions for 2012 as to Partners or Rivals?: Chinese was a country where the middle class was the state of Europe’s economy and CEE Investments in Central and missing. Indeed, I agreed. In Poland and in growth levels, business confidence is up, Eastern Europe shows that indeed China CEE, we tend to witness extremes. Wealth markets are becoming ever more inte- Thas become an important player in the and poverty mix between those who know grated and entrepreneurship is driving CEE markets. Conferences and ministe- how to crack the system, and those who the way forward. Opportunities present rial meetings aside, the heated discus- get swallowed up by it. !e middle is not risk, highlighting the need for coordina- sion surrounding Poland’s readiness for readily found. tion between the activities of the private the Middle Kingdom’s rapid entry into Weilli and I belong to American and sector and those of the public sector, gov- our consciousness has led me to ponder Chinese middle classes, and yet in Poland, ernments, and administration. !is is even a deeper question. As a Polish-American we often find ourselves in isolation. !e more so the case of building partnerships economist by training, the visibly increas- standard of living we are both used to is and relations with the Chinese. We con- ing magnitude of Chinese investment and reserved for CEE elites, financial elites and clude, however, that the main obstacles trade relations with CEE does not surprise those with deeply rooted family networks. to increasing investment and trade ties me. However, as a representative of the On the other side, we can observe a grow- between CEE and China will be cultural, Anglo-Saxon middle classes, I am prone ing gap between the rich and famous, and social, and political. to ask, who will indeed benefit from this those ordinary Poles struggling to pay bills !e Chinese model of growth is it- phenomenon? or buy fresh fruit and vegetables, despite self in crisis and at a crossroads. Slowing On a recent sunny afternoon in one being so-called professionals. As an ana- levels of growth, the ever-present question of Krakow’s many cafes, my closest friend lyst, I am tempted to speculate on how this of democracy and human rights, social in- in Poland, who happens to be Chinese, gap is going to polarize CEE society in the stability, environmental degradation, and compared Poland’s economic growth future. My female Chinese friend, having the upcoming change in leadership are

34 VISEGRAD INSIGHT 2|2012 CHINA AND THE CLASS PROBLEM ECONOMY

all signals that the current model is un- 2010. China takes advantage of its “friend- Polish-Chinese commercial relations, Yu sustainable. Gucci bags aside, you cannot ship” with particular CEE countries, such Yang, who works alongside with Slawomir buy clean air. !e Chinese recognize that as Hungary, Bulgaria, Romania, Ukraine Majman, the Polish Director. !e counter- without a solid base of middle class par- and Belarus. !ese states maintain good part responsible for China’s foreign eco- ticipation, there is no way forward. Going relations with China and rarely mention nomic relations in the Chinese Ministry, out into the world, for a nation used to be- sensitive issues like human rights, Tibet, Zhang Xiaoji, has also been busy making ing isolationist, will depend on overcom- or Taiwan. In 2009 and 2010, the probable the rounds between Beijing and Warsaw, ing social and cultural obstacles in mental next leader of China, Xi Jinping, paid two for which a new direct flight route was just maps and ways of doing business. visits to Europe, including CEE countries. opened up. !e Chinese are adept at using Sun- In 2009, he visited Bulgaria, Hungary and Hungary, which in terms of GDP is Tzu style psychological diplomacy when Romania, and in 2010, Belarus. !is could fourth in the region, received more invest- dealing with their counterparts. !eir be perceived as a signal that these coun- ment in 2010 from the Middle Kingdom charm offensive currently visible in build- tries, and generally speaking CEE, will than all other CEE countries put together. ing strategic relationships with CEE seems be one of the focuses of China’s foreign At the European level, Hungary was only to be working. It is important to highlight policy under Xi’s leadership. In December surpassed by Germany and Luxemburg. however that for the Chinese, there are 2011, China signed a Strategic Partnership Victor Orban, who has been seeking an no equal partners, like there are no equal Agreement with Poland. alternative to worsening Chinese relations people in the vertical society of Confucius. On the macro-scale, the Chinese are with the EU, has been most active in en- China has been accused of abusing level arriving in CEE with large sums of mon- couraging the Chinese to invest, develop- playing fields, price dumping and un- ey and at a high political level, of crucial ing an advanced strategy towards China. dercutting, and unfair competition. Are importance to the Chinese. Ministerial In 2010, a special Commissioner was es- these accusations fair or do we really not delegations and official visits form a key tablished in the government responsible understand the contentious intentions of part of Chinese commercial diplomacy. only for Chinese affairs. After the col- our Chinese partners? Understanding the Witness the recent announcement of the lapse of Covec in Poland, Victor Orban Chinese way of thinking will be the key to opening up of the ICBC (Industrial and sped up the visit of Wen Jiabao (originally building successful relationships. Commercial Bank of China) Warsaw scheduled at the end of his European tour) In CEE, the Chinese appear to have Branch, of !e LiuGong investment in and received him with honors. Wanhua come to countries where others with- Huta Stalowa Wola, or new public ten- Industrial invested $190 million in the drew or did not see opportunities. A der bids by the China National Electric Hungarian Borsodchem enterprise and good example is the offer made in 2009 Engineering Corporation. !e visit of acquired it for $1,660 million in February to Moldavia to provide it with a loan Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao in April only 2011. worth $1 billion, mainly for infrastructure cemented these high level economic rela- On the micro-scale, the role of the projects. China also offered a $1 billion tions. !e Polish Information and Foreign Chinese community, or diaspora, is signif- loan to Belarus during Chinese Vice- Investment Agency has a new Chinese icant in CEE. !e diaspora forms Chinese Chairman Xi Jinping’s visit to Minsk in commissioner responsible for developing networks throughout CEE, on which small

CHINA-CENTRAL EUROPE & USA RELATIONS

FAVORABLE MORE IMPORTANT REGION FOR DOES CHINA REPRESENT AN ECONOMIC OPINION OF CHINA NATIONAL INTERESTS: s USA s ASIA s THREAT OR s OPPORTUNITY? EU12 47% EU12 52% 37% EU12 41% 46% POLAND 43% POLAND 60% 19% POLAND 48% 31% SLOVAKIA 35% SLOVAKIA 41% 33% SLOVAKIA 37% 23% USA 42% USA 63% 31%

Transatlantic Trends 2011 is a comprehensive annual survey of American and European public opinion. It is a project of the German Marshall Fund of the United States. Transatlantic Trends 2011 shows that a slight majority of Americans (51%) feel that Asian countries, such as China, Japan, or South Korea, were more important to their country’s national interests than the countries of the EU (38%). On the other hand, 52% of those living in the EU countries that were polled thought that the United States was more important to their national interests than the countries of Asia (37%). This year’s results mark a notable reversal in U.S. attitudes from 2004, when a majority of Americans (54%) viewed the countries of Europe as more important to their vital interests than the countries of Asia (29%). A generation gap has emerged among Americans with regard to China. Young people in the United States viewed China more positively than older Americans. Close to three-in-ﬁve (59%) Americans between the ages of 18 and 24 had a favorable opinion of China, but that favorable opinion was only shared by 33% of the 45-54 age group, 37% of those between 55 and 64, and 36% of those 65 or older. (source: http://trends.gmfus.org/)

35 ECONOMY CHINA AND THE CLASS PROBLEM

and medium-sized Chinese firms rely to the lack of a visible middle class involve- with the Chinese, we have to learn how to conduct their business activities. !ese ment is obvious. talk to them; to win their trust and to build networks of local businesses and family In fact, the same can be said about partnerships based on personal relations run enterprises differs significantly from CEE investment in China. While small- and respect. We will need to have many the type of investment currently being scale Polish businessmen do buy large token coffees and drinks before building discussed in salons and at official ban- containers of Chinese goods and ship business relationships with our Chinese quets. !e Chinese diaspora in CEE has them to Poland for sale, and multi-na- partners, so we must brace ourselves for arrived here in recent years through other tional Polish firms such as KGHM or patience and perseverance. CEE needs to European countries, as a destination of Kulczyk Investments can afford to explore develop a coherent strategy toward China, new opportunities in their economic the Chinese market, it would appear that and the middle class has an important role migration. We can see the way these middle-size SME’s have not yet been able to play in this. Chinese conduct their business in Wolka- to realize their full potential in the Chinese As the old Chinese adage goes, Kosowska and in Jaworzno, where mainly market. Containers from China full of China uses crises as opportunities, taking retail shops set up wholesale activities in Chinese imports arrive in Poland, are un- advantage of the current turmoil in global distribution to other Chinese businesses. loaded and return empty. No one has yet markets to make its debut in sectors and !eir approach to business is prag- come up with what to send back to the places previously neglected. China has a matic and all questions of politics or Chinese. !e empty container syndrome strategic interest in acquiring European cultural assimilation are left behind. In is characteristic of the development di- Assets and now, more specifically, CEE fact, the Chinese interviewed showed no lemma of Poland and CEE. assets. For example, the Chinese are di- interest in becoming a part of CEE com- On the one hand, we are witnessing versifying their investment portfolio by munities or even learning local languages, impressive rates of growth in CEE, and on moving into areas such as green energy or preferring the Chinese way of life. !ey the other hand, we have not yet answered transport and logistics. are often finding it difficult to get around the question of our comparative advan- !e case of the COVEC investment Polish bureaucracy or legal requirements tage vis-à-vis the rest of the world. What in Poland is interesting from the point for running their proprietorship activi- can CEE offer to the Chinese? Unlike of view of miscommunication, business ties, and in general, red tape, taxation, and the United States, we cannot sell high- ethics, and strategy. In the Covec case, regulation are their main concerns in CEE. tech products and offer groundbreaking Chinese situational ethics came to light. While issues of racism do come up in in- know-how to the Chinese. Unlike Africa, In China, business cannot be separated terviews, currently the Chinese migrants we do not have the raw resources indis- from politics, and the Chinese are adept are seen as more welcome in CEE than pensible to continue feeding the hungry at using a Double-edged-sword in dealing other Asian nationalities, as a result of the Chinese Dragon. !e Chinese invest in with crisis situations such as the COVEC growing and visible wealth of the Middle CEE mainly in the secondary sector, based failure. Recognizing that they themselves Kingdom. on manufacturing. !e key to strengthen- were unprepared for the investment in In Hungary, unlike in other CEE ing partnerships in this secondary sector, the Polish public procurement market, countries, Chinese investors can count on and developing a comparative advantage the Chinese leadership played a game of a particularly strong Chinese community. for CEE, will be in forming joint ventures Sun-Tzu chess to come out of the fiasco Most of them came to Hungary soon after with the Chinese. If we cannot compete, a winner. In fact, the COVEC case dem- visa procedures were abolished between we should join our Chinese partners, and onstrated to the Chinese that they are the two countries in 1988. Today, there not treat them as rivals. lacking in the experience necessary for are a dozen Chinese organizations all Strategies adopted by CEE toward successfully investing in European mar- over the country which essentially serve China are at the moment inadequate. CEE kets more generally. as a communication link to the authori- tends to think in the short term. Economic China has been the target of a very ties in Beijing. !is characteristic makes diplomacy and corporate partnership negative campaign in the Western press Hungary particularly attractive to Chinese building are in their infancy. China, on and media, and consequently, has started investors. In fact, it permits Chinese com- the other hand, is much more adept at to focus on a public diplomacy campaign panies to enter the EU market successfully using long-term strategizing when deal- and Chinese soft power. With many of and with less effort, cultural barriers being with CEE. At times, the Chinese seem its own security and economic dilem- ing one of the major obstacles in overseas to use political motives to promote their mas in investing abroad, the leadership investments. activities in CEE. At other times, eco- has adapted its Going Out Strategy. !e What links the big investments with nomic opportunities are the clear prior- COVEC case clearly highlighted the the Chinese phenomena is one particular ity. Sometimes the Chinese act. At other complicated nature of investing in devel- trait important from the point of view of times they react to external and domestic oped economies and European markets our report and of this volume of Visegrad events. At all times, the Chinese demand, more specifically. EU regulation coupled Insight. Culture and perception, stereo- and even command, respect when they are with a lack of knowledge and experi- types and mentalities form the main bar- being addressed. enced Chinese management in Europe rier to building closer relations between For the Chinese, interpersonal re- mean for the Chinese that they will be the Chinese and CEE firms and com- lationships and cultural ties come before forced to seek closer cooperation with munities alike. We simply do not know building professional alliances. !e exact local firms. In fact, understanding local enough about each other, we do not trust opposite is true in European corporate preferences and specificities is the buzz each other, and we find it difficult to com- culture, where transactions in business word for successfully investing in either municate with one another. In addition, precede personal relationships. To work China or CEE.

36 VISEGRAD INSIGHT 2|2012 CHINA AND THE CLASS PROBLEM ECONOMY

!e question of China’s intentions finance, they will be turning more and blocking Sino/CEE relations. It will be in its outward investment strategies is more towards pragmatic, non-ideological the professionals and the SME business important. Contentious as these are, the relations with the Chinese. Let’s not fool owners who will subsequently have to way we perceive Chinese motives deter- ourselves. CEE needs Chinese money eat, drink, shake hands, and make deals mines whether we view them as allies, more than China needs CEE. on both the Chinese and CEE sides. !e competitors, enemies, or partners. So far, As China tends to choose its strate- growing wealth of the Chinese middle many of the Chinese mergers and acquisi- gic partners carefully and without official classes drives them to study, work and live tions in Europe have not gone as well as documents to reveal its true intentions, abroad, no longer as economic migrants the Chinese had hoped. !eir success rate CEE should be ready for some surprises. but as expatriates. Perhaps, the same must is lower than in the US or Australia, for China’s perspective in its policies is long happen to CEE societies. We should look example. !ere is an argument here for term, focusing on achieving subsequent upon the Chinese market as a window of future opportunities. !e importance of five year plans and with a time scale of opportunity for our middle classes to de- interpersonal relations and communica- looking into the horizon. In the short velop their potential and seek new ways to tion make a solid case for setting up CEE/ term, Chinese behavior shows signs of strengthen their own position back home Chinese joint ventures to allow both sides irrationality, often reacting to current in the CEE region. to complement each other’s strengths in events. !is is probably the result of both the global supply chain and market. As changes in international affairs and insta- The author is an Associated Expert in Economics partners, these emerging growth econo- bility in China itself. Divisions in Beijing at the Centre for International Relations and Cen- mies can use the synergy of their spe- and competing leadership factions make it tral & Eastern European Develepment Initiative in cific experiences in change and reform difficult to predict future Chinese policies. Warsaw. She holds a PhD in International Political to strengthen their position together !e weaknesses in CEE economic Economy from the London School of Economics, vis-à-vis the world. diplomacy makes it even more difficult where she lectured as a Fellow. China is usually very pragmatic to react to Chinese behavior. !e under- in its approach to its strategic interests. standing of China and knowledge about The CEED Institute is a new think-tank that was Chinese value concrete profits over ideo- the Chinese, their culture, business ethics created to continue the mission of the CEED Ini- logical values. !e Chinese will seek to and policies are not adequate in CEE. In tiative, which was set up during the second Euro- st avoid at all costs issues of human rights in addition, the Achilles heel of CEE invest- pean Economic Congress on 31 May 2010 in their discussion over business. Recently, ment in China is the lack of coordination Katowice. Its aim is to promote the achievements all CEE countries have adopted a more between firms interested in the Chinese and economic potential of Central and Eastern business-oriented approach to dealing market and CEE Foreign and commercial European countries. Our ambition is to support with the Middle Kingdom, recognizing services. business initiatives and discussions on the neces- that pushing the human rights card has Returning to the discussion between sary reforms and innovation especially during the not amounted to successful relationship this Polish-American and her Chinese time of crisis. The objective of the CEED Institute building. As cash-strapped CEE coun- friend, the role of the middle classes in is the dissemination of ideas and projects aiming tries continue to seek diversification away CEE could be the crucial link to over- to improve the efficiency and competitiveness of from dependence on EU markets and coming many of the obstacles currently the CEE region.

CHINA-CENTRAL EUROPE & USA RELATIONS

HUNGARY CZECH REPUBLIC SLOVAKIA POLAND

On October 31, 2010, Premier Wen In 2004, Václav Klaus become China and Slovakia have enjoyed In 2004, the Chinese President, Jiabao met with Prime Minister the first Czech – and even traditional friendship and have Hu Jintao paid a visit to his Polish Viktor Orban, who came to China Czechoslovak – President to ever maintained high-level contacts. counterpart in Warsaw . for the Closing Ceremony and visit China. Chinese President Hu Jintao paid a The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Summit Forum of the Shanghai successful visit to Slovakia in June If Germany, France, Affairs even declared that, through World Expo. Premier Wen said that 2009 as the two countries marked this meeting, Austria and other EU the 60th anniversary of diplomatic China-Hungary relations bilateral relations countries can have ties. withstood tests and were upgraded to a normal relations with Deepening the made steady progress in friendly partnership of China, why not us? economic and trade more than six decades cooperation. cooperation is a key of diplomatic ties. Chinese officials tend to view his country as the “black sheep” of part for developing Central Europe because of the China-Slovakia relations emphasis Czech officials place on human rights. In 2010 when Liu said Li while holding talks with Xiaobo won the Nobel Peace Price, Slovak First Deputy Prime Minister the Czech Foreign Ministry twice Dusan Caplovic during a visit in issued statements commenting on 2010. on China's internal affairs.

37 INTERVIEW LIFE AND DEBT THE TRAUMATIC SYMBOL OF THE MIDDLE CLASS 38 VISEGRAD INSIGHT 2|2012 LIFE AND DEBT INTERVIEW

!e strong rise of populist right wing movements and parties is one of the most dominant political phenomena in the recent decade, both in Eastern and Western Europe. Voting results show the growth of a constituency for the populist right, while nationalistic, chauvinist discourse and law-and-order politics have found their way into the political mainstream. What are the underlying social processes of this Europe- wide political process? What about left wing populism? How are globalization, the working and middle classes implied? We are looking for answers with anthropologist Don Kalb, professor at Central European University, co- editor of the book Headlines of Nation, Subtexts of Class.

INTERVIEW WITH ANTHROPOLOGIST DON KALB, PROFESSOR OF CENTRAL EUROPEAN UNIVERSITY

interview conducted by ZOLTÁN SIDÓ AND DÉNES CSURGÓ

In your most recent book you and your fellow researchers been a class of people that has become ever more vulnerable. examine the circumstances of the rise and strengthen- !is is what we nowadays call the ‘precariat’. !e precariat is ing of the populist right in Europe. There are several case an open social space – it doesn’t have an identity of its own studies in the book from Eastern and Western European yet. And what we see in the moment is an escalating political countries too. What led you to examine such a wide range competition between different political formations about how of cases? this precariat is going to be politically defined and explained. !ese are not just national histories that are haunting us now, but national histories that have become reappropriated and What does this competition look like in everyday politics? rearticulated in a right wing way – in the West and also in You see that voting has declined in Western Europe from the East – and this has much more to do with the growing about 80 percent as an average for national elections in the insecurity in social life due to a decrease of welfare and social early 1980s to around 70 percent these days. So you have a rights, the relative stagnation of incomes and the growing im- non-voting population that can potentially be turned into the portance of the financial sector in the European economies. largest party at once and that is a new development for Europe. !ese are relatively universal properties of European societies You can only explain this by looking at who doesn’t vote: non- in the last 20 years. So what you see basically everywhere in voters are to a very large extent dispossessed and disenfran- Europe – and this is more dramatically the case in Eastern Eu- chised working classes, again in the broad sense of the term. rope– is that industrial regional economies have been restruc- And there are the new nationalist political entrepreneurs like tured, and that working classes over time have found their in the Netherlands Fortuyn and later Wilders, who actually social reproduction ever more narrowed and threatened. And succeeded in remobilizing these voters with a displaced politi- when I say working classes I want to keep this as a very broad cal object – the immigrants or other ‘aliens’ such as Roma, ‘the concept. I don’t necessarily mean blue collar working classes communists’, the Jews, or the ‘international capitalists’, who are – I basically mean people who are less able because of their depicted as not belonging to the genuine community. And so qualifications, assets, location, or general cultural equipage, to they play the anti-immigrant and xenophobic cards and mobi- sustain themselves on a purely individual basis in labor mar- lize voters that would otherwise not have voted anymore. And kets, however these labor markets look. So over time there has these are the deeper processes behind right wing populism.

39 INTERVIEW LIFE AND DEBT

Do you see some specificity in the populist politics of the sion which was very difficult to reach, and much of the agony post-communist region? of the region, much of the anger and fear that’s been generated, Central and Eastern Europe, because of its particular trajectory is really about that. out of socialism and because of its particular place in the capi- Even 20 years after 1989 you see this sort of craving for talist world system was very vulnerable to the process we are the middle class. Fidesz’s rhetoric is still about making the talking about. I personally learned an enormous lot from the Hungarian middle class, even though many of their votes are studies in our recent book on Kikinda in Serbia and on Cluj in working class votes. Well I think that is a very agonistic pro- Transylvania because those were cities that really showed the cess. Central Eastern Europe has reindustrialized in the last 10 process in a nutshell. Kikinda won the OSCE prize for the most years and it has become basically a working class appendage tolerant multicultural city in Europe in 2004, and at the same to Western capitalism. #e big chunk of real middle class jobs time the radical party of Vojislav Šešelj gained mass support in that are essential and more or less guaranteed in global capital- the city, paradoxically. In the 2 or 3 years before 2004 much ism are in the West or in Japan. And of course there is a sort of of the industrial base of Kikinda was destroyed by what liber- trickle down to this region in better wages, in particular when als understood as Europeanization and modernization, which you become a local manager or consultant for Western actors, explains the attraction of Šešelj, who had consistently criticized but not all of those are necessarily real or solid middle class the ‘theft from the people’. positions. #e World Bank believes these days that you can be Cluj is another story. Cluj had a neonationalist period with counted middle class in the global economy if you earn 10 dol- Gheorghe Funar coming up in 1992 and staying on as mayor to lars a day. #at is an ideologically driven confusion of local sta- 2004, winning three elections in a row. #is robust hegemony tus standards with class analysis. #e same error is being made had been a puzzle, but the academic literature was not trying to by all those politicians and journalists in CEE who cannot get explain the process behind it in a serious way. When you look at enough of the middle class. the book of UCLA scholar Rogers Brubaker on Cluj for exam- I can give a nice example of this from my own research in ple, he argues that Romanians talked about Funar as if he was a Wroclaw in Poland. I started there in 1998 and I did interviews clown, literally, they didn’t take him very seriously. But that can- with workers in the Polar factory, a big plant that produces re- not be a scientific explanation. Working class Romanian speak- frigerators, washing machines, now part of Whirlpool. In 1998 ers in the suburban blocs were voting for Funar three times in there were a lot of people laid off as workers but some of them a row, there was a robust constituency behind him. Our two were set up as contractors for the factory. We were interviewing chapters on Cluj show how in Cluj issues of unemployment, a worker who had bought a secondhand truck and was work- the gradual collapse of the local industry and all of its ‘public ing for Polar. He was about 50 years old at the time and he told services’ – like in Kikinda – got displaced and projected onto us: “look, I’ve always been an entrepreneur – of course you the city and the right to claim the city center as a Romanian city know, we were called workers here in Polar, but I’ve actually center against, of course the Hungarians or against the cosmo- been an entrepreneur all my life. Now I’m finally establishing politans with whom they were equated. Again, long standing myself formally as an independent entrepreneur”. He admitted Hungarian-Romanian frictions are the cultural material from at that point already that he had taken a big risk, taking a loan which this is made, but they are the outcome, not the explana- to buy the truck, and he was not making as much money as he tion of why and how this happens at this particular moment, expected, but he was still having the feeling of vertical mobility why it is driven by the experiences of this particular constitu- and pride that he was becoming an employer of his own and he ency. It is not a simple repeat of old ethnic injuries; it is a par- expected to expand his business in the future. We met him again ticular development of the 1990’s that has to do with particular in 2004 and he was still relatively proud to be an entrepreneur, class structured outcomes. but his situation had changed. #e French firm that bought up Polar in 1998 had gone bankrupt around 2000 and due to li- What is the role of the middle class in these processes – quidity problems Polar was cutting down on fringe costs. Our both the neoliberal transformation and the emergence of man was not getting any truck loads for a long time and he had right wing populism? problems paying back his loan. And in fact he had suffered a #is is a very important question but it is a very ideological heart attack. In 2007 we met him again when he was 60 years question too. What exactly the working class and the middle old. He had sold his truck, still couldn’t pay back his loan. He class are and what they are supposed to stand for is an object of looked at us insecurely and said: “well, you know in fact we are ideological contention. #e great period of middle class forma- all workers”. And he said it with a certain embarrassment. #ere tion in Central and Eastern European societies was the 1970’s, are many of these stories. under socialism. Now much of the job structure that supported that large middle class in the 1970’s in places like Łódź in Po- What do you think would be the adequate answers to these land, or Miskolc in Hungary, and other cities, got destroyed af- problems we discussed so far? Do you see any new move- ter 1989. So the political-ideological project after 1989 which ments or initiatives that try to address this issue without a said that democracy is connected with the making of middle populist element? classes comes together with the actual open destruction of the To start with, it has a huge importance that last year a couple particular economic base which has historically supported a re- of things have changed. What is new after 2011 is of course gional middle class. Of course, there has been growth too, since the left articulations of inequality. #e process causing the ex- 2000, but it was never really sufficient to broadly compensate perience of social insecurity spreading among an ever-wider for the structures that got lost. So I tend to think that the whole range of people was suppressed and displaced onto ‘aliens’ in symbol of the middle class after 1989 in Central Eastern Europe the re-emergence of the populist right in Europe. Starting with has been a traumatic symbol, because there was a cultural mis- the Arab Spring and continuing with the Indignados and other

40 VISEGRAD INSIGHT 2|2012 LIFE AND DEBT INTERVIEW

rebellions in Chile, in Israel, in Spain and culminating in the sically become the financial vassals of Germany they have very Occupy Wall Street movement which spread all over the US limited space for maneuver. But I want to underline that any real and the rest of the world, there emerges a left alternative. At the political space in Europe at the moment can only emerge on a same time, you see in China 70,000 worker rebellions per year. European transnational level. I do not think that Hungary as a !e world has changed in the last year and there is a chance for unit or the Netherlands as a unit is sufficiently powerful to open new left articulations. But whether this actually will translate up really new spaces for politics. into effective politics is a very open question. And do not forget !e Visegrad countries should have behaved since 1992 as a that the new left has to be ‘populist’ too. !ere is no democratic much more coherent block in the negotiations with Europe competition without populism. rather than let themselves being played against each other by You can see also in Europe the (re)emergence of really Western forces, which they are all very eager to do. I think it interesting left wing parties, from France and Germany to would be simply just great if the new leftist movements in Cen- tral and Eastern Europe revive the idea of Visegrad as a more or less coherent block within the EU that negotiates with the Union on a much firmer basis. Visegrad has become a very important player because it’s where many of the mass production processes for Europe as a whole are running. And so I think the Visegrad left could do something there.

What you can also see is that prime minister Viktor Orbán, or the newly elected Robert Fico in Slova- kia who gets a lot of his new ideas from Orbán are implementing the kind of policies that leftist parties could, while operating with the kind of nationalist populist discourse. Don’t you think that there is a kind of “steal- ing the show” from a developing leftist movement? I thought that Orbán’s idea to tax the banking sector was seriously a very, very good idea and it was just crazy that the left couldn’t come up with that. Orbán was of course punished for doing so but the Belgians did exactly the same. So there is a lot to learn from people like Orbán. !e left needs to take the populism aspect seriously. It’s a very tricky and balanced act that has to be made here, but I think my advocacy would be to be self-conscious, bringing together the cosmopolitan project of human rights but reintegrating a strong notion of social rights and developing policies that make that possible. Taxation is one very important issue here. I think it should be very easy for new patriotic left movements in Central Eastern Europe, to attack the ﬂat tax. Other new taxes on real estate for example can be used too. But taxation issues are not something that any individual state can decide easily without coordination, especially not in Central Europe. So we need transnational movements, and indeed a very explicit vision of a social Europe, both within and over the border from West to East and North to South.

Don Kalb is a professor of social anthropology at Central European Univer- sity in Budapest. In his latest book Headlines of Nation, Subtext of Class - Working Class Populism and the Return of the Repressed in Neoliberal the Netherlands, Greece and Spain. And it is useful that the Europe (Berghahn Books, 2011), edited together with Gábor Halmai, Kalb European level itself is becoming part of the political vision and his fellow researchers aim to explain the deeper processes behind this and contestation. In fact, right wing populism is ultimately surge both in Western and in Eastern Europe. produced by a neoliberal European Union, more then anything speciﬁc on the national level, even though that is what gets the Dénes Csurgó studies political science at Central European University in attention of nationally focused journalists and politicians. Budapest, where he mainly specializes in political economy. He is also a member of the College for Advanced Studies in Social Theory and the And do you see something similar in Central Eastern Eu- grassroots movement Student Network. rope? In the Central European scene there are interesting signs in Ro- Zoltán Sidó is a graduate at the Cultural Industries Department at the Bu- mania with the little rebellion in January – the left in Romania dapest University of Technology and Economics. He is also a member of is clearly strengthening, intellectually as well as on the street. the College for Advanced Studies in Social Theory and editor of the journal However, as Central and Eastern European countries have ba- Fordulat.

41 INTELLIGENT MIND THE END AND THE FUTURE

How to encourage greater solidarity in the world, in Europe but also in Slovakia? !is question remains unanswered, but Rudolf Chmel – former deputy prime minister – hopes to provoke a reﬂection of the problem, rather than ﬁnding the END the answer. of the FUTURE

RUDOLF CHMEL

he present-day crisis pre- an integral part of what we tend to call, least to some extent. In fact, the events of sents us with an oppor- maybe too loftily, the ethos of November recent years have just put a spotlight on tunity to define not just ’89; that is to say, that which we used to the disease instead of offering a cure. the precisely measureable call, and truly believed to be, the creation Does everything related to the cri- aspects of its causes but of a just and free society and state of law. sis really represent the end of our future? also, more importantly, !at is why our 1989 rediscovery Rewinding the film of the history of the their more profound moral of freedom raises in 2011 the question of past century-and-half – or even just that dimension. whether there may be an alternative to of our Slovak micro-history of this pe- In fact, the end of the future could democratic capitalism that we have been riod – makes me realize that we’ve been Talso be understood as the beginning of trying to accomplish for the past twenty through the end of the future a few times the end, at least the end of an era that, in years. And it also raises the question of already. And even when we didn’t really this country, began 22 years ago. Since whether there really is any alternative to face the end of our future, we have always the memorable events of November 1989 this kind of capitalism. faced a dilemma, a historic choice. !is we have been through an era that might A world without change and with- is one of the reasons why I’m still con- be compared with the period of the first out alternatives tends to be too rigid, ar- vinced that the end of the future can’t be democratic Czechoslovak Republic. In tificially solid, and without context, as if discussed without understanding the past. this period we have moved from the re- really lacking a future. But like it or not, Looking at the past century-and-half of pressive egalitarianism of the old regime, the world is in motion, albeit not always Slovakia’s historical development, when- via the pillaging of privatization, right in positive or meaningful motion. And ever we were presented with several op- up to market capitalism accompanied by even though the organizers of this Forum tions we haven’t always chosen the right rising social inequality and ever-present proclaim the end of the future, we haven’t one or the most promising one. !e same corruption. Over the two decades of this even come to terms with our past – nei- applies to the Czechs, Poles, Hungarians, historical present – or contemporary his- ther the fascist or the communist one, and others. tory – freedom has often seemed to be nor the recent, capitalist one of the past So when will the end of the future ar- reduced solely to the freedom to get rich. 22 years. In the 1990s we thought globali- rive? Presumably when we have reached But freedom that leads only to social zation would swallow up everything, and the point of full-fledged devastation of the inequality is not exactly the most attrac- the market, as the sages of the day used environment – in terms of global warm- tive kind of freedom. At the very least it to proclaim, would solve everything. 2008 ing as well as extinction of biological spe- paralyses social cohesion, which formed and 2011 have cured us of this illusion, at cies, pollution and exploitation of natural

42 VISEGRAD INSIGHT 2|2012 THE END AND THE FUTURE INTELLIGENT MIND

resources – provided the inequality in the speculating global caste of financiers who tive of our own Slovak post-communist distribution of material wealth continues present nationality in a way that suggests experience? We certainly have episodes unabated. !ese are the “achievements” it is the Irish, the Portuguese or the Greeks in our history that could be invoked, such of modern society. As always in history, themselves who are responsible for their as the struggle against Mečiarism and the deepening crisis has increased the countries’ debt rather than the so-called the continuing struggle of solitary Don influence of ideologies and movements freedom to speculate on the stock ex- Quixotes against nationalism and national that prefer national solutions to global changes. While on the European level we populism. Although we are far from hav- ones. National solutions are often not all are witnessing rising nationalism as well ing won this fight, it doesn’t mean we can that distant from populist nationalism, as nationalization of debt and economic give it up. Right now it’s probably the neo- the kind of nationalistic savagery that aid, on the local level intolerance of the liberal populists – of the national and eco- only superficially seems politically more weak is gaining strength. Radical solutions nomic as well as of national-economic hue acceptable. that tend to point their finger at a collec- – who need to be defeated. I am therefore not likely to break tive culprit – be it the Roma or migrants For them, an accountant’s concern new ground by pointing out that it is the – always gain popularity in time of crises. for their own savings and inflation rates growing tide of nationalism we ought Also, in terms of social policies, we are outweighs everything else, even fear of to be most concerned about in this part witnessing a turning away from universal Islam. Parties capitalizing on this mass of the world. !is trend is related to the solutions respectful of human dignity and fear, or rather hysteria, have already broader success of anti-liberal views and the rule of law, and towards economizing sprung up, not just in Slovakia but also in movements that don’t view the current efforts based on an ethnification of pov- Germany. Slovakia is so far the only coun- crises in global terms. And it is particular- erty and the ostracism of groups as closed try where they have succeeded in breaking ly dangerous in post- communist Europe, and internally coherent units. up a government that started working on where after 1989 many intellectuals and All this has silenced those who dare the basis of a European consensus. So, for politicians believed the market was an to speak of the accountability of specific the first time in ages, we have our “claim to alternative to freedom, without heeding individuals, politicians and the social class fame”: as destroyers of governments, per- the warning that leaving the arts to the of financiers and bankers who capitalized haps even of Europe. It remains to be seen mercy of the market may produce a void on the pre-crisis boom. It has silenced whether we have something more con- at best and kitsch at worst. Many of these voices criticizing the kind of capitalism structive to offer, something more appro- people saw the state as a necessary evil, the world has embraced over the past priate to our specific geo-political weight. too closely bound up with the totalitar- twenty or thirty years and which is the !ese deliberations of a disillusioned ian communist regime and too much in real cause of the crisis. After losing control liberal may sound rather Left-leaning. thrall to post-communist “partocracy”. of the situation, economists have started However, they are meant only to encour- Alas, the crisis has led too few of these calling for a return to morality, something age greater solidarity, a term to whose de- intellectuals and politicians to reappraise promoted by philosophers and theologi- pletion the Left has also contributed over and devise a new social contract, i.e. a ans in the past. !e lesson – which we in the past twenty years, although we’ve also state in the form of a community resem- Eastern Europe may have learned better heard plenty of empty rhetoric. At the bling the European Union, rather than than those in the West – is that a handful same time I have felt the need to state – national-egoistic fraternities dreamt up of booklets from the neoclassical econo- not only in my capacity as Deputy Prime by romantic crackpots. On the contrary, my reference library can no longer pass as Minister responsible for all minorities, it makes them voice their calls for the instruction manuals for governing society. that is, all vulnerable groups of citizens, market and sovereign economy even more Additionally, this encourages a danger- of whom there are many; not only in my loudly. However, a departure from the so- ous rivalry among nations and national- capacity as an on-and-off member of the cial contract towards uncontrolled rule by ism that destroys any rational debate in government, but also in my capacity as an the rich and powerful can result only in advance. intellectual – that I am on the side of those tyranny and savagery. !e old continent !e plundering of nature and the rise who are weaker, vulnerable, and indeed is still haunted by the legacy of savage fas- of extreme social inequality in the world is starving, even though these days that’s cism and Nazism caused by the last major harmful to people and society. !at is why something one doesn’t bring up in decent global crisis. the future may breed fear that, in turn, will company. However, if the 21st century !e crisis has certainly undermined encourage the rise of nationalism or fas- fails to come up with responsible answers the overconfident claims in the self-reg- cism. However, the future may also bring to these questions, and fails to become the ulating ability of markets. !e develop- a revitalization of democratic society. For century of solidarity, billions of people will ments in Europe over the past few years democracy can thrive only if the justi- stay confined to the world’s periphery and – as well as the case of Slovakia with the fied critique of pre-crisis capitalism does the end of the future may indeed come recent fall of the first government since not descend into anti-liberal madness! In closer for our descendants. !at is one of 1989 that did not include any former com- Hungary as well as here in Slovakia we’ve the reasons why an alternative solution munists – highlight the fact that the domi- had our share of liberals transformed into will require a new script and perhaps also nant use of a narrow economic ideology anti-liberal nationalists. For this reason a new director. (which the crisis has rendered anachronis- a search for post-crisis options ought Translated from Slovak by Julia Sherwood. tic) takes us halfway to savagery. We hear to be high on the agenda of this Central calls for dividing the eurozone into those European Forum. The author was Slovakia’s Deputy Prime Minister who are richer and those who are poorer Are such options available? What al- for Human Rights and National Minorities in the and a debt discourse brought about by a ternatives can we offer from the perspec- government of Iveta Radičová.

43 INTELLIGENT MIND THE END AND THE FUTURE FARMERS IN FAIRY-TALE LAND POLAND AND THE EUROPEAN CRISIS

Lack of truly political decision-making and the demise of philosophical objectivism have landed Europe in the situation it is in today, argues Marcin Król. A lesson could be learned from Poland, where a tradition of economic liberalism and rural pragmatism has enabled the country to weather the crisis.

MARCIN KRÓL ateusz Kaniewski M

44 VISEGRAD INSIGHT 2|2012 THE END AND THE FUTURE INTELLIGENT MIND

n order to understand Poland's sumably for lack of any other term. Angela took Britain in the wrong direction, in ef- position in the world today, one Merkel, Nicolas Sarkozy and, previously, fect destroying the country's social infra- must first grasp the current state of Tony Blair or (in Poland) Alexander Kwas- structure. Nevertheless, this was a political Europe as a whole. !e European niewski and Donald Tusk are all, essentially, decision – albeit one whose wisdom is in- condition is very closely linked to very similar. !ey have ceased making deci- creasingly being challenged. Critical voices the issue of democracy. I would sions that entail any serious degree of risk, oscillate between two opposing stances: even go so far as to argue that Eu- support the common good and assist the should a state be more protective of bank- rope and the future of democracy development of democracy. !ey have also ing and financial markets, or should it con- are mutually interdependent. Astonishingly ceased to be politicians. Victor Orbán is far centrate on a specific vision of what the Ilittle attention has been given to this issue more political – or at least he is making an state should be: whether welfare or liberal? recently, and it is no accident that intellec- effort in that direction – although of course Both these competing ideas have had their tuals in France have shown most interest I do not sanction the position he has taken. adherents, and each position contributed in it (Pierre Rosanvallon or Pierre Manent, !e organization, or perhaps the "in- positively in its way, though it has to be said for example). Arising directly from this is stallation", of democracy after the Second that both are now out of date. the question of the nature of the bond be- World War was an extraordinary phenom- In other words, irrespective of how tween contemporary Europe and America. enon. !e First World War, the inter-war we view the two major European projects, A debate on the European-American rela- years and the Second World War taught or on which side we stand (indeed, today tionship took place several years ago, but us something – which is a rare event in we are not in a position to stand on any the issue is acquiring real significance only history. But what did democracy learn side at all, since neither has direct bear- now. Inseparable from the European politi- subsequently? In the second half of the ing on the present), a vacuum has ensued. cal crisis is also the crisis of the euro, which twentieth century, France, Italy and other !ere is now no European project to speak I would argue is also a crisis of philosophy. democracies experienced very serious cri- of and the emptiness is profoundly de- In my view, the relegation of the problem ses and responded by limiting the number pressing. It can even be sensed at the level of the euro to the field of economics alone of parties engaged in politics and intro- of the European Commission. Back in the is nothing short of dangerous. It is bound ducing election thresholds. People also 1990s, Jacques Delors had the courage to up with a decline in European political phi- understood that democracy can only be compile a text in which he warned Poland losophy that has affected the entire region, achieved when government makes impor- and Hungary in particular not to go down with the exception of France. Any remarks tant decisions that will affect generations the route of neoliberalism because this on Polish issues can only make sense in this to come. !e Marshall Plan is one example was not the way for Europe. Traditionally, context. of this. When it was introduced, it was un- Europe is closer to the model of the wel- precedented and no one really knew how fare state than to the neoliberal state, or WHERE ARE THE POLITICIANS? to implement it. Yet the plan was success- at any rate closer to the model of a "social On the problem of Europe and democracy, fully carried out, albeit in a top-down fash- state". It is no coincidence that Tadeusz it is worth noting the dramatic change we ion. !is is something we often forget: the Mazowiecki, Poland's first non-commu- have witnessed in the very notion of what Marshall Plan was a government project nist prime minister, attempted to replicate democracy means. We shall doubtless be that lasted a good twenty years. !e pro- the German formula of the social market feeling its consequences for years, if not ject established the welfare state and paved economy. Later, however, Poland made no decades, to come. In view of this transfor- the way for thirty glorious years of afflu- further conscious efforts to select any kind mation, it becomes almost impossible to ence in Western Europe. !is was linked of political route. !is vacuum has meant talk about Europe at all. Over the past ten or to a political decision: the preference of the that, in relating to Europe, we relate to a twenty years, a gaping hole has developed in welfare state over the liberal state. particular kind of financial organism, with contemporary democracy. !e capacity for !is was later undermined by a dif- its own way of dealing with economic is- self-correction, the process through which ferent political choice, which led to the sues, although even this provokes consid- democracies learn by trial and error, has adoption of policies intended to create erable skepticism. been stalled. One could say that, regrettably, the liberal state. In making this choice, !e point is that the European Francis Fukuyama was right when he wrote Margaret !atcher proved she was a politi- Commission and the European Parliament in 1989 that the advent of liberal democracy cian, for she was not concerned exclusively pass many low level directives that indeed had brought the end of history. Europe's po- about economic reforms – which were are often useful, although they can some- litical leaders were willing to be convinced rather the consequence of her political times be absurd. !ey do so quite effi- by Fukuyama, in the sense that they saw no decisions. !ere are some similarities to ciently, sometimes improving our quality reason to make any further effort, because be noted between Margaret !atcher and of life; however, any political initiative to essentially everything had been sorted out. Leszek Balcerowicz, Poland's economic re- introduce a high-level democratic project As we know today, their assessment was former of the 1990s. Balcerowicz was ex- for Europe remains lacking. Yet this too entirely inaccurate. !e wars in Yugosla- tremely effective, remarkable, brave, and should be the purpose of the Commission, via proved this, as did the most common tough. But he was not a politician, because and of all institutions engaged in building problems liberal democracy has had to he did not consider the indirect ramifica- the European community. Indeed, not only face. !eir mistaken conviction underlies tions of his reforms. !atcher's intentions has the Commission failed in this respect, the lack of interest in the political aspects of went much further. She sought to change but by electing Herman Van Rompuy and democracy, which has become apparent in society, and she overturned it to the extent taking other similarly substantive deci- the last twenty years. Over this period, we that even Tony Blair followed in her foot- sions, it has shown that it has no desire to have ceased to deal with politicians – even steps. !ere are those, such as John Gray, set the tone for the lives of communities or though we continue to call them this, pre- who say that the changes she introduced designate common European values.

45 INTELLIGENT MIND THE END AND THE FUTURE

!is necessarily has its consequences. could be the United Kingdom. If Britain to be? Two massive buildings had been de- In some countries, not only is the nation goes, Europe will become the divided con- stroyed by terrorists. What more is there to state becoming stronger, but there are signs tinent described by Fernand Braudel as say, philosophically? !is is scarcely a topic of clannish tendencies. Over the past two or a "Europe of vodka and wine" – in other for discussion. If you do not acknowledge three years, there has been a growing mood words, a Europe of relative stability and de- the fact that on September 11th, 2001 ter- in Germany that the country is a "great na- velopment at one end, and of trouble and rorists flew two airplanes directly into two tion". Surely, fifteen years ago, a German uncertainty at the other. buildings in Manhattan, and that political would have been embarrassed to suggest consequences ensued, then you can indeed such a thing? Equally, fifteen years ago, WHERE IS REALITY? say a thousand and one things about what Radosław Sikorski would not have had the !e US is likely to preserve the democratic happened, and we shall all end up being nerve to address the Germans as he did in model in a pragmatic way, without the sup- drawn into some kind of narrative. And his Berlin speech of December 2011, when port of large-scale ideas, while injecting a narrative is fiction. It is true that Nabokov he said that he feared a inactive Germany certain vigor into its democratic structures. once said "be as faithful to your fiction as more than he did a powerful Germany. But I can see little hope of the same hap- you are to reality", but then he was a writer Indeed, it would not have occurred to him pening in Europe. Here the connection so he was entitled to make this kind of re- to do so. !ese tendencies are becoming between philosophy and the euro becomes mark. And, of course, in terms of writing evident in other countries as well. While visible. !e fluctuations of the euro are, in his observation possesses great significance there is no serious threat at the moment, a way, the consequence of postmodern phi- and wisdom. But one cannot sensibly say discourse on what it means to be a real Finn losophy. I say this only half-joking. I am dis- that a political fact, or the European cur- or a real Slovak – and similar movements inclined to agree with Leszek Kołakowski rency, are fictions. !at is, we have taken an in Austria, Denmark or, indeed, France – that postmodern thought should be rel- exclusively postmodern stance on the issue show what can turn up in a world marked egated to the dustbin in its entirety. Not of the euro. by a paucity of political thought. at all. Its elements remain culturally im- We are hearing that Greece has re- portant. However, in general, postmod- ceived an injection of 132 billion euros. In WHERE IS THE WEST? ernism has had a highly negative effect on other words, Greece has been paid a sum Consider the US. If we recall the enthusi- philosophy because it called into question that exceeds Poland's annual budget. !is is asm with which Barack Obama was elect- something that lay at the very founda- not the objective expression of any kind of ed, we can see that America has remained tion of western philosophy, and which to reality. It is in the realm of fiction. It is mad- a wellspring of social change. Despite the some extent remains the cornerstone of ness that the chief executive of the Bank mediocre quality of its politicians (take American philosophy, at least among the of Scotland, which was bailed out by the the Republican presidential candidates for students of Richard Rorty. In other words, British state, is considering taking an addi- 2012) and the fact that the debate there is postmodernism questioned the existence tional multi-million pound bonus. All this conducted at a predominantly practical of the objective world. One could say, with is happening in a dimension that is quite level, America seems to have preserved Isaiah Berlin, that the existence of the ob- simply unreal, because if it were happen- an internal capacity for democratic re- jective world was first questioned by the ing in the real world people would end up newal. !e Americans are making efforts Romantics, who gave recognition to the in prison, as they would if they committed to offer solutions to some of the problems individual's point of view. Before the era of a theft, perjury, and so on. !e meetings that democracy raises, while using delib- Romanticism, there was no such thing as held by the eurogroup are also essentially erative methods and practices. In Europe, the notion of a subjective perception of the a fiction. In reality, it is a matter of trying these things are seriously discussed only universe. It remains a fact that each one of to ensure that things do not culminate in a in France, where threads of argument on us views the world differently; yet we sense single dramatic incident. !e intention is to the crisis of participation and representa- that we are talking about the same reality. fragment, to provoke a number of smaller tion are being picked up. In Poland, the !e postmodern watershed challenges this events, and thereby avoid the impression only writer addressing this and attempting perception. that anything sensational is happening. It a discourse on representation is Andrzej Today, as philosophers, Peter Sloter- is a question of avoiding the panic scenario Waśkiewicz. Other than that, there is no dijk, Chantal Mouffe and Slavoj Žižekare we saw in the case of the Lehman Brothers discussion on the issue at any level be- inflicting the most serious damage. or the stock market crash of 1929. yond jeering at MPs – which you can see Obviously, I have no desire to silence any !e Greek street protesters are fully anywhere. of them, but when I say they are causing in the right. Since Greece joined the eu- All this is happening because the damage, I mean that they are shooting rozone, the Greek people have not been notion of the West as a common political themselves in the foot by putting an end offered any political vision, any choice space is in decline. If the West were under to philosophy as a discipline. Over the past between a liberal or welfare state, or in- threat, it might wake up; but for the time decade, numerous books have been written deed any other model. Consequently, con- being, for all intents and purposes, it is about post-philosophy, the future of phi- secutive governments misused EU funds no longer a functioning entity. Even the losophy and similarly speculative topics. without censure, the Greeks were happy, Iranian issue is unlikely to galvanize it, be- If you put an end to philosophy and settle experiencing no particular sense of because, in France, Iran will not be an issue on something they call "narrative", then longing to Europe, and – seeing the crea- worth dying for. !is has major ramifica- the problem of the existence of the objective accounting being tolerated by other tions, since after the Second World War, tive world ceases to be an issue. I remember countries – had no need to develop any Europe existed only within the framework the comment Jacques Derrida made after sense of guilt on those grounds either. So, of the West. Without the West – without the events of 9/11. What was this? he won- who failed? In my view, Europe was re- the Atlantic connection – Europe's first loss dered. Well, what exactly was it supposed sponsible in that it treated everything as

46 VISEGRAD INSIGHT 2|2012 THE END AND THE FUTURE INTELLIGENT MIND a kind of fantasy, and for years considered that makes us different. !e second is that ideal that possessed all the positive attributes Greek debt as something irrelevant. !e Poles have not grown to believe in Europe of developing civilization. European Commission was aware of it but as any kind of norm. !ey have, however, In Poland, this helped to establish a imagined things would "turn out alright in come to think of Europe as a comfortable mentality paradoxically linked with the ru- the end". Turning out "alright in the end" is place to live, take a holiday, do business, ral working class as a social group emerg- a fairy-tale outcome. Similarly, the actions travel easily, buy, sell, and so on. So there ing into the economic and political field. taken by the European Commission have is a sense in which the euro crisis mat- !is has proved significant, because people the quality of an unraveling story with no ters little to Poland. Objective conditions linked with this group are generally very basis in reality, other than the conviction also contribute to this – the quality of pragmatic, even to the degree of a criminal that, somehow, the economy will survive. production, accessible distance, as well as disregard for the law. At the very least, they But its competitiveness is becoming in- standards that encourage European com- are likely to show tendencies redolent of creasingly doubtful. panies to move their production facilities nepotism and primitivism. Yet the fact that Strikingly, we live by this fiction. We to Poland rather than Asia. this group has come to dominate business notice it when confronted by dramatic As long as Poland maintains the con- and has taken over important positions – cases, such as in Norway, after a mad- viction that a real world of enterprise does the ownership of property and so on – has man went on a shooting spree and the exist, alongside real working people and proved to be a good thing and contributed to Norwegians realized that they were not real money, Poland stands to become a Poland's success. !ankfully, farmers do not living in a perfectly safe, calm and gentle beneficiary of the European crisis. In con- believe in narratives or post-modern fables. social environment, and that something nection with this, the Polish government !e effect of this has been the very pragmat- fundamentally unpleasant can occasionally should introduce at least two significant ic approach we have witnessed. As a social happen. It is absurd, but something tragic reforms: in pensions and the Agricultural group, the rural working class – who were, has to take place for this to be properly un- Social Insurance Fund (KRUS). !is is at times, a liability and a burden on Poland – derstood. Apart from exceptional instances the bare minimum. !ese reforms would are disappearing, so there will be no need for such as this, Europe continues to function ensure that the country could stand on any major revolutionary upheavals. in a postmodern reality, especially in the its own two feet for an extended period. !e impulse provided by Balcerowicz, field of finance. Furthermore, pension reform would play alongside good initial government, the lack !is is the point: the postmodern a considerable part in improving Poland's of any sense of lost contact with reality – story surrounding the euro is in some way image abroad. !ere is, of course, a further indeed the very firm grip on reality which the result of postmodern philosophy or the need for reforms based on deregulation, as the peasant tradition has given us – all this expression of a worldview in which objec- well as for a major transformation of the has located Poland in a different world. One tivism has been lost. For if we examined administrative system, often called the "bu- could say that this world is by its very nature things from the point of view of the objec- reaucracy". Administrations are unsatisfac- retrograde, and I have no idea how things tive universe, as we did thirty or forty years tory worldwide, but the Polish system is will look in twenty years. !e generation ago, Greek debt would be instantly identi- particularly dreadful and demands serious now aged about twenty-five is no longer fied as a danger. We would realize that ap- restructuring. If these changes are success- "the product" of Balcerowicz's reforms – palling things are happening. I am not an fully implemented, Poland will benefit. As unlike those running the economy. !e admirer of Leninism, but I do believe that long as we remain with our feet objectively Balcerowicz generation will not be around an objective world exists out there and that on the ground, we will know when we are for much longer, and it is hard to predict it can be analyzed from differing points of making a mistake. We will be able to ad- what the newcomers will be like, how the view. Because, if we say that it does not ex- mit to it. !en it will be possible to assess upcoming generation will develop, how job ist, we fall hostage to our own narratives things from the point of view of an observer shortages will affect them, how this and oth- and we are dealing with a lost cause: we can who perceives facts, rather than one who is er factors will shape them, and what Poland no longer do anything. building a narrative. itself will be like. At present, the regressive What does the Polish situation have !e frame of mind that has kept Poles quality that characterizes our country (and in common with all this? Poland has proved well away from narratives and fictions con- affects the economy considerably less than to be a curious phenomenon. Our econom- tinues to astonish me. A specific primary our frame of mind) is making a positive con- ic stability is astonishing, certainly, and we impulse is responsible for this: the fact that tribution to development. I would define it have Leszek Balcerowicz (whom I do not Poland's initial reforms were very well de- as a "pragmatic realism" emerging from a propose to idealize) to thank for this. His signed. After the Mazowiecki government combination of the Balcerowicz tradition reforms made people believe in the mean- we had a very good prime minister: Jan and the headway made by people of rural ing of money, the running of businesses Krzysztof Bielecki. He was succeeded by an- origin. Hence the unusual position of Poland and economic enterprise. Consequently, other equally good prime minister, Hanna within Europe. Until a new and qualitatively a large proportion of Poles have become Suchocka. After that, the government was different generation of leaders matures in self-employed. I recently met a secondary taken over by post-communists from the Europe, the situation is unlikely to change. school teacher from Biała Podlaska, who Democratic Left Alliance (SLD) who did We thank Eurozine for translation and not only teaches, but also owns two shops, nothing at all, and as a result of which things promotion of this article. while her husband runs a third. have not been too bad. Nevertheless, the In the first place, Poles believe in the original impulse unexpectedly set the direc- The author is a Polish philosopher. He is a pro- existence of an objective reality in which tion for change and Poland began to aspire fessor of the History of Ideas and Philosophy at money can be made. !ey do so far more to the German ideal (which was what Poles the University of Warsaw. He was a founder and than other Europeans (or at any rate some imagined Germans to be: hard-working, the first long-term editor-in-chief of Res Publica other Europeans). !is is the first attribute house-proud and law-abiding). It was an Nowa.

47 INTELLIGENT MIND THE END AND THE FUTURE

Over the past 50 years Visegrad has been looking for its identity. Countries – for years pushed to the margins of Europe – have sought their own place. Intellectuals, not politicians, have been the main actors in a process of not only reminding these nations’ citizens of their European origins, but also drawing the world’s attention to the plight of these citizens behind the Iron Curtain. Without their writings it is diﬃcult to imagine today’s Visegrad – modern and involved in European policy and European intellectual life.

KISS GY. CSABA „Ubi leones – rozważania o Europie Środkowej,” in Lekcja Europy Środkowej: eseje i szkice (Kraków: Międzynarodowe Centrum Kultury, 2009), 123-141. VACLAV HÁVEL “Strength of the Powerless,” trans. Paul Wilson, in The Power of the Powerless: Citizens Against the State in Central-Eastern Europe, ed. John Kean (London: Hutchinson, 1985). MILAN KUNDERA ”The Tragedy of Central Europe”, The New York Review of Books, 26 April 1984, 33-38. ATTILA MARJÁN Europe's Destiny: The Old Lady and the Bull (Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2010). ADAM MICHNIK “A Specter is Haunting Europe,” in European Uniﬁcation in the Twentieth Century: A Treasury of Readings, ed. Frans A M Alting von Geusau et al (Nijmegen, the Netherlands: Vidya Publishers, 1998). CZESŁAW MIŁOSZ Native Realm: A Search for Self-Deﬁnition, trans. Catherine S. Leach (Berkley and Los Angeles: University of California Press, 1981). VLADIMÍR MINÁČ Odkiaľ a kam Slováci? (Bratislava: Remedium Press, 1993). JENŐ SZŰCS Trzy Europy, trans. Jan Maria Kłoczowski (Lublin: Instytut Europy Środkowo-Wschodniej, 1995).

MAGDALENA M. BARAN

ne of the earliest der and the Russian âme slave.” "e 1958 Central Europe”, published in April 1984 books that intro- first edition sold quickly in Western Eu- in !e New York Review of Books. Kundera duces the theme of rope, and for years it was one of the most tells his story about Europe, treating it as Central European important records of European identity. a value, for which is “worth dying for”. “« identity is the Native From this perspective, we look at how the To die for country and for Europe » is un- Realm by Czesław political, social, cultural, and intellectual thinkable in Moscow or Leningrad – he Miłosz. "e Nobel history of Europe developed over the wrote – but just in Budapest or Warsaw”. Prize winner built a next 50 years. Right here, in a variety of Central Europe, bridge between Eastern and Western Eu- Jenő Szűcs’ !ree Europes provides a co-created not only by today's residents Orope. He showed the specificity, culture, similar description of a continent steeped of the Visegrad Group, but also Slovenes, and history of his continent of birth. "e in centuries of culture, politics, and tradi- Croats, Romanians and Austrians, raises Europe described in the autobiographi- tion. In the early eighties, the Hungarian the question of the Europe’s identity. cal essays was presented not so much as historian published his tale of three Europe rooted in the tradition of antiq- a national, but as a cultural, product. "e European opinions, characterized by uity, a Europe in which Western thought most important cultural issue seems to the separation of their development and is defended, where we are building a be the identity of the historical phenom- socio-economic situation. Following the new image of politics and culture on the enon known as Mitteleuropa, which con- author through the ages of the common, strength of intellect. We can find a very sists of something more than individual sometimes tangled, sometimes closely similar description in the essay “Ubi leo- countries. What counts here is the fate of overlapping history of our continent, we nes: "oughts on Central Europe” written community and culture: a story creating are able to see the places and moments of by Csaba Kiss. "e author proposes an an overall vision. Miłosz wrote that he the relevant divisions. Szűcs writes about ambiguous and heterogeneous concept had “decided to write a book about East- Western, Central, and Eastern Europe – of our part of Europe, the special land of ern Europe, born around the time when that uneven, yet inextricably linked, body. dilemmas, suspended between East and crowds in Paris and London cheered in "e third “part” of the story about West, which repeatedly makes decisions honor of the first airmen, a man who less European identity is Milan Kundera’s es- often selected from opposing points of than anyone is in German notions of or- say, “Kidnapped West or the Tragedy of view.

48 VISEGRAD INSIGHT 2|2012 THE END AND THE FUTURE INTELLIGENT MIND

In this context, it is also worth not- the power and the opposition, he wrote opposition activists. He also wrote about ing the writings of the Slovak philoso- about those who languished in its con- uncertainty, distrust, in a sense anticipat- pher Svätopluk Štúr who, assessing the crete helpless and “powerless”, who mean ing what Józef Tischner later called “an situation in Central Europe, wrote that a lot more, who – having a sense of inner unfortunate gift of freedom”. But then, in “the time ended up with a policy of in- freedom – become a force for change. June 1989, the most important was hope stitutionalized violence”. "is is precisely He wrote about the people involved and for change. With change came reflection. what Central Europe – a place where the enslaved, and how to wake up their con- In Slovakia, Vladimír Mináč wrote an es- source of the rebellion was not the me- science. "e future president of the free say entitled “From Where and to Where, dia, but “the novel, poetry, theater, cin- Czech Republic exposed the political Slovaks?” (“Odkiaľ a kam Slováci”, pub- ema, literary writings, historiography and system that existed not only in his home- lished in 1993), where he stressed that philosophical discussions” – the Europe land, but also in all of Central Europe. “everything must be preserved in the of Czesław Miłosz and Milan Kundera, "us, Hável proposed a new identity for national memory: bad and good, lowly appeared on the “new” map of Europe in this part of Europe, which soon echoed in and noble. Only then can history become 1989. the West. Speaking of the then dictator- real history and not an ornament of my- After tales of identity, came the ship, he wrote also about a vision of the thology, only then can it live with us and time of change. Two of perhaps the most good state which should be created by the within us”. important texts of the period begin very power of the powerless. As Attila Marján's book Europe's similarly. Hável and Michnik said al- 11 years later, when Hável's visions Destiny: !e Old Lady and the Bull il- most in unison: “A specter is haunting “become flesh”, in the second edition of lustrates, today's Visegrad reflection is Europe...” And although the texts of these Gazeta Wyborcza, Adam Michnik wrote: trapped between Euro-skeptics and Euro- authors are divided by 11 years, their “A specter is haunting Europe, also in enthusiasts' bet on the future of Europe. emphasis is somewhat similar. When in other continents: the specter of the end "is is a sound self-analysis of Visegrad 1978, Vaclav Hável wrote his “Strength of the totalitarian regime”. In addition for the near future. of the Powerless”, the specter haunting to the joy of the first Polish free elec- Eastern Europe was what he called the tions and the success of the Round Table, The author is a Polish columnist for Kultura dissident movement. Hável wrote about Michnik did not create the “puff” for the Liberalna, and a PhD candidate in philosophy.

49 INTELLIGENT MIND THE END AND THE FUTURE

prospects

interview by Wojciech Przybylski

Europe has disappeared from the horizon of imagination. I There will be no United States of Europe, but there still don’t know if you’ll agree with me. What are the prospects exists, as a dream, the idea of European democracy, of the European project? which also seems to be close to you. This means that Churchill said that democracy is the worst form of govern- countries sort of treat one another equally in the debate ment except for all those other forms that have been tried from within Europe. time to time. !e same can be said about Europe. !is is the Yes. !e idea of Luxemburg as equal to Germany. worst Europe, except for all those others that have been tried. It’s not a failed project. On the contrary, Europe has been a It’s sometimes mocked, but there have already been mo- huge, unprecedented success, and now the European project ments, when it happened to be like that, that it was pos- falls prey to it. What does that mean? It means that almost sible. everyone, even in Poland and even in Estonia, consider such And it’s an unparalleled achievement, because obviously, it achievements as prosperity, liberty, different freedoms, civil is evident that it is not like that in practice, that Luxembourg rights and a general easiness of coexistence to be something isn’t as powerful as Germany, but we have found a very in- normal. But it’s not normal at all. Remember that the whole teresting formula, in which there is, among other things, a project was built on memory, not just collective memory, but response to the German issue. For example, Jean-Claude individual. !e memory which can see in its own experience Juncker from Luxembourg is currently head of the Euro that it’s not normal for Europe. It had never been like that Group, right? Even small countries play a crucial role at some in history, until recently, and it may be different again in the points. !is seems to me to be a really unprecedented answer future. Another thing is that the states, that is, the nation to the eternal European problem concerning international states, continue and will continue to exist. !ere will be no order. If we talk about identity, there used to be a joke in the United States of Europe, nor a European nation. I don’t believe sixties, that if someone tells you “I’m European”, he must be that. !at’s not what it’s all about. It’s an unrealistic debate. German. A Frenchman would say “I’m French”, a Pole “I’m But it’s a question of whether we will have a federation or a Polish and European”. It will always be the second, but not confederation. necessarily weaker or insignificant identity.

50 VISEGRAD INSIGHT 2|2012 THE END AND THE FUTURE INTELLIGENT MIND

Europe looks shattered, yet there is hope for even further enlargement and integration. It all depends on properly deﬁned interests of member states and the power of convictions. Wojciech Przybylski interviews Timothy Garton Ash – a renowned British historian of Central Europe and Professor of European Studies at Oxford University. !ey discuss the political condition of the continent and perspectives for Turkey and Maghreb countries to join EU.

51 INTELLIGENT MIND THE END AND THE FUTURE

What about the political decisions which are currently be- Let’s get back to the individual strategies of argumentation. ing made, are they dictated by these German interests or How to describe and explain that, despite everything, we the European ones? The approach symbolized by Keynes- need to make sacrifices in the name of European solidarity? ian economics won in the US and his method was repeated Are you looking for arguments? there in the present times, it seems, with a positive effect. Whereas we succumb to the economic culture of one coun- I am. try and not everyone seems to be able to deal with that. Two are important. First of all, there is China. Jean Monnet in !e dispute around economics is not a dispute about true 1954 said a very interesting thing about Europe: “Our countries faith: that is, about Keynes or Hayek. What works perfectly in have become too small for today's world, when compared to the the US might not work in Germany, which has a completely potential of modern technical means and in relation to the di- different history. In Berlin, hyperinflation is still remembered mension of America and Russia today, – interestingly, he didn’t as an event which preceded bloody wars at least twice in the say the USSR – and China and India tomorrow”. !e forecast 20th century [in Germany in 1923, in Yugoslavia in 1989- of Jean Monnet came true. We live in a post-Western world, 1984 – ed.]. !ere are also different economic cultures. !ere where huge nation states such as China, India, South Africa, not is no one and only solution. It’s a mistake in reasoning, but to mention Russia or the United States play a decisive role, and at the time we’re having this conversation, this holds true for what can we do, if we’re not among the giants? Build your own German politics, because Germany makes the same mistake strength, or remain divided and weak? thinking that they have the only perfect solution, the fiscal discipline, structural reforms and then, export. We will still need History teaches us, however, that usually at such moments to wait for positive effects, but what in the meantime, when in people are very rarely able to unite, until it is too late… Spain fifty per cent of young people are unemployed, and one When a common enemy appears, it usually has this effect. fourth of the society in general has no work? Secondly, if all countries were like Germany, Germany would not be able to But when they are already at the gates. continue its current approach, because where would it export You’re absolutely right here, although I could show you in the to? !e same for China. Such an approach must be changed. newspapers a nice picture of the new Red Army, namely, the Chinese Army. !is army exists, although we are not directly There are two serious issues that stand out in this context. in danger from it, like the Philippines or Vietnam. !is is an The first one is how to convince German pensioners to help absolutely essential and convincing argument even for the Brit- the Spanish government, and thus indirectly, the Spanish ish. It does not have such emotional appeal as the presence of unemployed? Such help would, after all, have a negative the Red Army in Berlin, in the heart of Europe, but intellectually effect on the standard of living and comfort in Germany. and rationally, it’s a very strong, or even the strongest argument. The second issue concerns the political strategy, but let’s I will now give the second argument, for which I like to use start with the first one. the “easyJet Europe” catchphrase. I cannot give an answer to this question. I do not agree with fellow intellectuals who hold the view that a pan-European An open Europe? public sphere needs to be created top-down, and here we are, !e fact that a young Estonian, a citizen of a country, which the right and wise intellectual elite whose argument will con- twenty-three years ago didn’t even exist on the political map vince a poor worker in Germany or an unemployed young of Europe, has euros, and is able to get up at five in the morn- person in Spain. First of all, there is no such public sphere. ing and fly to Portugal, live and find work there, is absolutely Although there are such projects as Eurozine, Presseurop; I sufficient. It’s an incredible achievement we can be proud of even initiated recently a similar project called “Free Speech everyday. So, if someone says that there is Europe, but there are Debate” in Oxford, but all of this remains very exclusive. It’s a no Europeans, I profoundly disagree. !ere are Europeans, but fact that media, politics, press, the public opinion still remain there are not enough pro-Europeans, or the so-called Euro-en- national. I’ll give you an example. Before our conversation, I thusiasts. Will this whole generation of Europeans, who already read all the Polish newspapers on the train. Even if they in- have new Europe, be able to mobilize in defence of Europe at a clude a debate in the European context, for example, about given time? Will they understand that it is threatened? the European budget, it is still different in Poland than in any other country, right? We will not be able to change that for a In public debate it is not important, however, that these are very long time. !is is why we should do something else. It is rational premises. It is decisive when they appeal to our necessary that I, as a British European, find arguments in Brit- emotions, to our feeling that this is important, not just our ain, which are convincing for the British. !ese are not neces- rational understanding. However, if we hold on to the issue sarily the same arguments which a student in Cologne will of interests, of what in reality the European interest are and find in German to convince his father-worker, or ones which what the interests of individual countries are, then from this you will find in Polish and in Poland. !e same for discussions point of view, Poland will currently be one of the few coun- in national parliaments. We have no shortage of members of tries which are trying to defend European institutions and the European Parliament. On the contrary, the problem is that the common Europe. Maybe we approach it in a wrong way? too many pro-European politicians from Eastern Europe are I can only agree to some extent. !ere are many different ap- currently in Brussels. !is is a problem for national politics proaches towards Europe, including very positive ones. !e even in Germany, where only thirty years ago, the commit- Polish specifics right now is that Poland, or at least the Polish ment for the European cause in Bundestag was greater and government is the biggest defender of German Europe and the stronger than today. German vision of Europe. !is is an irony of history and it re-

52 VISEGRAD INSIGHT 2|2012 THE END AND THE FUTURE INTELLIGENT MIND

quires a separate discussion. But returning to the point of your ence – is as attractive for China as it is currently being offered question: I would not appeal all the time to European identity, to Tunisia or Egypt. "is is very good. It is in this sense, first of to some specific European values, although I realize they are all, in this sense of analysis that I would see the role of Central important. I would appeal to specific interests. What mistake Europe. But not as an independent actor. did Ms. Merkel make? Her mistake didn’t lie in the fact that she didn’t talk about Europe. It lay in the fact that from the Central Europe is also in some sense an engine driving Eu- very beginning she hadn’t spoken of German economic and rope. Let’s take enlargement for example, which set in mo- political interests, according to which the eurozone should be tion the processes of integrating the European Union. To saved, because if we don’t do this today, tomorrow it will cost cite the words of Ivan Krastev from several years ago – Eu- us more. After all, Germany earned a great deal on the euro. rope exists as long as it’s enlarging and wants to enlarge. It’s a fact, although Germans themselves say different things I would say that in a sense, the whole history of the European about the euro. In the macroeconomic sense it’s obvious. In Union is a history of enlargement. First six countries, then Poland and in France we can have a calm, but calm debate Britain, Ireland and the other ones. Before every enlargement, about the national interests, and only later check which ones at the beginning they would say that it’s impossible, and each are common, where we converge and where we diverge. I’m time it turned out to be the other way round. I think that in eighty percent sure, if we’re talking about a fifteen-year pros- old Europe – and I mean both historically and demographi- pect, that there will be a convergence of interests in Europe. cally – we didn’t have such advantages. In the foreseeable future, the United States of America is not going to enlarge. For But let’s take an example. Businesses in Great Britain pre- what we know, Canada doesn’t want to join the USA, and the fer to outsource their production to China rather than Cen- USA doesn’t want Mexico… If we look at the Middle East and tral Europe. How can those interests possible converge in Central Asia, we can see the prospect of geopolitical changes. global economy? Turkey and Ukraine are two countries absolutely decisive for I see. Competition, competition. this direction. My vision of Europe holds that in ten to fifteen years Turkey and Ukraine will be members of the European It’s not that obvious that we compete with China for Great Union, and I’m not saying this to cause disintegration. On the Britain or for Germany, but after all, such divisions do exist. contrary, I think it will strengthen integration. In the 2011“Transatlantic Trends” survey by the German Marshal Fund, the attitudes and hopes related to China di- What about the Mediterranean Basin? Do you think we vide Central Europe and countries such as France, Britain should open to other countries? or even Germany. It’s a very good question, to which I don’t have a clear answer I see, but we can also look at it differently and say that we yet. You need to consider that Morocco is the only country need to negotiate rules of the game with China, for example, which filed an application for membership, but got a response as far as intellectual property is concerned. And this requires from the EU, saying that it cannot join in principle, as it is cooperation. not a European country. As a historian I wouldn’t dare to give Back to Central Europe, I am one of the few who from such a definite argument; that Turkey is a European country time to time speak about Central Europe. You may notice that and Morocco is not. So it’s not a cultural choice, it’s a strategic a return to the notion of Eastern Europe is quite widespread choice. Today, only Turkey is ready in terms of political, eco- right now and that very few people talk about Central Europe. nomic, and military development and the Maghreb is not. But And the problem is that Poland, which has huge achievements in twenty years? and is commonly seen as one of the big six countries of the European Union, which means that it has something to say, The roots of Roman civilization? that it is a power, when it takes the floor on the European fo- Judaism, Christianity, and Ancient Greece philosophies were rum, 90 out of 100 times it will talk about Eastern Europe and all in some sense contained in Rome. Rome was of course in nothing else. Where is the Polish voice on the Arab Spring, what is now Istanbul, but Rome was also in the Maghreb. So where is the Polish voice on India or China? "e partnership even in this sense, deeply historical, we can imagine that, but in Europe means of course that when it comes to Maghreb, it not today. Today, I wouldn’t say that Tunisia should be ac- is Spain and France that have the last word, when it comes to cepted as a candidate. Borderlands, Ukraine, it is Poland which should have the last word. It’s obvious. However, European partnership also means And what about Ukraine? that Spain has something to say about Ukraine, and Poland has Ukraine, absolutely! Not with Ms. Tymoshenko in prison, something to say about Maghreb. however.

We recently had a China-Central Europe summit. Does Kraków, May 2012 such a forum have a raison d’être? !e conversation was originally held in Polish. Translated from Polish I’m not convinced. I think that what is most important is the by Natalia Kertyczak. We would like to thank Villa Decius for facilitating this context of the European Union. Europe will be an important conversation. actor as a whole, or there will be no Europe at all. In this case, Germany is too small, Central Europe is too small and Britain is too small. On the other hand, we need to remember that China is a country still formally run by a communist party. "e experience of this region – the post-communist experi-

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UKRAINIAN STAGNARCHY BURIES THE EASTERN PARTNERSHIP AS WE KNOW IT

54 VISEGRAD INSIGHT 2|2012 EASTERN AND TRANSATLANTIC RELATIONS VISEGRAD ABROAD

!e recent controversy ability to affect other policies of the EU. of a reset in EU-Ukraine relations, and Moreover, because of direct geographical a reset of the EaP, are close to zero. First, between the EU and proximity, the V4 countries are expected Yanukovych’s government has lost the Ukraine over the jailing of to be the main beneficiaries of a DCFTA trust of most EU governments. Even if Yulia Tymoshenko, which with Ukraine. A DCFTA would bring Tymoshenko and other former officials new impetus to their trade with Ukraine, are released, a Ukrainian government prevented both sides including regional development of their under Yanukovych would hardly be an from the signature of the backwoods on the border with Ukraine. acceptable political partner for the EU. However, it is not going to become a real- Moreover, the October 2012 par- Association Agreement, ity any time soon. liamentary elections in Ukraine will not marks the end of the !e core of the EaP offer, the estab- bring a political change to Ukraine since Eastern Partnership (EaP) lishment of a new contractual framework the formation of a government falls un- with partner countries, is not a feasible der the president. !e most that can be as we know it. It poses scenario in the foreseeable future. It took expected from the upcoming parliamen- a specific challenge to the five years for Ukraine (from 2007) to ne- tary elections is that a clearer picture V4 countries since the EaP gotiate a new technical agreement with of Ukrainians’ political preferences will the EU. Moldova and Georgia, the main emerge. Even if an opposition candidate is declared to be the top contenders to take over the leadership would manage to win the presidential priority of V4 regional within the EaP, launched their respective campaign in 2015, the recent history of talks in 2010. Armenia, Azerbaijan and the Orange government shows that a po- cooperation, and Ukraine Belarus expressed far less political will to litically stable government in Ukraine is the direct neighbor of fully engage with the EU within EaP, and without the participation of Yanukovych’s the three of them. If the EU are far from being able to meet the politi- Party of Regions is an impossible mis- cal and economic criteria to conclude AAs sion. !e Party of Regions represents the fails to reset the EaP, the with the EU. political interests of the most influential V4 countries will lose an Unlike Ukraine, the administrative businesses in Ukraine that control (ac- important tool to promote capacities of Moldova and Georgia are cording to experts) between 60 to 70% much weaker. In addition, Chisinau and of the country’s GDP. No government their interests vis-à-vis Tbilisi cannot provide for the implemen- in Ukraine can survive for long if it rules Ukraine. tation of the agreed provisions on the en- against the interests of the Ukrainian oli- tire territory of their states, since they do garchs. In sum, if Ukraine is to have any not control them fully. Moreover, reforms form of a stable government in the years ALEXANDER DULEBA in partner countries became a hostage of to come, Yanukovych and his party will talks on AAs. !e Ukrainian government have to be a part of it. became less prepared to move ahead with !e Tymoshenko case is not the he EaP in its present shape reforms in specific agreed upon sectors in sole reason for the EU’s deteriorating is an unsustainable project. the Association Agreement (in October relations with Ukraine. !ere is a real !e deteriorating political 2009) before the conclusion of the DCFTA danger that the EU’s debt crisis might situation in partner coun- (in October 2011). Conversely, EU lever- not only undermine funding for the EaP, tries over the last few years age against the Ukrainian government has but could also divert the EU’s attention proves that the EaP has weakened when it comes to the imple- away from the initiative. Politically, the not met its ultimate goal. mentation of sectoral reforms. Continuing EaP enjoys less support from EU mem- It has not strengthened uncertainty over the future of the AA un- ber states than in the past. !e perceived democratic institutions and the rule of dermines the capacity of the EaP to push problem with the rule of law in Ukraine is Tlaw in partner countries. Moreover, the the reform process in Ukraine. If the EaP only a small part of the EU’s approach to- ambitious efforts of the EU to sign Asso- cannot achieve the establishment of new ward Ukraine. Indeed, there is a ground ciation Agreements (AA), including Deep contractual relations with partner coun- for doubts about the fairness of legal pro- and Comprehensive Free Trade Areas tries nor facilitate reforms in partner ceedings against Tymoshenko. One can (DCFTA), is something that the partner countries, it means the organization has refer here to the Venice Commission, countries do not have either the political lost its sense of purpose. which warned that the Ukrainian ju- will or administrative capacities to cope Most leaders of EU member states, dicial system risks being politicized with. including the Visegrad Four, firmly be- because of a five-year probationary pe- A toothless EaP will marginalize the lieve that the criminal charges brought riod for judges. According to the Venice role of the V4 countries within the EU. against former Prime Minister Yulia Commission, “during the first temporary With the EaP falling lower on the list of Tymoshenko, former Interior Minister appointment, judges have less room for EU priorities, the capacity of the V4 coun- Yuriy Lutsenko and other representatives independence from political power, both tries to collectively shape the EU’s external of the Orange government are politically executive and legislative.” !e judge who relations will diminish. !e weakened po- motivated. Unless the current political sentenced Tymoshenko to seven years in sition of the V4 countries within the EU’s momentum in EU–Ukraine relations prison for the gas deal with Russia was Common Foreign and Security Policy change, the dynamism of the whole EaP appointed by the Parliament to serve his (CFSP), sooner or later, will limit their project is undermined. But the chances first probationary period. According to

55 VISEGRAD ABROAD EASTERN AND TRANSATLANTIC RELATIONS

European standards of justice, if one can the sluggish rate of transition in Ukraine !e reform of the EaP is a must if the raise doubts about any single aspect of compared to its Visegrad neighbors during EU wants to continue its effort to assist the legal proceeding, one can doubt the the 1990s, he came up with the concept of partner countries in their reform process- rightness of the final outcome. a “stagnarchy” – a combination of “stagna- es and to bring them into the zone of the Nevertheless, it is a fact that tion” and “oligarchy.” Voznyak argues that EU’s four freedoms: the free movement of Tymoshenko signed a disadvantageous the forces that brought Ukraine independ- goods, capital, services, and persons. gas contract with Russia in January 2009. ence are the former Soviet nomenklatura !e EU needs more flexibility in its Ukraine accepted a base price of $450 per and the new oligarchs. Stagnarchs are satis- institutional approach toward the partner thousand cm of Russian gas and agreed to fied with the existing state of affairs, as they countries so that the sectoral part of the import 52 bcm of gas from Russia per year, control political power, as well as the coun- AAs can be separated from the DCFTAs, over a 10-year period. !is means Ukraine try’s economy. !ey survived the transition in order to make the whole EaP pro- is paying the highest price for Russian gas from a state-planned economy to a market ject more dynamic. After all, Azerbaijan of any European country. Led by Prime one; however, they are interested in neither (which is not in the WTO) leads on Minister Mykola Azarov, Yanukovych’s political reforms nor the development of talks on an AA while it cannot engage in government has been trying to renego- civil society since that might endanger their DCFTA talks. Once the EU and an Eastern tiate the contract. It considers $250 per power status. !e same concern drives the partner country agree on an AA, the sec- thousand cm of gas to be a fair price for stagnarchs’ perspectives on Ukraine’s for- toral part of the treaty should enter into Ukraine, a price which would be compa- eign policy. !ey do not need integration force. !is would enhance EU leverage rable to what other European consumers with Russia or the EU, since they do not over the reform process in the EaP coun- pay to Gazprom. want foreign capital to endanger their po- tries by strengthening the main EaP im- Ukraine does not need to import 52 sitions. !e outcome is a lasting stagnation, plementation instrument (for example, billion cm of gas from Russia and wants a general feeling of a never-ending present, the Association Agenda in Ukraine and to reduce its annual import to 27 bcm. with no future political, economic, or soci- the Action Plans in other EaP countries). However, since the contract includes etal transition. !e opportunity for an EaP country a “take or pay” clause, Ukraine has to Voznyak’s concept of stagnarchy to conclude a sectoral agreement with the pay for gas it cannot use. In other words, helps to explain the nature of Ukraine’s for- EU should be given only to those countries Ukraine pays about $1 billion a year to eign policy under Yanukovych much better that are ready to fully accept the respective Russia for gas it does not use, in addition than stereotyped concepts of a “pro-Rus- sectoral acquis of the EU. Once fully com- to paying a highly inflated price for what it sian” Yanukovych, versus a “pro-European” pliant in a given policy sector, the partner does use. It is not a bad deal for Russia, and Tymoshenko. In other words, the transition country may obtain observer status in EU a terrible one for Ukraine. Indeed, there process of Ukraine is fettered in a different institutions. EaP countries should be given is ground for doubts about Tymoshenko’s place. EU leaders fail to understand this. transparent and clear benchmarks so that intentions when she negotiated the con- And the Ukrainian stagnarchs can hardly they know where they stand with the EU. tract. Of course, that does not mean that absorb EU criticism directed against what Observer status for countries with secto- she committed crimes or should be denied they consider to be marginal details in the ral agreements should be fundamental in fair legal proceedings. criminal charges brought against a former the EaP because it corresponds with the All this has potential consequences leader who caused billions of dollars of declared need to enhance the EU commit- for V4 countries. Most importantly, a bad damage to their country. ments to its Eastern neighbors, and vice deal between Russia and Ukraine means !e EU should not give up its ef- versa. the continuation of their conflict, and forts to assist Ukraine’s transformation. From the very beginning, the aim of a constant threat that supplies of Russian But it is time to change the tools. !e road the ENP/EaP has been to assist partner hydrocarbons flowing through Ukraine to to a better-governed Ukraine does not countries in implementing reforms in line Central Europe might stop again. lead through idealizing Tymoshenko, nor with EU standards and policies. !erefore, When Russian President Vladimir through premature attempts to sign an AA the success of the EaP should be measured Putin made a gas deal with Tymoshenko and a DCFTA. by the quantity and quality of the reforms in January 2009, he was clear about the Under the given conditions, Ukraine it has facilitated in the partner countries. condition under which Russia would be is lost to the EaP. Consequently, the EaP !e revitalization of the EaP is a must for ready to change it: Ukraine should join without Ukraine should be a different con- the V4 countries. Otherwise, they should the Customs Union with Russia, Belarus, cept. Moldova and Georgia cannot save 1) accept a marginalization of their role and Kazakhstan. !us, both Russia and the EaP in its present shape. Chisinau and within the EU, and 2) abandon their in- the EU expect Ukraine to make the final Tbilisi do have much weaker administrative terests in the Eastern neighborhood with strategic choice on its international align- capacities in comparison with Ukraine, and regard to Ukraine. ment. However, the Ukrainian political es- furthermore, they do not control entire ter- First published in www.visegradrevue.eu tablishment is not yet ready to make that ritories of their states. With the separatist choice even twenty years after the coun- entities of Transnistria, South Ossetia and The author is the director of the Research Centre try became an independent state. !is Abkhazia, Moldova and Georgia cannot of the Slovak Foreign Policy Association. His re- is a phenomenon which makes Ukraine guarantee the implementation of DCFTA search and publishing activities focus on foreign a special case among post-Soviet, post- provisions within the whole customs ter- policy of Slovakia and relations with Eastern communist European countries. ritories of their states. EU member states neighbors, including the EU´s Eastern Partner- When Taras Voznyak, editor-in- hardly could be interested in creating new ship policy. chief of the Lviv based Yi journal, analyzed black holes within the EU common market.

56 VISEGRAD INSIGHT 2|2012 EASTERN AND TRANSATLANTIC RELATIONS VISEGRAD ABROAD

In the past two decades, the states of Central Europe have entered the American consciousness in a remarkable way. “Not so very long ago, one of these states was famously described by then-British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain as “a far away country” populated by “people of whom we know nothing.” In the early 1990s, even the present author (a Czech expatriate living in the United States) remembers ﬁ elding questions from curious American classmates on what surely must have been the diﬃ cult realities of a childhood living in mud huts and hunting for daily sustenance—cheeky perhaps, but demonstrative.

ROBERT KRON

mall though they still Iron Curtain. No longer the vassals of accession into the North Atlantic Treaty may be, in today’s glo- some distant king or satellites of some Organization (NATO) and the European balized, digital age they greater power the Visegrád states have Union (EU). are no longer quite so become fully fl edged, sovereign, and con- With the benefi t of hindsight, we far away, and they have tributory members of the Euro-Atlantic can say that it achieved its purpose mar- become places which community and, despite some lingering velously. Buoyed by favorable geopolitical we actually now know warts, mostly economically vibrant and winds and an easily defi nable common a great deal. Places politically mature democracies. port of destination, the ship of regional such as Budapest and Prague have be- Just two decades from the Warsaw cooperation was able to sail its passen- Scome the darlings of students across the Pact, they are considered among the gers swiftly across turbulent and uncer- United States reviewing their university United States’ staunchest and most retain waters with record speed. Having study abroad options, of businessmen spected allies. How this was achieved achieved its purpose however, it was looking for new investment climates, and has been the subject of many books, quickly all but forgotten, languishing in of couples searching for honeymoon des- but in a woefully simplistic summary we port for half a decade as the sailors were tinations. Statesmen such as Václav Havel can say at least the following: visionary enjoying their shore leave, and widely and Lech Wałesa have become household leadership (as mentioned above), deter- considered a memorable but ultimately names, fi nding their way into many po- mination, international assistance, a sin- moribund vehicle. litical speeches and lending their clout to gularity of purpose, and sound strategy. In the past two years this reality many Washington events. On the latter point, enter an un- has changed, catching many by surprise. # is shift in cultural perception, sung hero: the Visegrád Group (V4). Sparked under concerted Hungarian from distant backwaters of the ‘other’ Founded in 1991, the V4—an informal and Slovak stewardship, the Visegrád Europe, to trendy and desirable hotspots regional alliance of the Czech Republic, Group has embarked on a sort of renais- of the ‘new’ Europe, cannot be disen- Hungary, Poland, and Slovakia—was de- sance and come crashing back onto the tangled from the extraordinary political signed to foster regional harmony and European scene. # e reasons that al- and economic journey of transition they concentrate and underwrite the eff orts lowed for this revamp are countless. One underwent after the abrupt lifting of the of its four members in accelerating their is political and economic turbulence in

57 VISEGRAD ABROAD EASTERN AND TRANSATLANTIC RELATIONS

the EU. Another is the commonality of US RELATIONS WITH THE V4 interests among regional policymaker establishments after a string of elections heralded an amenable constellation of TH mostly like-minded governments. Yet 18 CENTURY another is a regional perception (not > After being proclaimed emperor in Madagascar, and bearing letters of recommendation from entirely unfounded) that the American Benjamin Franklin and funds from a descendant of Ferdinand Magellan, Moric Benovsky attitude toward Europe as a whole, and came to America and fought with American troops in the War for Independence. Central Europe in particular, is chang- > In the 1770s Tadeusz Kościuszko left for America to fi ght in the American Revolutionary ing. Faced with this peculiar geopolitical War. Kazimierz Pułaski became a general in the Continental Army, and has been called the cocktail, it seems that the V4 mechanism “father of American cavalry”. In 1929, the American Congress passed a resolution recogniz- has again found a raison d’être, relevant ing October 11th of each year as “General Pulaski Memorial Day”, dedicated to Pulaski's memory and to the heritage of Polish-Americans. no longer as a vehicle for entry but rather as a platform for navigation. 19TH CENTURY " e complexities of policymaking in Europe are mindboggling in the best of > The fi rst major immigration wave occurred in 1848 when the Czech “Forty-Eighters” and the times, but one thing remains evident: do- Hungarian “Forty-Niners” fl ed to the United States to escape political persecution and retri- bution by the Habsburgs. Chicago became the most popular Czech settlement. it-alone attitudes are unlikely to bear fruit and the EU (and international) system 20TH CENTURY rewards teamwork. It is perhaps hopeful then that the Visegrád states—linked as > First wave of Polish immigration: The largest wave of Polish immigration to America oc- they are by history and geography—have curred in the early 20th century. Offi cially, more than 1.5 million Polish immigrants were processed at Ellis Island, between 1899 and 1931. They came to America mainly for eco- done their homework. " rough regular nomic but also political and religious reasons. Many immigrants were illiterate and unskilled meetings and consultations since 2010 laborers in their own country. Part of the migration was a result of national uprisings taking they have managed to coordinate their place in Austria, Prussia and Russia. During this period, close to half a million Slovaks immi- policies to various degrees of success grated to the United States. The “Great Economic Immigration” also landed about 1.7 million in areas that not only represent shared Hungarian citizens, among them 650,000-700,000 real Hungarians (Magyars), on American shores. These immigrants came almost solely for economic reasons, and they represented concerns, including energy policy, trans- the lowest and poorest segment of the population. atlantic security, and Europe’s role in its neighborhood, but are also key U.S. in- 1914: terests as well. > Slovak inventor Štefan Banič constructed a prototype of a parachute in Washington, D.C., " e V4 states are starting to realize and tested it by jumping from a 41-story building. His patented parachute became standard equipment for U.S. pilots during World War I. Banič continued to work in the United States that in today’s world, what they would until 1920. have no hope of accomplishing individually, they might yet infl uence when act- 1918: ing together. Many have started to notice. > Woodrow Wilson’s Fourteen Points. In a speech to Congress on January 8, 1918, Wilson ar- " e V4 is showing early signs of its latent ticulated America's war aims. The 13th point concerned the future of Poland: An independent Polish state should be erected which should include the territories inhabited by indisput- policy relevance; that it is on the preci- ably Polish populations, which should be assured a free and secure access to the sea, and pice of becoming what it always had the whose political and economic independence and territorial integrity should be guaranteed potential to be, a presence greater than by international covenant. Other points, including the right of ethnic groups to form their own (or at least equal to) the sum of its parts. states, were the basis for the union of the Czechs and Slovaks. " is development, should it continue, > In May, The Pittsburgh Agreement was concluded by representatives of Czechs and Slovaks could be of profound importance for the at a meeting of the American branch of the Czechoslovak National Council in Pittsburgh. The agreement endorsed a program for the struggle for a common state of Czecho-Slovakia transatlantic community in the changing and agreed that the new state would be a democratic republic in which Slovakia would have geopolitical order. its own administration, legislature, and courts. The primary author of the agreement, T. G. For Central Europeans, it would al- Masaryk, declared the independence of Czechoslovakia in October, and was elected the fi rst low them more room to do something President of an independent Czechoslovakia. profoundly un-Central European: not 1919: only exist within the Euro-Atlantic frame- > U.S. established diplomatic relations with the newly formed Polish Republic in April 1919, work, but actively help shape its trajec- but the relationship between the two countries remained distant yet positive (due to the tory. For Europe, still lingering in deep American policy of refraining from intervention, and because of the minor importance of Po- crisis, a pro-active and coherent Visegrád land for U.S. interests). region could provide some much needed 1921: medicine on the path to stability: an in- > After the dissolution of the Austro-Hungarian Empire following World War I, Hungary and the fusion of leadership and optimism from United States established bilateral relations through a legation in Budapest established in its (mostly) economically dynamic new- 1921. est members. And the United States, in- > Emergency Quota Act: The Act restricted the number of immigrants admitted from any coun- creasingly stretched at home and abroad, try annually to 3% of the number of residents from that same country living in the United States as of the U.S. Census of 1910, which meant a drastic reduction in immigration levels has need of not only friends, but of part- from Southern and Eastern European countries. ners who can play a part in sharing the burdens of global leadership.

58 VISEGRAD INSIGHT 2|2012 EASTERN AND TRANSATLANTIC RELATIONS VISEGRAD ABROAD

! e net result is that today, “Visegrád” is not simply a word that can be heard in the corridors of Brussels, but > During the interwar years, American support and interest in Poland dwindled to a minimum. is increasingly entering into corners of The fi rst Polish representative in Washington, Franciszek Pulaski, rightly remarked that “Po- land is treated rather as a romantic cause that lends itself to humanitarian actions than as a the American political discourse as well. political issue.” But if the V4 has replanted the seeds of awareness, it has yet to fi rmly establish its 1923 identity and secure the level of confi dence > The fi rst treaty between the United States and Czechoslovakia dealing with commercial in Washington that its individual mem- relations was signed in Prague. bers can boast. Views of the V4 are still SECOND WORLD WAR marked by misunderstanding, vacillating > Herbert Hoover established the Commission for Polish Relief (Comporel), from 1939 to between cautious optimism and benign 1941 supplying food and clothing to occupied Poland. Both countries became part of the neglect, susceptible either to cheerlead- Allied Forces. ing on the one hand, or being overtly dis- > Wave of Central and Eastern European immigration: Approximately 20,000 citizens of counted on the other. Assuredness in the Czechoslovakia fl ed to escape Nazi persecution. This second wave of Polish immigration was made up of political prisoners and dissidents and refugees from European camps. Group’s longevity is not exactly rampant; Many of these fi rst generation immigrants took great pains to assimilate smoothly. They and not just overseas, but often among established themselves as working class Americans with goals of moving upwards to the the Group’s members as well. upper middle class. And therein lays the problem: if the > After World War II, the Czechoslovak government-in-exile returned. Normal relations contin- revival can be considered noteworthy, so ued until 1948, when the communists seized power and relations cooled rapidly. > After World War II the United States adopted the Containment policy, which in offi cial too must we be aware of its continued terms implied disinterest in East Central Europe fragility. ! e V4 may be a ‘group,’ but it is not yet a ‘bloc.’ Its lack of a formal 1947: structure is both its greatest strength, al- > The United States opened a Consulate General in Bratislava, but it was closed in 1950 af- lowing for fl exibility and simplicity with- ter the Communist Government of Czechoslovakia alleged that U.S. diplomatic personnel were engaged in espionage and other improper activities, and demanded a reduction in out a self-serving bureaucracy, but also their numbers. American embassies were later established both in Prague and Bratislava its greatest weakness as it requires a full in 1993 after the Velvet Divorce. buy-in from all its members. ! is set up naturally lends itself to predominantly 1948: > ad-hoc cooperation and is susceptible to In April, 108 members of the Polish diaspora, coming predominantly from working-class centers of the US, sailed to Poland on board the Polish ocean liner Stefan Batory for a tour periods of neglect. And for all of their re- of the country. They spent two months in Poland. cent joint accomplishments, the Visegrád states show just as many signs of division 1958: as they do unity. > Two hundred intellectuals of Czech and Slovak origin founded the Czechoslovak Society of Today, the Visegrád states stand in Arts and Sciences in America. front of a window of opportunity—the 1965: geopolitical drivers encouraging regional > A new U.S. Immigration law called the Hart-Celler Act of 1965 abolished the national cooperation are currently in favorable origins quota system, replacing it with a preference system focusing on immigrants’ skills alignment. Eff orts thus far have demon- and family ties. strated the potential benefi ts that con- 1968: certed regional coordination can bring > The Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia in August 1968 complicated relations between the to a region not traditionally counted U.S. and Czechoslovakia. The United States referred the matter to the UN Security Council among the richest or most powerful. In as a violation of the UN Charter, but no action was taken against the Soviets. a world showing signs of moving towards structured, confederated regionalism, 1971: > the V4 could be the platform from which Edward Gierek became the fi rst Polish secretary of the Polish United Workers’ Party to visit the United States. Central Europe fi rmly establishes itself as a pillar in its own right on the European 1978: map, both protecting and projecting its > In January, as a symbolic act, the United States returned the Holy Crown of Hungary, which interests. But if the Visegrád states want had been safeguarded by the United States since the end of World War II. to be taken seriously, then they have to 1980: start getting serious. To truly achieve > “Solidarity” is born. The United States granted Poland a $765 million loan for agricultural a lasting impact, and not just momentary development. successes, the V4 members will need to adopt a more long-term, structured, and 1981: > strategic approach to their club. The third wave of Polish immigration began after martial law was imposed in December 1981. Many of these immigrants won the visa lottery. They were skilled professionals and many were First and foremost, they need to cre- well-educated. They represented a highly professional and intellectual group of new Polish ate and cultivate a culture of trust, a cur- immigrants. These waves of Polish immigration shaped American society into what it is today. rency traditionally scarce in the region. These fi rst generation immigrants have children who are Americans who speak both Polish and And more often than not, it is the lack English. They uphold the traditions of both countries, making them Polish-Americans. of trust that acts as the greatest inhibi-

59 VISEGRAD ABROAD EASTERN AND TRANSATLANTIC RELATIONS

Famous Slovaks in America Famous Hungarians in America Famous Czechs in America

THOMAS BELL VILMA BÁNKY MILOŠ FORMAN Originally Belejcak – second- Hungarian-born American si- Czech-American director and generation Slovak writer, his lent fi lm actress best known for screenwriter whose two fi lms, most famous novel, Out of This her roles in The Eagle and The One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Furnace, vividly portrays the Son of the Sheik with Rudolph Nest and Amadeus, are among life of Slovak immigrants, their Valentino and several romantic the most celebrated in the his- children, and grandchildren teamings with Ronald Colman. tory of fi lm, both gaining him from the turn of the century up the Academy Award for Best to the Great Depression of the BELA LUGOSI Director. 1930s. Hungarian fi lm and theater actor, best known for his por- MADELEINE ALBRIGHT ŠTEFAN BANIČ trayal of Count Dracula in the Born in Czechoslovakia, the Slovak inventor who construct- Broadway plan and later fi lm fi rst woman to become the ed a prototype of a parachute versions. United States Secretary of later used by U.S. military dur- State ing World War I. Michal Bosak, HARRY HOUDINI known as “the richest Slovak Hungarian-born American stunt in America” in the early 20th performer and escapologist, century, leader in the Slovak- considered to be the greatest American community and pub- magician of all time Famous Poles in America: lisher of the Slovenska obrana newspaper. IGNACY PADEREWSKI STAN MIKITA Pianist, composer and politi- Chicago Black Hawks star was cian, achieved great popularity born in Slovakia. in the United States touring the country and performing before thousands of Americans.

ZBIGNIEW BRZEZINSKI Polish-American political scientist, geostrategist, and statesman who served as United States National Security 1982: Advisor to President Jimmy > International “Solidarity Day” was announced on January 30th, 1982 by the administration Carter from 1977 to 1981. of Ronald Reagan in support of the democratic opposition in Poland. In his Radio Address to the Nation on Solidarity and United States Relations with Poland, Reagan declared his support for the Polish fi ght with the communist regime: Those who know Poland well understand that as long as the fl ame of freedom burns as brightly and intensely in the hearts of' Polish men and women as it does today, the spirit of Solidarity will remain a vital force in Poland. tor to more robust Visegrád cooperation. 1989 ! e key here rests with starting small, > Between 1989 and 1993, the Support for East European Democracy (SEED) Act provided identifying non-controversial pockets of more than $136 million for economic restructuring and private sector development in Cen- opportunity where the convergence of tral and Eastern Europe. interests is high, and netting small victories that reinforce confi dence for larger 1990 > In 1990, on the fi rst anniversary of the revolution, President George H. W. Bush, in front of projects are down the line. an enthusiastic crowd on Prague's Wenceslas Square, pledged U.S. support in building a Already, we are seeing progress on democratic Czechoslovakia. this front. Starting with joint declara- > The United States delivered more than $200 million after 1990 to support the rebuilding of tions and common positions within the a healthy democracy and market economy in Slovakia, primarily through programs adminis- EU, the V4 members are now casting ex- tered by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID). ploratory tendrils into more politically 1992 diffi cult areas, such as defense coopera- > On June 17th, the fi rst McDonalds restaurant was opened in Warsaw on the corner of tion. Notably, there are even plans for Marszałkowska and Świętokrzyska streets. The construction cost was $1 million. A world re- a joint Visegrád EU Battle Group on the cord for the number of transactions was set during the opening day: 45 thousand customers cards, an encouraging prospect. Since ordered 13,304 meals. Currently in Poland there are 282 McDonalds restaurants, employing more than 15,000 employees. defense projects are tangible and have clear metrics, over time they represent

60 VISEGRAD INSIGHT 2|2012 EASTERN AND TRANSATLANTIC RELATIONS VISEGRAD ABROAD

a means of bridging bridge this “trust gap” while buttressing wider political aims. 1993 A correlative, but crucial, second > In October the U.S. introduced the “Partnership for Peace” program, which sought the cooperation of post-communist Central and Eastern Europe with NATO. element is commitment. One cannot generate trust without demonstrating 1996 a commitment to the larger whole, and > Summer Olympics in Atlanta. Slovakia won three medals (gold, silver, bronze), Czech Repub- vice versa. " e key to this equation will lic – eleven (4 gold, 3 silver, 4 bronze), Poland – seventeen (7 gold, 5 silver, 5 bronze), Hun- rest with Poland. As the largest of the V4 gary – twenty-one (7 gold, 4 silver, 10 bronze). states (in fact, individually as large as the 1999 other three combined), success or failure > On March 12th, foreign ministers of the Czech Republic, Hungary and Poland handed U.S. will rest largely on the degree of buy-in Secretary of State Madeleine Albright signed documents of ratifi cation, and the three coun- from Warsaw. But this is often problem- tries became members of NATO. atic. Given its growing stature on the ST European and transatlantic stages, and 21 CENTURY distinctive advantages in economic, po- 2001 litical and military capabilities, Poland > For the fi rst time the original Mattel Barbie doll appeared on the Polish market. often fi nds itself gravitating away from > War in Afghanistan. NATO-ISAF coalition force deployments, number of soldiers: Poland – its natural role as a regional leader and 2,457; Czech Republic – 527, Slovakia – 344, Hungary – 337. Soldier deaths: Poland – 37, toward higher stages of diplomacy, oc- Hungary – 7, Czech Republic – 5. casionally causing friction among its 2002 Visegrád partners. But this is a mis- > Poland purchased forty-eight U.S. F-16 fi ghter jets for $3.5 billion, making it the largest con- take. Where would we be today if the tract in the history of the Polish armed forces. Peloponnesian allies had abandoned the > Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City. The Czech Republic won three medals (1 gold, 2 silver) and Athenians at the Battle of Salamis? Poland – two (1 silver, 1 bronze). But perhaps most important is 2003 “strategic vision.” " e United States wants > The Czech Government sent a small contingent of elite anti-chemical weapons warfare the V4 to succeed; but the V4 states experts to Kuwait to support the impending U.S.-led invasion of Iraq. Public opinion polls themselves need to ultimately want the showed that 70% of the Czech population opposed the war in Iraq. > same thing. " e key is to understand that Invasion of Iraq. Coalition force deployments (peak): Poland – 2,500, Hungary – 300, Czech Republic – 300, Slovakia – 110. Soldier deaths: Poland – 23, Slovakia – 4, Hungary – 1, a robust Visegrád Group is not simply Czech Republic – 1. a question of convenience, but rather one of geostrategic interest. In the abovemen- 2004: tioned case, for example, Poland would > With the passage of a progressive new fi lm-tax law, Hungary became a popular location for benefi t from assuming the leadership American fi lm production, prompting the country to be named the “New Hollywood of Eu- rope” with forty-seven foreign fi lm made in 2008 and fi fty-two in 2009. mantle on a regional level without having to sacrifi ce its ambitions as a large power. 2006 In fact, the two are not mutually exclu- > During the Polish Minister of Economy Piotr Woźniak’s visit to the U.S., a “round table” meet- sive but complementary—regional eff orts ing was held with participation of Polish companies and the giants of American business of help underwrite Polish priorities at the the energy industry (Exxon Mobile, General Electric Energy, Bechtel and others). The meeting resulted with the beginning of cooperation in developing in Poland modern technologies of EU level by establishing Warsaw as the obtaining energy from alternative sources (e.g. biofuels). bridge between Europe’s West and East, increasing its clout. " e smaller partners 2007: likewise benefi t from the heightened ac- > In January the U.S. government formally proposed the installation of elements of the U.S. cess to the centers of decision-making. missile defense shield system in Poland, with ten interceptor missiles cooperating with a " e way ahead for the Visegrád radar base located in the Czech Republic. The plans were suspended by President Obama two years later. Group will be diffi cult. To succeed, it will require a correlative renaissance of the 2008: kind of vision, determination, and stra- > The fi rst Starbucks coffee shop opened in Prague in the Czech Republic, the fi rst in Central tegic foresight that characterized Central Europe. Currently there are nine in Poland, three in Hungary and twelve in the Czech Repub- European capitals in the 1990s. But in the lic. > Of the almost $27,500 million invested by American fi rms in Central and Eastern Europe, spirit of that most cherished American as much as 57% went to Poland, 19% to Hungary, and 17% to the Czech Republic. (Source: maxim (or at least that most memorable Raport Amerykańskiej Izby Handlowej w Polsce i KPMG). of “Star Wars” quotes), I say: “Never tell me the odds.” 2009: > First published in www.visegradrevue.eu In reaction to Russia’s military intervention in Georgia, former presidents Vaclav Havel, Lech Wałęsa and several other leaders of the V4 co-signed an open letter to President Barrack Obama in July 2009: Do not abandon us now, after all you have done to enable our successful The author is a Research Analyst at the Center for democratization, and after all we have done to prove ourselves loyal allies when you needed European Policy Analysis (CEPA) in Washington, us. D.C., and Project Manager of the “Visegrád to Weimar” Program.

61 VISEGRAD ABROAD EASTERN AND TRANSATLANTIC RELATIONS THE VISEGRAD GROUP IN EASTERN EUROPE: AN ACTOR, NOT A LEADER

JANA KOBZOVÁ !ree years since its inception, the EU’s ‘Eastern Partnership’ project faces he four Visegrad countries obstacles in almost all of the six target (the Czech Republic, Hun- gary, Poland, and Slovakia) countries. Is the Visegrad Group the right welcomed the launch of the Eastern Partnership vehicle for the EU to employ to respond initiative in 2009 more enthusiastically than most to the challenges the project is currently other EU states. In fact, the Czech Republic and Poland, along with facing? TSweden, were the midwives of the project’s main idea that the EU should offer its eastern neighbors (Armenia, Azer- for all four countries. If any time or en- these three countries established their baijan, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova, and ergy remained, it was usually directed at development aid programs in the early Ukraine) the prospect of eventual politi- the stabilization of the Western Balkans, 2000s, this attention had not been trans- cal and economic integration. which was seen at the time as the most formed into a concerted policy effort on In an EU where different coalitions combustible of the EU’s neighborhoods. either a regional or EU level. of states have to compete to get their Although countries in the Eastern As years passed, expectations that concerns, interests, and policies on the European and South Caucasian regions democracy was on the march in Eastern collective agenda, the V4 seems to be were struggling with no fewer than four Europe and the South Caucasus started to a natural platform from which to raise unresolved ethno-territorial disputes resemble fantasies. If anything, since the questions concerning the EU’s eastern (Transnistria, Nagorno Karabakh, South launch of the Eastern Partnership in 2009, neighborhood at the EU level. Yet, a lack Ossetia, and Abkhazia), these conflicts democracy in the EaP region has dete- of trust and occasional internal competi- were considered to be “frozen”, at least riorated everywhere, with the exception of tion has conspired to diminish the V4’s until the Russo-Georgian war in August Moldova. Corruption remains rampant and, potential effectiveness as a vehicle for the 2008. except for those in Chisinau and Tbilisi, the EU’s Eastern Partnership Policy (EaP). At first, the “color revolutions” in leaders in the region appear to have very lit- "is article lays out the different ways Ukraine and Georgia in 2003-2005 led tle appetite to deliver on the kind of reforms the V4 countries think about the East to the expectation that somehow the that would bring them closer to the EU. and makes recommendations as to how advancement of democracy in Eastern While the region’s most vocal EU- the grouping can become more effective Europe would continue and would help enthusiast, Moldova, is the smallest among in advancing Eastern Partnership ques- the region “fix itself” without much ad- the EaP six, the largest and most important, tions in the EU. ditional involvement on the part of the Ukraine, has grown increasingly lukewarm "e V4’s focus on the region is rela- European Union or its members. While to EU demands. "ese demands have tively new. Until their accession to NATO Poland, the Czech Republic, and Slovakia started to include the release of President and the EU in 1999 and 2004 respectively, supported development and democrati- Yanukovich’s political opponent, former Euro-Atlantic integration was the single zation projects in countries like Ukraine Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko, from most important foreign policy priority or Belarus practically from the moment prison.

62 VISEGRAD INSIGHT 2|2012 EASTERN AND TRANSATLANTIC RELATIONS VISEGRAD ABROAD

Being closer to the six unreformed Firstly, although the Visegrad plat- comes to discussions at the EU level, this post-Soviet countries than most other EU form is a useful one, the countries do not sometimes prompts the V4 to reach out to members, the V4 can ill afford further always use it as the main vehicle when ad- other partners such as Sweden or, in the consolidation of authoritarian regimes in dressing the Eastern Partnership. In fact, case of Poland, Germany or, until recently, the region. Advancing political and eco- V4 members have preferred to take some in the case of Hungary, to remain silent. nomic reforms in the Eastern Partnership of the most important initiatives on the #irdly, the rapprochement between is rightly seen by the V4 states as their region – such as launching the Eastern Germany and Poland has resulted in a best security and trade policy vis-à-vis Partnership program or reaching out to number of joint initiatives on issues per- their eastern neighbors. As long as trade the East European leaders – outside the taining to the EU’s eastern policy, includ- with these neighbors remains marred by V4 framework. ing a joint letter on relations with Russia, mutual trade barriers and tariffs, Polish, Although, in 2008, the Czech the aforementioned visit of Polish and Slovak, and Hungarian provinces border- Republic produced a document that ad- German foreign ministers to Minsk, and ing Belarus and Ukraine will continue to vanced many of the ideas later incorporat- cooperation on the Eastern Partnership be economically deprived. ed into the Eastern Partnership initiative, Civil Society Forum. Cross-border business and inter- a year later Poland preferred to launch While the views of Berlin and personal interaction will remain under- the EaP with Sweden, leaving Prague Warsaw are not always identical and dif- developed as long as visa barriers persist out of the preparatory talks in the pro- ferences remain, the emerging alliance in keeping citizens of EaP countries from cess. Similarly, in November 2010, when between Germany and Poland seems to traveling to the EU and concerns remain Polish foreign minister Radoslaw Sikorski be an efficient and credible “motor” for among EU businessmen about the rule travelled to Minsk to persuade President the EU’s eastern policy. Neither Warsaw of law and the independence of courts in Aliaksandr Lukashenka to embark on nor Berlin seem keen on expanding the countries such as Ukraine or Moldova. a path of reforms, none of his Central V4 to include Germany, which puts other Although the situation in the Eastern European colleagues accompanied him. regional initiatives – such as those of the Partnership states may be getting worse Instead, he was joined by Germany’s for- V4 or the Nordic group – in the role of in a number of ways, it has also become eign minister Guido Westerwelle. very useful supporting, but not leading, increasingly difficult to keep the EU’s at- #e open letters condemning the acts. tention in the region. #e onset of the deterioration of democracy in Belarus in #e V4 does not seem likely to be- economic crisis, the Arab Spring, the cri- 2011 or, more recently, in Ukraine were come the key platform for advancing sis in Syria, and rising tensions over Iran signed by German, Swedish, Polish, and Eastern Partnership issues within the EU. have left the EU with little capacity to de- Czech foreign ministers rather than by the Other formats such as the one established vote attention to the Eastern Partnership. whole V4 group – in the case of the open by Poland and Germany may prove more After all, although the trends in the letter on Ukraine, the British foreign min- effective, especially when it comes to per- EaP are more negative than positive, there ister added his signature too. While the suading EU members more skeptical of is no prospect of an immediate crisis in explanations range from personal chem- Eastern Europe, such as France or Italy. the region that would be comparable to istry to competition among different for- #at does not mean that the V4 is not a the current unrest in the Middle East or eign ministers, one also needs to admit place to discuss the Eastern Partnership; the urgency of the economic crisis in the that a letter co-signed by a British foreign however, it does mean that perhaps more eurozone. In this context, if the V4 wants minister, or a visit by a German cabinet focus should be devoted to ground level to safeguard its interests in the region, member, are both certain to carry more projects rather than political declarations. closer cooperation among its members weight than acts carried out only by the Closer coordination of develop- to keep the EaP on the EU’s radar screen ministers of “newer” member states. ment assistance projects and joint schol- seems to be more urgent than ever. Secondly, although the V4 countries arship schemes, or study programs for #e Visegrad countries have tried to agree that democratization, as well as eco- EaP students, are more likely to effect respond in a number of ways. In the last nomic and social reforms, represent the positive change on the ground. In short, two years their foreign ministers have held best development path for the six Eastern the Visegrad platform continues to per- joint meetings with their counterparts in Partnership countries, they do not always form a very important coordination role. the Eastern Partnership. Besides provid- agree on the way to achieve this. Poland However, the V4 alone is more likely to ing bilateral development assistance to the and the Czech Republic have tradition- have greater policy impact in areas such as region (albeit mostly to the three Eastern ally placed more emphasis on human defense cooperation, or in discussions on European countries – there are far fewer rights, and they are usually quicker to the next EU financial perspective than on projects in the South Caucasus), V4 gov- highlight the problems of eastern part- the EU’s Eastern Partnership initiative. ernments have instructed the jointly es- ners in this regard, and demand fixes be- First published in www.visegradrevue.eu tablished International Visegrad Fund to fore the EU offers more perks. Budapest support democratization projects in the and Bratislava (with the exception in the The author is Policy Fellow and coordinator of EaP region. #eir diplomats continue to latter country of the outgoing govern- the Wider Europe Programme at the European advocate – together or individually – the ment of Iveta Radičová) tend to take a Council on Foreign Relations. She covers the cause of the Eastern Partnership within milder view. Slovakia, probably shaped EU’s relations with its eastern neighbors includ- the EU. Yet despite these efforts, the more by its own experience of Mečiarism in ing Russia. relevant policy developments regarding the 1990s, emphasizes the importance of the EaP seem to happen not in the format dialogue and engagement despite a less of the V4 but in other groupings. than perfect state of democracy. When it

63 COMMUNITIES NATIONS WITHIN NATIONS THE РУСИН REVIVAL IN SLOVAKIA OR HOW TO CREATE A NATIONALITY AT THE MARGIN OF EUROPE

What do we need to establish the legitimate existence of a nationality in Central Europe where the competition of national minorities is extremely strong? A name that is proven to be ancient, a language that is sufficiently different from the others (best if it has its own dictionary or encyclopedia and a language that has been codified); avant-garde organizations and intellectuals who struggle for the recognition of the minority and permit the definition of its rights; and last but not least, people who belong to it. In each of these aspects, the “Revival of the Rusyns” after 1990 seems to be very successful. But, is it really a “revival”?

PAUL BAUER

o the making of a na- to the fact that the Rusyn people belong WHITE CROATS tion there is no end. !is to a specific nationality among other na- OR EASTERN SLOVAKS? is the title of the book tionalities in Slovakia. During the 1991’s decennial census, edited in 1995 by Paul- Meanwhile, thanks to the liberaliza- around 17,000 persons (0.3% of the aver- Robert Magocsi, a To- tion of social and political life in Central age population) declared to be of Rusyn ronto University-based Europe in general, and in Slovakia in par- nationality in Slovakia. According to historian who specializes ticular after 1989, Rusyn’s associations their representatives, it was the first time in Ukrainian history, and multiplied. !e first organization was since the beginning of World War II that one of the leading intellectual activists of created a year after the fall of the social- the Rusyns were recorded as a distinct Tthe international Rusyn revival, a post- ist regime in Central and Eastern Europe. national group in Czechoslovakia. Ten romantic “nationality maker.” !e book is !e Rusyn Revival Association (Rusinska years later, the census registered almost dedicated to the codification of the Rusyn Obroda) joined the list of official organi- 25,000 Rusyns (0.4% of the average popu- language and its existence in “the literary zations representing authorized national- lation, or a 34% increase). Finally, in the language landscape of Slovakia.” Indeed, ities in post-socialist Czechoslovakia, and last census of 2011, 33,482 persons iden- this codification is the work of the Insti- after 1993, in the Republic of Slovakia. tified themselves as being of Rusyn na- tute for Rusyn Language and Culture at !e scientific and institutional network tionality (0.6 %). During the last 20 years, the University of Prešov, which used the of the “Rusyn revival” was accompanied the Rusyn population in Slovakia has in- Medzilaborce dialect to establish a norm by a popular success. A short overview of creased by 95%. for the new national language. !e work the last three decennial censuses speaks While the average population of of those scholars brings a legitimization for this success story. Slovakia is stable (about 5.4 million), the

64 VISEGRAD INSIGHT 2|2012 NATIONS WITHIN NATIONS COMMUNITIES

number of national Slovaks, “the majority ing the results of the decennial census, REPRESENTATIVES people,” according to the expression used and certain objective criteria define the OF THE MINORITIES by officials, shrunk by 250,000 during the nationality of individuals. Following this last ten years. With the Roma nationality, line of thought, Rusyn nationality would IN PARLIAMENTS IN the Rusyns have the highest rates of in- be comprised of thousands of individu- crease during recent decades in Slovakia. als who don’t even know who they are in CENTRAL EUROPE As the sense of nationality is subjective, reality. more and more people are declaring Subjectivity versus objectivity; themselves to be Rusyn, and many have Renan versus Fichte - nothing new unchanged their national identity. Some say der the sun, one might say. Rusyn na- that the statistical growth of the Rusyn tionalists seek the synthesis between two CZECH REPUBLIC population is due to the fact that the so- principals. Nonetheless, the interesting Moravian National Party cialist regime forbade the public declara- aspect of the Rusyn revival is primarily The electoral system in the Czech Republic does tion of a Rusyn nationality, so finally in due to the scholarly struggle that oppos- not give preferences to the national minorities the 1990’s it became possible to match es the Rusyn national narrative and the in parliamentary or local elections, members national sentiments with the rubric of the Ukrainian one. of national minorities must run for seats in the parliament through real elections and thereby questionnaire. However, it is worth com- obtain representation. paring the results of official statistics with EXISTENCE PRECEDES ESSENCE those of another survey performed by Anna Plišková, director of the Institute The Council of the Government for National the Slovak Academy of Sciences, and the for the study of the Rusyn culture and Minorities (hereafter “the Council”) is a permanent and initiative body of the Association of the Rusyn Intelligentsia, a language, a pro-Rusyn scholar, who par- government for issues concerning national year after the decennial census of 2001. ticipated in the codification of the Slovak minorities and their members: Bulgaria (1 According to this research, 28% of de- Rusyn language, asserts that the differ- representative) Croatia (1) Hungary (1) Germany clared Rusyns considered their identity ence between the Rusyns and other Slavic (2) Poland (2) Roma (3) Ruthenia (1) Russia (1) to be a consequence of their distinction nations during the “national awakening” Greece (1) Slovakia (3) Serbia (1) Ukraine (1). from the majority people (the Slovaks); in the 19th century, is that the Rusyns did source: http://www.vlada.cz/assets/ppov/rnm/statut-rnm-en.pdf 14% claimed that they are the descend- not answer some key questions concern- ants of White Croats, and 6% that they ing their national existence: the question POLAND are Eastern Slovaks. Surprisingly, accord- of their national identity among other Belarusians, Germans, and Ukrainians each ing to this post-census study, 36% had no nationalities (especially Ukrainian and have one representative in parliament. idea about their historical and cultural Russian), the question of their cultural source: http://www.msw.gov.pl/portal/pl/61/37/ identity. Who are the Rusyns? For a ma- and religious orientation, the question jority of them, the question is still open. of a written form of speaking. Even the question of a name remained open. "ese SLOVAKIA “THE PEOPLE FROM NOWHERE” questions, adds Anna Plišková, have not Only the Hungarian minority has representatives in Slovak parliament, in the Most–Híd party. Any specialist on nationality issues been definitively answered since the last in Slovakia has surely heard the well- century. source: http://portal.statistics.sk/files/tab.11.pdf established idea that in addition to the Indeed, during the first Czechoslovak officially registered number of 100,000, Republic the authorities didn’t recog- HUNGARY approximately 220,000 to 400,000 Roma nize the Rusyn as a distinct nationality. “Hungary is the first member country to send live in Slovakia. According to this view, "e decennial census of 1931 applied Roma politicians to European Parliament.” supported by nationalists as well as by “Russian” to all who declared themselves Hungary guarantees the representation of it’s some Roma activists, there is a wider si- to be Russian, Ukrainian, Small Russian, national and ethnic minorities enabling these lent nation of almost a half million people and Rusyn (Rusniak, Rusíní, Rusnáci). minorities to establish elected and state in Slovakia, refusing to declare them- "e difficulty in defining a strict financed minority self-governments. selves Roma. "ey are Roma even if they sense of national belonging in the eastern source: http://www.mfa.gov.hu/NR/rdonlyres/9F2D180E-538E-4363- don’t want to be. part of the First Czechoslovak Republic is AA5E-3D103B522E3B/0/etniang.pdf Similar observations are formulated notably due to the fact that nation-state concerning the Rusyns. In "e People status was not a reality for the majority of from Nowhere: An Illustrated History the inhabitants of a region considered to SLOVENIA The Slovenian parliament has 90 members, two of Carpatho-Rusyns, a popularized book be one of the poorest and least industrial- deputies are representatives of minorities. addressed to a general audience (the title ly developed in Central Europe. For local comes from a famous quotation of Andy politicians and elites, the nationality issue Deputies of national minorities are elected by a special procedure. Warhol whose family comes from a small was principally a strategic one. "e pro- village in Eastern Slovakia), Paul Robert Russian national orientation was in favor Two members of parliament are also part of the Magocsi speculates that 1,640,000 Rusyns of a cultural and political link with Russia. Italian minority, but they are elected from a list are living around the world, almost one "e Ukrainian orientation favored incor- of political parties. million of them around the Western poration into the new Ukrainian state. Hungarian, Italian and also Roma minorities are Carpathian Mountains. According to this Furthermore, during the interwar peri- directly represented in local self-governments by point of view, national belonging tran- od, the Rusyn orientation wasn’t united. Councilors. scends the subjective principal underly- Some of them pleaded to remain in the source: www.ipu.org/splz-e/chiapas10/petek.ppt

65 COMMUNITIES NATIONS WITHIN NATIONS

Czechoslovak state, while others desired THE RUSYNS, A PART OF THE ated in the 1950s to represent the cultural independence or incorporation into the UKRAINIAN COMMUNITY? heritage and history of the Ukrainian na- new Hungarian state. One thing has been certain in the Rusyn tionality in Slovakia. After 1990, Rusyns TRAMPS, HIKERS, After the incorporation of the movement: the symbolic war against the argued that the museum did not represent eastern part (Podkarpatska rus) of intellectual representatives of the Ukrain- the Ukrainian nationality but the Rusyn Czechoslovakia into the USSR in 1945, ian nationality, claiming that the Rusyns one. Ukrainian representatives proposed the decennial censuses of 1950 and 1961 are part of the Ukrainian nationality. From to rename the museum as the Museum recognized both Russian and Ukrainian a sociological point of view, most of the of the Rusyn and Ukrainian culture, but NATURE LOVERS nationalities and placed them in the prominent linguists, writers, and essay- the Rusyns refused this proposition. After same category. !e two next censuses in ists of the Rusyn national movement in many years of negotiations and consulta- 1970 and 1980 separated the Russian and Slovakia are from Ukrainian intellectual tions with Slovak historians, in 2007 the Ukrainian nationalities. However, there societies. !ese societies were supported Rusyn representatives were granted per- – A NEW ERA was no rubric for the Rusyns. by the socialist regime and some worked mission from the Slovak ministry of Cul- When Czechoslovakia organized within the Communist Party. After 1990, ture to open the Museum of Rusyn culture the census of 1991, while it recognized Rusyn nationalists worked to obtain the in Prešov. !e competition between the the Rusyn as a distinct nationality, none same scientific and cultural institutional two museums is strong. Both are financed of the questions presented by Anna recognition from the Slovak state as the by the state, and map the same region OF WANDERLUST Plišková had been solved. !e central Ukrainian nationality: an independent and culture. !e personality of Alexander claim of existentialist philosophy, “ex- academic center of research and a na- Duchnovič (1803-1865) a priest, writer, istence precedes essence”, could be the tional state ethnographic museum. !e pedagogue and social activist of the Car- motto of the nationalist movement be- Institute for Rusyn Language and Culture pathian Slavic region is mentioned by both hind the “Rusyn revival.” at the University of Prešov produces arti- museums as one of the most prominent !e prominent actors of Rusyn na- cles published in local and international actors of their national movement. For tionality face a rational challenge when scholarly forums that presented, if possi- Duchnovič, however, defining the people claiming the revival of a nationality ble, the distinctness of the Rusyn national- living under the Carpathian mountain whose historical and cultural identity has ity among other Slavic nations in Europe. range as Russian or Rusyn was a political always been uncertain. Nonetheless, na- !e scholars of the Rusyn center wrote strategy that used the linguistic factor as a tional struggle around Rusyn identity in textbooks for teaching the new codified tool to participate in the pan-Slavist move- Slovakia has for the last two decades op- Rusyn language in eastern Slovak local ment of the 19th century. posed identification with the Ukrainian schools. Besides, Rusyn nationalists fight nationality. for renaming the Ukrainian museum cre- The author (PhD) is a political and cultural ge- ographer and a researcher of the Institute of sociology of the Faculty of social sciences at the Charles University in Prague.

REPRESENTATIVES CZECH REP. POLAND SLOVAKIA HUNGARY SLOVENIA overall Moravians 522474 3286 525760 OF THE MINORITIES Silesians 12231 12231 Poles 39269 3084 42353 IN PARLIAMENTS IN Slovaks 149140 1710 10459 161309 CENTRAL EUROPE Germans 18772 147094 4690 30824 680 202060 Roma 5199 12731 105738 142683 3246 269597 Czechs 386 30367 30753 Lithuanians 5639 5639 Armenians 262 262 Russians 3244 1997 5241 Hungarians 458467 6243 464710 Ukrainians 27172 7430 34602 Jews 1055 631 1686 Belarusians 47640 47640 Rusyns 33482 33428 Croats 1022 13570 14592 Serbs 698 2905 3603 Bulgarians 1051 1051 Romanians 10740 10740 Slovene 1930 1930 Italians 2258 2258 other 2742669 6340 9825 19640 145921 2924395

66 VISEGRAD INSIGHT 2|2012 HOLIDAYS OF THE MIDDLE CLASS REPORTAGE TRAMPS, HIKERS, NATURE LOVERS – A NEW ERA OF WANDERLUST

SZABINA KERÉNYI

iking, just like other ways of experiencing the great outdoors, seems so simple and innate that one might take the pas- time for granted. Poland. For strikingly many people, hik- Nevertheless, na- ing runs in the family generation after ture lovers and hikers in the Visegrad generation. “My family as well as my wife’s countriesH look back on a long tradition family were pretty much into hiking, like and complicated history encompassing many Czech families were. Now our fam- stories of secret political movements, ily is doing the same. It’s a passion: just communal resistance, and hidden cleri- a few minutes ago I ordered hiking maps cal gatherings. Hiking and spending time of the Jungfrau in Switzerland (where in nature is part of the cultural heritage we’ll go in July, while the grandparents of the region, albeit constantly shaped by watch Jano) and of Triglav in Slovenia.” political realities. Today, the communal – explains Jan, who, just like the tens of element is still strong, but the activity thousands of his Czech compatriots, grew is much more atomized and less institu- up with the tradition of hiking. His des- tional. While today supplemented with tinations, however, diﬀ er from those that ized Slovak land during state socialism. adrenalin sports and other excitement, his parents chose – it was after 1990 that, # ose romanticized perspectives and hiking remains a much beloved way of with an increased opportunity to travel, metaphors of nature are rooted in the so- spending time, and, like the insiders in- tourists started ﬂ ocking in droves to the cial and literary discourse of the 19th cen- sist, there is always something more to it. Alps, or even the Carpathian mountains tury – nothing could be more telling than in Romania. Hungarian hikers, especially, the enthusiastic naming in that period of sought the romantic authenticity of un- “Český ráj” (Czech Paradise), exceptional Trail to Paradise touched nature (coupled with the eager sandstone rock formations in Northern rediscovery of Hungarian compatriots) Bohemia. # e question of names is an Hiking is among the most popular out- in Transylvania. With similar aspirations issue in itself – in the High Tatras for door activities in three out of the four did Bohemian and Moravian hikers pour instance, there are normally four names Visegrad countries, especially in the to the High Tatras, and other impressive for most geographic objects – Slovak and Czech Republic and Slovakia, but also in landscapes of the much less industrial- Polish names from the local inhabitants,

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f Wandering can be practiced not only in summer. as well as German and Hungarian names historical hiker associations were bour- You can do it all year round. In the photo: participant from the Habsburg Empire. A recent pro- geois organizations. $is changed during of a winter mountaineering course, which is becoming increasingly popular today. ject by Dr. Endre Futó, editor and trans- the era of state socialism, when hiking lator of publications on hiking, aimed to and tourism became widely accessible – prevent the usual misunderstandings by at least economically, but definitely not creating a four-way online dictionary for geographically. Nature lovers were there- the geographic names in the area. fore conditioned to discover the treasures Around the turn of the century, at its of natural resources in neighboring lands dawn, hiking was an activity typical for the or in their own countries – therefore, such wealthy, and remained so until the com- discovery was often coupled with a touch munist takeover, as Tomáš Kvasnička, de- of (local) patriotism. $e Hungarian Blue signer of tourist trails, explains. While it is Tour for instance, a legendary trail (which impossible to talk about political orienta- came into focus after the detachment of tion when it comes to hiking and touring, territories following the Trianon Treaty in most hiking clubs and associations did 1920), has become a much beloved tourist have a political backing – one of the most destination within the country, especially influential historical umbrella organiza- following a documentary series about it in tion, the Friends of Nature (Naturfreunde, the late ‘70s (One and a Half Million Steps founded in 1895 in Austria), was associ- in Hungary), which showed not only the ated with the Social Democratic move- natural spectacles of the middle moun- ment, while the scouts were backed by tains in the country, but also presented the Krzysztof Pacholak (1986) is a Polish photog- the Catholic church before WWII, and social and cultural particularities of the rapher and art curator, studying at the Institute of the Sokol movement in both Poland and people inhabiting the area. “$is move- Creative Photography in Opava. Czechoslovakia was explicitly nationalis- ment encourages greater intimacy with tic. With the exception of the tramps in the landscape, human accomplishments, Czechoslovakia, who were firmly based history and people of our homeland, all in the working class, and the tourist sec- through hiking”, according to a recent in- tions of workers’ clubs in Hungary, the formation booklet.

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Escape and resistance in the mountains “Chata Téryho” is the highest chalet (2015m) operating year-round in the High Tatras – it was built in 1899 and named – against his will – after Edmund Téry, “doctor of the poor.” But it is also known for its historical role as a site of resistance during WWII, when it was run by Slovak students who helped Pol- ish guerrilla troops and Russian soldiers. But chalets and hiking had a significant role in the Czechoslovak-Polish solidarity movement too, with probably the best known example being the “Polish- Czechoslovak Trail of Friendship” (today the Polish-Czech trail) in the Karkonosze mountains (Czech: Krkonose), which hosted gatherings of the opposition and dissidents, and an exchange of samizdat literature in the late ‘70s. "e Eisenach- Budapest Hike Trail of Friendship was another route of international cooperation, aligning DDR, Poland, Czechoslovakia and Hungary at that time. Apart from connecting a unique chain of truly amaz- ing hiking trails, it also provided an opportunity for East Germans to meet West Germans in the 1980's. f There’s a strong tradition of both hiking and "ere were a couple of coinciden- climbing mountains. In the photo: a hand-made tally similar motives of exit and resistance sketch of the climbing route from 1983, made by in nature in these countries during social- member of the Mountaineering Club in Krakow. The ism. Even with different backgrounds and schematic drawings include author’s comments, such contexts, an element of withdrawal from as "do not go this way" or "good place for rest". They describe the degree of route’s difficulty and the type public life into the mountains was present of equipment used. Many climbers from countries both in Czechoslovakia and in Hungary. behind the Iron Curtain could not afford to buy In Czechoslovakia, this was connected to professional guides, so they had to draw or redraw the period of “normalization” imposed by their content on their own. the state after the Prague Spring in ’68. x Mountains attract with their nostalgia and unique In response, a great many people started climate. They’re a promised land of all photographers, a “second life” outside the city, out of painters, graphic designers, poets and other sight, in the intimacy of their weekend “romantic souls” . In the photos: excerpts form cottages, thus creating the culture of a private collection of postcards owned by a Warsaw collector. “chata” and “chalupa”. In Hungary, hiking and tourism became increasingly popular in times of crises, and though the exodus from public life starting in the late ‘70s

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was by no chance as massive as that of the were oppressed by imperialism). “#e “chatáři” (as it was rather a project of the question of politics is quite complicated. intelligentsia), the drive was similar – to Most tramps were essentially apolitical, escape from the controlled reality of the but also quite a few were engaged in the authoritarian state into the idyllic, “pure” anti-communist movement, and many of villages of the Káli Basin in the hills above them emigrated and started to work for Lake Balaton. Radio Free Europe, for instance. Around #ere were two other notable move- the campfire we were jointly cursing the ments that were strikingly similar, yet, en- communists, telling jokes and singing the tirely independent from each other – the banned songs of Karel Kryl. Sometimes tramping movement in Czechoslovakia policemen came to check on us, some- and the Indian movement in Hungary. times they threatened us, but I never had #ey both emerged in the 1930s and were a serious problem. It was a peaceful re- inspired by the Wild West, the themes of sistance.” – remembers Lucie who, com- which they revived in their communities ing from a nature-loving family, joined – they dressed up accordingly, withdrew the tramping movement in high school. into nature, and both were found unde- Since the regime change in 1990, the sirable by the ruling political regime. #e tramping movement has declined, and tramps in Czechoslovakia played and re- even though there are still groups of na- played motives in the Wild West known ture lovers that meet in the mountains, from literature (and later on in films) organize trips and festivals of tramping in their communities in the mountains, songs, they struggle to prove their le- gathered around the fireplace, and sang gitimate existence beyond nostalgia. #e about freedom. Even though the move- Hungarian Indian movement was related ment was not explicitly political, it was to a small subculture (two groups in fact constantly persecuted by the state (ex- – one in the hills of the Bakony, the other cept for a period of relative reconcilia- one on the Danube) of artists and intel- tion in the ‘70s, when it was tolerated lectuals, and has become widely known to some extent because of the percep- by the infamous case of “the Indian trial” tion that country music represented the in 1963, when, traced by the national in- poor working class in America, who telligence service, the authorities wanted

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f “Today, hikers and daytrippers still head out into nature, but they prefer to go individually and independently instead of in an organized way”

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to learn all possible details about the Indian metaphors of a brave, suppressed people fighting for independence. "e Indian movement, though also smaller in numbers, remains active today, with groups of devoted Hungarian nature-lovers gathering every summer to become Indians (Native Americans) for as long as their teepees stand. Separate ways, to each his own “When the Velvet Revolution took place, I think I can speak for everybody, we were all very happy. "e basic idea of tramping is that all tramps are buddies, and after the revolution absolutely all Czechoslovaks became buddies. Nobody suspected that this would also mean the twilight of tramping,” adds Lucie. "e tramping and Indian movements have, paradoxically, declined after the fall of communism and undergone dramatic changes within a short period of time. Besides the absence of political factors that previously kept these oppositional movements dynamic, their decay has also been economic, with financial pressures affecting the large associations that organize the infrastructure of hiking. One of the reasons why hiking became so popular during socialism was that people had more free time and more resources, and services were cheaper. Today, hikers and daytrippers still head out into nature, but they prefer to go individually and independently instead of in an organized way. Time is possibly even more problematic – free time is a scarcity, and it is becoming troublesome to take days off or leave for a long weekend, therefore, people opt for more intense experiences – such as mountain biking, rafting, or other adrenaline sports. "e historical hiking associations responsible for the mainte- nance of trails and infrastructure within their own countries are going through the most difficult times of their approximately 130 years of existence (with the exception of the Slovak KST, which was founded in 1990). Membership in the Hungarian MTSZ has fallen to 14,000 from about 100,000 in the early ‘90s. Vencel Pálmai, a board member of the organization, explains their desperation to find fund-

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f All mountain routes are recorded in such "books of ing – most of the work (marking and aging membership, financial insecurity, trips", which include information on time of depart, maintaining trails) is done by volun- and privatization. When the trails lead planned route and estimated time of return to the shelter. There, climbers brag about their climbing teers, but nevertheless their survival is through a private forest, for instance, achievements, but also show concern about fellows at risk. “In all former socialist countries they have to make individual agree- who went climbing and whom - if necessary - they the membership of these clubs has de- ments with the owner. “But the major might need to help. clined. Earlier during the “cursed times”, problem is that KČT has to keep in step x Regardless of national borders, political and social big corporations used to fund recrea- with the changes of the times and re- systems, revolutions and coups – mountain activities tion for their workers, and the entire spect the preferences of young people. enjoy equally great popularity. Despite economic infrastructure was extremely cheap.” Moreover, it is financed by the state, and transformations and changes in society, despite Recently, the government has appointed will be affected by public budget cuts,” globalization and the pace of life, mountain trips play a commissioner to help out the MTSZ claims Tomás Kvasnicka. a similar role: they are an oasis of peace, where only one thing counts – to go ahead and overcome one’s and allocate funds, but the organization #e main difficulty for the organi- limitations. will have to go through drastic chang- zations is thus to stay competitive in the es, affecting the entire leadership and market, which is tricky because hiking the organizational structure, including is not a particularly marketable area. the name and the logo, which, similar Today, hikers come mostly from the to that of Naturfreunde, is an Alpine middle class, and while the infrastruc- rose, dangerously reminiscent of a red ture is definitely becoming more pricey, pentagram. hiking is still relatively available. While #e Polish PTTK and the Czech this may not be an era of massive organ- KČT are in a somewhat better posi- ized movements or secret oppositional tion – they are respected, historically gatherings, all other aspects of hiking well known, and enjoy partial support are there to be explored. Despite the dif- from the state. Even Pope John Paul II, ficulties, wanderlust, even if in different who was a passionate hiker and organ- forms, still inspires hikers and nature ized secret clerical gatherings in the lovers to continue to pass their passion mountains, was member of PTTK, and on to future generations. continued to support the organization while at the Vatican. Nevertheless, even The author is a cultural anthropologist writ- these organizations have to face the ing her dissertation on post-socialist urban challenges of today – problems of an movements.

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75 URBAN POLITICS OF EUROPEAN CAPITAL OF CULTURE

THE CHANCES

Several cities of the region OF CULTURAL have already held a title of the European Capital of Culture. "e title itself RENEWAL has been awarded since 1985 to cities designated by the European Union for IN HUNGARY a period of one calendar year during which they organize a series of cultural ANDRÁS BOZÓKI events with a strong European dimension. Since xperts say that Hungary, !e first precondition remains lack- 2000 Central and Eastern and especially its capital, ing in Hungary as it is not a rich country, Budapest, is in a good and it cannot afford to pay competitive European countries have situation to define its fees for big international names who joined the initiative. "is cultural identity within could direct cultural institutes. If inter- Europe. In addition to nationally competitive salaries were of- change entangled a new a new generation of tal- fered, it would trigger tensions regarding political process that ented artists, a whole internal salary rates, and it would upset had to take place. While new wave of cultural managers with the public. !is would mean obstacles to Ea fresh attitude has sprung up in Hungar- the very aim, namely, to provide a more a country's capital would ian cultural life. !eir co-operation can active presence of foreign artists and be the obvious choice potentially lead to a long-expected cul- cultural managers. In spite of the cultur- this was not usually the tural renewal. Success is not the result of al pillar system in the Netherlands, it has a zero-sum game. !e players in Hungar- been an open country, a sailing nation for case. Former Minister of ian cultural life have been wasting their centuries, and their everyday life has in- Culture of Hungary gives energy on competing for the patronage cluded interaction with foreign cultures and resources of the state. !e time has – not to mention that their economy his account of the political come for them to join forces. If the key greatly benefited from colonialization decision making process figures of a new, or renewed, emblematic policies. By the 1960s, most everyone when selecting the city cultural institutes, such as KÉK, Sziget spoke English in the Netherlands, while Festival, Museum of Fine Arts, WAMP, in Hungary a few decades shall pass be- of Pecs to hold the title Ludwig Museum, A38 Music Ship, Impex fore we can achieve widespread fluency. in 2010. Lumen, Millenáris !eatre, Műcsarnok Hungary was an occupied, isolated and (Arts Hall), Tűzraktér (Alternative Cul- under-recognized country until the re- tural Center), VAM Design Center, Trafó gime change of 1989. Its citizens did not (!eatre for Contemporary Dance), Mer- travel, speak foreign languages or listen lin !eatre, Palace of Arts, MU !eatre, to Western radio programmes, and they Gödör Club and many others, co-oper- saw people with different skin color only ate, they will reach the critical mass that in films. !e cultural revolution of 1968 might bring an appreciable change. was muted behind the Iron Curtain. What makes a country cultur- Although the first condition is lack- ally attractive? According to Jan Kennis ing, the situation is not hopeless, as the (cultural attaché of the Netherlands to third condition is present. !e “artistic Hungary), there are three preconditions atmosphere” of Budapest, and some to renewal: 1.) economic development, other towns as Pécs, Szeged, Eger and 2.) the ability to attract and integrate for- Sopron is a gift, and we must take the eign influence, and 3.) the “artistic atmos- advantage of it more actively. Budapest phere” of the place1 maintains far more theatres than the av-

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erage European capital, and has a spar- ciples, and the democratic principles of support, thus becoming a world-class kling cultural life. mutual restrictions for the sake of our orchestra, and when the support for the If the first condition is missing then common freedom. A few years after the State Opera was tripled. "e construc- we still have the third, and the hope for regime change of 1989, it became impor- tion of the Palace of Arts was also started change lies in the second, in other words, tant to rescue cultural financing from the then. "e right-wing political parties had the ability to attract foreign influence. labyrinth of party politics. "e most sig- a straightforward idea of what culture "is is the field where a change in the nificant measure to reconfigure the old was: primarily the carrier of a coher- view of cultural policy could contribute structure was to establish the National ent national identity that was shaped by most to success. I would like to address Cultural Fund (NKA) in 1993. "is pro- history. "ey knew exactly what aim the this issue a bit more closely. vided the opportunity for cultural prod- national cultural institutes should serve: "e regime change in 1989 cre- ucts to be evaluated by independent to strengthen national unity based on tra- ated the opportunity for a fundamental professional juries, so that the players ditional values and symbols. "e Orbán change in Hungarian culture and cul- in cultural life could have a share in the administration handled culture as a state tural policy. Several new fora of public state support based on their profession- matter instead of a social one, and placed discourse came to life, new weeklies and al/artistic merits, and not their political it as a focal point, stressing the thousand- periodicals, which could herald the newly nexus. After 1994, the liberal cultural ad- year-old concept of the state, that of Saint gained freedom of speech and the press. ministration brought the Digital Literary Stephen I - the first King of Hungary. However, in the beginning, change was Academy (DIA) and the Széchenyi schol- "e cultural policy of the MSZP- detectable primarily in re-evaluating the arship to life, which meant gestures to SZDSZ coalition in power between 2002 withheld or falsified past, as it was the certain groups of elite intellectuals. At and 2006 was characterised by the clash- case in the rehabilitation made by the the same time, 10% of the NKA budget es between different configurations of the conservative-nationalist culture minister, was turned into a vis maior fund, which Socialist and Liberal circles: 1.) those rep- Kunó Klebelsberg`s cultural policy of the became the “minister`s budget”. resenting the old Kádárian elite positions, 1920s. "e state played an exclusive role When the media act entered into 2.) the technocrats favoring moderniza- in financing culture, and the gaps were force in 1996, the rise of commercial TV tion and a breakaway from the current filled by the generous support from the channels brought a significant cultural situation, and finally, 3.) the groups em- Soros Foundation, which was active up to change to Hungary. "e sole rule of state phasizing the renewal of the leftist-liberal the mid-1990s. As a result, and also due TV thus ended, and the previous media identity. "e “Kádárists” were unable to to the outstanding role that the intellec- war lost its target, as the viewers now enter actual debates, as they were oc- tuals played in the change of regime, the could “vote” with their remote controls. cupied with maintaining their own po- old culture financing scheme seemed sus- Also, in 1997, the Soros Foundation be- sitions in the institutions. Others saw tainable for a long time. "e new pluralist gan to withdraw from Hungary, where culture from a defensive aspect, avoiding system enabled certain circles of intellec- they had been supporting the cultural making any reference to it, as they basi- tuals to gain a leading policy-making role. and scientific scenes: some parts of which cally accepted the content of culture de- "e media war over the control of public were changed (books, periodicals, cul- fined by the conservative side. For them, radio and television occurred between tural events, scientific scholarships, etc.), culture was subordinate to the needs of 1991 and 1993, it was a Kulturkampf be- and some were gradually terminated. No experts, pragmatists and to the require- tween the intellectuals who had entered similar private sponsor has since taken ments of modernization. "ey were the politics, and the two opposing blocs of their place. ones who treated culture as a “burden”, their heartland.2 Following the cultural When Fidesz gained power in 1998, a mental reserve standing in the way of homogenization by the dictatorship, the there were already new circumstances. the country`s development and competi- struggle now turned to establishing sub- "e conservative government, with the tiveness. Finally, others urged that the cultural foundations. At that time, the millennium approaching, increased the Left should renew the concept of culture, chance of the institutionalization of this role of symbolic politics, and attributed and become more active in the field of subcultural pluralism meant the guar- a unique, strategic importance to culture. cultural democracy, creating opportuni- antee of freedom. "is determined the "e former 10% of the minister`s budget ties, nurturing talents, as well as cultural first years of the struggle to define the was raised to 50%, in order to have a clos- and regional development. "ey argued new republic`s culture, public discourse, er link between the government and the that the Left could not be intellectually symbols, and policy. "e first four years groups of the cultural elite that favored empty, and should not continue without of the Parliament was the era of symbolic them. NKA was merged into the cultural an identity. politics, in which the old cultural pillars budget, and was operated as the National "e cultural policy of the Medgyessy of “populists” and “urbanists” were repre- Cultural Base Programme. "e Orbán administration (2002–2004) primarily sented by the defining parties of the time: administration regarded culture prima- represented the interests of circles still the Hungarian Democratic Forum and rily from the aspect of national-historical stuck to the nexus that had developed the Alliance of Free Democrats. identity – this way following the 19th cen- during the Kádár era. However, the first "e concept of a modern republic tury concept of culture – and supported Gyurcsány administration (2004–2006) means that we know what the minimum mainly the institutes that enforced this opened doors for the new cultural groups basis of understanding is, which can still line. "at was the time when the National and genres, under the aegis of renewal. shape us into one political community, in "eatre – conveying vague aesthetic More money was given to the curatoria spite of the differences between us. "is values – was built, when the National of NKA, as the minister`s budget was community is maintained by legal prin- Philharmonic Orchestra was given extra decreased from 50% to 25%. "e act on

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EUROPEAN CAPITALS GRAZ 2003 OF CULTURE 200O-2016 Culture is more than art.

There was a specific desire to include people and citizens who were not “art consumers” and involve the inhabitants NKA in 2005 restored the name and au- PRAGUE 2000 of Graz in the creation of projects. Culture tonomy of the fund, and restricted the was given a wide definition to include rules of incompatibility. Between 2006 !e story of the city aspects of daily life and the use of public and 2009 the socialist cultural policy City of open gates space was a priority. returned to a more traditional under- City to live in standing of culture and favored different BUDGET ! ,, segments within high culture. Three major themes were developed: the Total number of people attending events #e last ten years saw fundamental 1st focusing on the cultural heritage of Prague, the 2nd on Prague as the cross- in the programme: 2.755.271 changes in reproducing culture, the ac- roads of different cultures and interna- Visitor numbers far exceeded cess to cultural goods, and in general, tional links, and the 3rd on a developed expectations. An increase of almost the attitude to culture. #e impact of the cultural life in a modern metropolis. 23% in total overnight stays in 2003 traditional, textual and narrative genres compared to 2002 was way over the pre-2003 forecast of a 10-15% increase. dropped significantly, and certain visual BUDGET ! ,, The increase of overnight stays by foreign and musical genres gained greater value. visitors was almost 29%. #e Internet generation appeared, whose TOURISM Specific objectives relating to visitors: An increase in visitors but no con- members were raised in a free country, crete strategy was developed and it was and thus they had only a cursory knowl- not a high priority. SIBIU 2007 edge of the years of the dictatorship. Our Expectations and assumptions about the children read less printed material than number of people who would come to of Culture-City of Cultures we did, the developed world has switched Prague and see the City of Culture were to the Internet, online networks, and mo- not significant. Vaclav Novotny, who head- The tagline embodied Sibiu’s mixing of ed the Prague Information Service, said: different cultures, e.g. Romanian and bile phones. We do not send our letters in “I expect approximately the same number Germanic. envelopes anymore. of tourists next year [as this year], so Since 2004, Hungary has been a EU Prague 2000 won’t induce an increase. BUDGET member state. Some of the old problems We already host some 2.5 million tourists ! ,, are still with us, while new challenges a year who, altogether, stayed 8 million It would appear that Sibiu achieved its nights. That’s about the maximum we can have also come up. We may close our aim of increasing the city’s visibility at the hope to get. The key question now is not eyes, but that will not chase away the fun- European level. how to increase the number of visitors, Number of tourists in accommodation damental cultural change that is taking but how to keep it this high.” units during the first semester: 2006 place in Hungary, in the form of digital = 60,197; 2007 = 75,545; that is, an revolution. #e country is in the global increase of 125.5%. race, the new technologies, visual forms CRACOW 2000 of art, and new cultural forms are here. #e significance of audio-visual culture !ought, VILNIUS 2009 – mainly film and pop music – has in- Spirituality, creased. #e technological development Creativity Culture Live enables more and more of us to have a say The vision of a “European capital of the The tagline reflects both the history in public matters (e-democracy, blog cul- future that is open to people, cultures and and the daily life of today’s city, ture), and to become creators ourselves which openness has always attracted innovation”. (computer music). Multi-disciplinary individuality, and which gates have festivals are also on the rise, and the for- always been open for people of different BUDGET ! ,, merly rigid boundaries between elite and nationalities, religions, or ways of thinking. Statistics Lithuania informs that, based public culture are disappearing, and what on the data of the inbound tourism is more, differentiation itself is becoming survey, the number of overnight trips BUDGET problematic. Any combinaton of genres ! ,, of foreigners in 2009, compared to is conceivable in today`s experimental Polling by the Cracow branch of the 2008, decreased by 16.8 percent (from mix and remix of culture, as the accept- Institute for Tourism suggests the city 1.6 million in 2008 to 1.3 million in saw a 20% increase in tourists in 2000. 2009), that of same-day trips – by ance of the different forms of creativity 6.6 percent (from 2.8 million in 2008 to has broadened on a wide scale. Now punk Foreign guests were 56% of visitors (up from 45% in 1999). 13% gave cultural 2.7 million in 2009). (Note: decrease due operas, rap poetry, ray painting, and sym- events as the reason for their visits and to the deep economic crisis.) phonic video clips are real options. #e 8% gave their interest in local folklore. opportunities presented by new links

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TALLIN 2011 Stories of the Seashore LINZ 2009 The main theme of Tallinn 2011 is RIGA 2014 “Stories of the Seashore” and its citing Say Linz, Say Change of its importance as both the sea and Force Majeure storytelling were to play a major role in As the European Capital of Culture, Linz The programme for the project of the many of the planned events. is all about differences: differences com- European Capital of Culture 2014 is pared to the rest of Austria, but also to based on the ideological key principles BUDGET the dark times, to the Linz of yesterday, ! ,, of Kult[rix]. After several months of crea- and to other cultural events. Its new mot- The year as the Capital of Culture had a tive discussion with the participation of to consists of two words that automati- positive influence on tourism, and most a diverse circle of experts from different cally co-opt all Linzers as co-organisers. of all cultural tourism. By the end of fields, Riga’s programme for 2014 has That build expectations and suspense in September, the number of overnight stays acquired the title “force majeure”. the minds of visitors with regard to Linz by foreign tourists rose by 23% compared 2009. And that self-confidently signal the to the year before resulting in 494,909 BUDGET ! ,, energetic development of the city: “Linz. added hotel nights. verändert,” (Say Linz. Say Change). SARAJEVO 2014 BUDGET ! ,, MARIBOR 2012 Peace, Art., Freedom Audiences of nearly 3.5m people. Linz09 is a success story in terms of tourism: Pure Energy The conceptuality of the programme is more than two million day visits and The theme for Maribor’s European Capital reflected in the correlation of notions an increase of 9.5 % in the number of of Culture is “Pure Energy”, referring to Peace, Art, and Freedom with freedom of overnight stays. the fact that the region covers most of creativity and human rights, and the com- Slovenia’s energy resources and is linked mitment to all and especially to younger to Maribor’s aim to build up energy in generations. PÉCS 2010 the coming years leading to a “cultural explosion” in 2012. Borderless city BUDGET PILSEN 2015 It underlined the city’s ambition to re- ! ,,, establish international relations with Touristic Information Centre in Maribor Pilsen Open Up! neighboring countries and regions, which documented an increase in the number Pilsen open up! The name of the project were damaged during the war in the of visitors by 65% in the first three weeks for Pilsen’s candidacy for the ECoC title former Yugoslavia. In its proposal, Pécs of 2012. characterizes the 2015 programme. The thus presented itself as a “gateway to the city needs to and wants to open up. This Balkans”. has been a permanent theme of Pilsen’s KOSICE 2013 cultural vision since the 1990s. BUDGET ! ,, Use the City The number of nights spent in Pécs by Hungarian tourists has gone up by 13% The slogan of the nomination campaign WROCŁAW 2016 (totaling 160,389) compared with the - reading as USE THE CITY! - calls the previous year. An increase about 75% was USERS to use the city, go out and take Spaces for beauty noticed in the number of nights spent in an active part in the public life, enter the Presslaw, Vratislav, Wrotizla, Boroszló, Bre- the city by foreigners (totaling 77,758). INTERFACE created for them and begin to slau – these are only a few examples of the This average 28% increase in the number communicate with culture, art, and, above 50 names that have been given to Wrocław of visitors wouldn’t be possible in a all, with each other.” time of crisis without the title of Cultural throughout the centuries. Its complex history and transformations that it underwent are Capital. The Managing Centre claims that BUDGET in all of the events in Pécs2010 about ! ,, symbolized by a butterfly – the emblem of million visitors participated. The general aim is the branding of Wrocław’s candidacy for the title as the Eu- Slovakia as a tourist destination in ropean Capital of Culture. The city’s names general by the national tourism board: can be seen on the application’s cover. Košice would be one of the strongest Inside the document we will find the reasons focuses in the tourism board’s strategy. for Wrocław’s candidacy for the title of ECC. There are nine of them. The application also includes the programmes that, if Wrocław receives the title of European Capital of Cul- ture, will be used to build spaces for beauty in the city and in Lower Silesia.

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between genres are unprecedented. It is rather rethink them in a continuous prestige. Applications must be submitted, no exaggeration to say that, as a result of exchange. budgets must be calculated in advance, the inspiration derived from global mix- State cultural policy must “clear the and later; in many cases they have to ac- tures, slowly all new music will become way” in order to allow those to speak who count for the expenditures during the “world music”. "e movement of creative have been previously silenced, as well as process. However, in the cultural scene common goods has appeared (Creative provide the conditions for cultural diver- we often bump into an often invisible and Commons), which delegates the inter- sity. Forty years ago, jazz in Hungary was closed nexus, the one-dimensional opera- pretation and definition of copyright to said not to be part of culture, and that tion of which has been publicly criticised the authors themselves. Without overes- it did not deserve support. Later it was by the State Audit Office on several occa- timating the role of technology, I believe accepted. And there is Tengertánc, the sions. Appointments for certain periods that the cultural policy-makers had to, program supporting living folk culture, are often on paper only, but as “personal and still have to, face this fact. or PANKKK, supporting music clubs consignment” they might be valid forever. "ere was a need for a new cultural in the country and upcoming talents, "is is not the rule of law, but the culture policy, partly in contrast to the compen- in order to revitalize small town clubs. of direct political control. In a democ- sative culture of Kunó Klebelsberg, which, Although the introduction of these pro- racy it is natural that a cultural position after the shock of Trianon, was built upon grams triggered heated debates, now they is filled for a specified period. With this the cultural superiority of “Mutilated have proven successful, as they were born in mind, the world of Hungarian cultural Hungary”. State subsidies for artists fol- of the initiative of, and in cooperation institutions makes it seem like the regime lowed after policy based on a Hungarian with artists. Alfa and Közkincs (Public change did not take place. communist idea of György Aczél: “To for- Treasure) programs, that serve cultural "e success of the European bid, to abide, to support”, , which, after regional development, can be supported Cultural Capital program shows that 1956, was based on the pacification and from EU sources as well. When the Sziget culture now has greater value in Europe, compromising of a rebellious society. Festival receives 60,000 visitors a day, and as has cultural diplomacy. "ere are no Today, none of the 20th century models has become one of the biggest European serious political conflicts between the can be followed, and not only because events, no one can say that it is not a part countries of Europe, and the role of tra- these were products of anti-democratic of Hungarian culture. Nowadays, it is ditional diplomacy has been shrinking as regimes. "e culture of the free republic even part of the Hungarian image. a result. Now, who or what can a country cannot be built upon privileges gained "ere was also a significant change come up with? With Botticelli, Bergman, and maintained without achievements in Hungarian public radio, when the Bartók, Mozart, Almodóvar, with paint- and the narrow concept of culture itself. Petőfi channel, listened to by only a few ers, film directors and perfomers – its art, In 2005, Hungary supported the people, became a hub of quality pop mu- its culture. It is important to have Korean, UNESCO resolution on protecting cul- sic. PANKKK was the first to formulate American or Indian investors in Hungary, tural diversity, which partly opposed the the need for Hungarian musicians to have as they create thousands of jobs, and they purely free market-based concept of cul- more time on public radio. A paradoxi- thus have an economic and social role, ture. "e document declares that national cal situation then developed, as the new but they will not add anything to our im- cultures must be protected, as culture is management of Hungarian Radio, not age and our cultural presence abroad. It a product, but a special one. A Hungarian, fully intentionally, began to implement requires a great effort for a city or a coun- an Italian, or a Czech film, or a piece of this cultural policy. "is is a sign of our try to represent itself. "e question that writing is valuable in itself. Small, isolated common awareness that we need a much is all the more important is whether there languages must also be protected. "us, broader, more flexible, and more open is a development concept, and how the the state has a role in cultural financing, concept of culture. We should not leave creative industries may be included in it. and this role must be maintained. For the unnoticed the changes in the culture of Let us not forget that culture can make same reason, in 2006, the Hungarian cul- our everyday life, and the social-intellec- a profit as well, and has a function in re- tural administration initiated, and their tual phenomena that turn up outside the vitalizing the economy, which takes place European partners accepted, the new circle of regularly supported traditional via the creative industries, music, films, concept of European cultural heritage, cultural institutions. Besides “court cul- and marketing. which emphasizes intellectual heritage ture”, public culture is also part of culture. "e European Commission an- in addition to built heritage. Next to the aristocracy of culture, the re- nounced 2008 as the year of intercultural If we think that culture is a plural- public of culture has also come to life. dialogue, having realized that cultural di- ist concept because it is diverse, color- Representing the republic of culture versity is a fundamental value in Europe. ful and is built of several elements, then cannot mean maintaining the cultural in- It is impractical and insufficient to main- the same is true for national culture, as stitutions in an unchanged form forever. tain an isolated society that lives in mul- it is also made up of identities and sub- But what viewpoints should be taken into ticultural “ghettos”, so encouraging such cultures, constantly interacting with its consideration when evaluating these insti- a dialogue has become important. "ose environment, and thus is always chang- tutions? One of the hottest political ques- who communicate with each other will try ing. Certainly, there exists a traditional tions is that of fair procedures. "e world to understand one another better. As the preference of values, but it is not the of cultural lobbies is more fluid than the French and the Germans have published politicians` task to rank values. It is the world of science: scientists have gotten coursebooks on World War II together, task of the professionals, the audiences, used to entering international competi- there could be similar joint programs and the society, but they do not set up tions to acquire support, and publishing for Romania and Hungary, or Serbia and the rankings “till the end of time”, but in foreign arenas to gain professional Hungary. "e National Cultural Fund

80 VISEGRAD INSIGHT 2|2012 POLITICS OF EUROPEAN CAPITAL OF CULTURE URBAN

should establish a college of intercultural As a consequence, besides the traditional and dialogues of new content will begin. cooperation. If we desire an open world means of diplomacy, the importance of If everything goes well, these cultures, and culture, then the borders must stay contact management, network building when in a new environment of recep- open as well, so that people and thoughts and project initiatives are becoming more tion, will draw much more and broader can travel back and forth. We must not relevant. #e creators and operators of attention than in their place of origin. quarantine the national tradition, na- cultural productions, instead of indi- Sometimes we witness that Hungarian tional or ethnic culture, or even sub- vidual performances, now tend to look “subcultural” acts, which are left unno- culture. For many, favoring the national for partners to present their programs in ticed locally, gain international success. culture against the harmful effects of multiple countries simultaneously, and Institutional and civil contacts, globalization is like closing off, “national in order to increase the efficiency of their artist dialogues, and establishing access self-defence”, as if culture was a military reception, involve the locals. #at cannot among subcultures, and having a cultural concept. Our culture is strong only when be only the effects of globalization, and entrepreneurial attitude, all require a new it has the ability to be in dialogue. the trend will not damage or sweep away strategy and a new set of means. #at Any real, provocative and attrac- national cultures, on the contrary, it may sort of culture that the older generations tive culture will step over boundaries. encourage a discovery of new character- grew up with seems to be losing some of It is not by accident that the European istics and features unknown thus far. its more appealing characteristics. In the Commission has established a cultural It is already enough for Hungarian age of computers, commercial television, prize with the name Border Breakers cultural diplomacy to pay extra atten- discount airlines and the explosive devel- Award. It is a fact that Hungarian cultural tion to common cultural creations, and opment of communication technologies, diplomacy and the society of artists have to encourage intercultural dialogue. we are not that old, isolated, barracked become much more open in the past few Responsiveness to foreign influences is country that we used to be, which would years, and Hungary`s geocultural posi- not exclusively a question of diplomacy, find satisfaction only in football, chess, tion has changed a lot, and is now more but a question of “artistic atmosphere” as narrow elite culture, and gold medals balanced. Now we have the chance to it was mentioned above. Common crea- at the Olympics. Today`s talents can enjoy the spaces of our regained cultural tion is a task for civil players, the state emerge outside these fields. #e structure independence, and to get rid of the ex- authorities must only provide spaces for of culture is changing continuously, and tremes that used to bind our intellect dur- that, be it a physical venue or a virtual one thus we need to renew its concepts, and ing most of the 20th century: both that on the Internet. One of the most excit- to have a fresh, supportive cultural policy. fake “cultural superiority” and the sense ing developments of today`s cultural life We must demonstrate strong gestures to of inferiority, which triggers frustrations. is the realization of the fact that national gain attention, to reveal that the situation What do we need for success? cultures, thought to be homogenous in has changed. Firstly, we have to revitalize and keep im- the past, are built upon numerous sub- Today, twenty years after the regime proving our mood in regards to work and cultures. A country`s culture consists of change of 1989, the historical period of creation. Secondly, we have to keep our these colorful islands, and this diversity post-communism is over, including the views fresh, our procedures fair, main- is what makes it so attractive, dynamic, change of the political and economic retain a policy of creating opportunities, and interesting. Representing this diverse gime, unchecked capitalism, the accumu- and the necessity of having alternatives. world abroad requires cultural diploma- lation of capital, and rapid privatization. We must support common creation, cy, and for each player to have a new view In spite of the relative poverty of Hungary, free access to different fields, engender of their roles. As a result of the develop- the time has come for us to realize the the entrepreneurial attitude, and value ment of subcultures, the concept of na- importance of cultural values. #e age of mediating. #e age of one-dimensional, tional culture has become much broader, the “last giant state-socialist companies” one-channel, “great national representa- and we have to deal with this new cultural (which could operate and spend irre- tion” is over. Long-term results can be ex- concept. What is more, there are often no sponsibly and were not transparent in the pected only from cultural actions that are direct paths between these subcultures, early years of capitalism) is over as well. based on common creation, partnership, even within a country, and these may As it seems, Hungary is, slowly but surely, and co-operative projects. #e success of even refuse to communicate, for differ- entering a world of cultural diversity that cultural seasons cannot be measured by ent reasons like taste or technical diffi- is more similar to the Western European the quantity of the artists, the produc- culties. Cultural diplomacy cannot afford model, where the role of culture can be tions, and the press releases, but by the to create the missing unit artificially, or brought into focus again. #e culture of number, durability and intensity of part- to pretend to have it, referring to the the republic will resemble us. nerships and joint projects established objectives of foreign representation. It between the Hungarian and foreign cul- must bring the players of Hungarian and The author is a Hungarian Professor of Political tural players. Co-production and joint analogous foreign subcultures together, Science at the Central European University, and financing is not an external obligation and establish direct access between them. the former Chairman of the Hungarian Political anymore, but an internal principal start- Such “creative passages” will release new Science Association. From 2005 to 2006, he ing point in forming cultural contacts. energies, new capacities will emerge, served as the Minister of Culture in Hungary.

REFERENCES 1. Jan Kennis, “A Paprika-hadművelet” [“The Paprika Operation”] Élet és Irodalom, August 29, 2008. 2. These two opposing groups were the right-conservative forces and the left-liberal ones. The former was represented by the intellectuals around the governing party, Hungarian Democratic Forum (MDF), while the latter by the intellectuals around the opposition party, Alliance of Free Democrats (SZDSZ).

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W HEN L ITERATURE he Nike prize is a product B ECOM ES P OLITICS of its time. !e fall of communism destroyed not only the rules of the socialist economy, but also the system that shaped the hierarchy of the country’s cultural scene supported by the Probing the Visegrad regime and manifested by competitions Tand prizes founded by different authorities, state-controlled branch unions, and Countries' Systems of associations or newspapers. !e system, however, had an increasingly smaller im- Literary Awards pact on the taste of the Polish readership after the mid-70s when an independent cultural circuit established its presence in Poland. Following the breakthrough of 1989, there appeared a void that was not even filled by a literary prize awarded by MAREK SEČKAŘ the Geneva-based Kościelski Foundation which was commonly referred to as “the Polish Nobel prize for writers under the iterary prizes are not a very old business. Among the important ones, age of 40” not only due to the age limit the Nobel Prize in Literature is probably the oldest one, having been imposed on potential candidates. De- bestowed since 1901. It has obviously proven to be a very inspiring idea spite the fact that the award ceremony however, as literary prizes have proliferated around the world in the moved from Switzerland to Poland and 20th century. Nowadays, we can hardly imagine literary life without the judges panel consisted of acclaimed them. !eir purpose is manifold, at least in theory. Of course, they are critics and academics who rarely erred in supposed to acknowledge and reward prominent and gifted authors. their verdicts, selecting authors who later !ey are expected to make the literary field more organized so readers made their mark on the Polish literary can easily find their way around and, consequently, to encourage people to read books landscape (such as Jerzy Pilch, Andrzej Las much as possible. But besides defining the situation in contemporary literature, Stasiuk, Olga Tokarczuk and Tadeusz they are also supposed to indicate its trends and future developments, and to express Słobodzianek), the Kościelski award re- the expectations and wishes of the literary world’s élites – because it is precisely these mained a prestigious distinction that was élites who run and bestow most literary prizes. And, last but not least, literary prizes mainly recognized by a narrow circle of are supposed to connect the world of literature with the worlds of politics, economics, writers, scholars and critics. and with society at its broadest. !ere is no doubt about this: while we can – and many do – argue about whether literary prizes really reflect the condition of a given literature at a given time, nobody can deny the fact that literary prizes do reflect, at least to an Hopes, uproar extent, the condition of a society as a whole. During the last two decades, the four Visegrád countries have also experienced and frustration notable developments in the area of literary prizes. !ey all had their prizes in the period of communist totalitarianism, but these could hardly perform the aforementioned !e void was eventually filled by the Nike functions as they were unreservedly subdued by the power which was bestowing them. award, whose initiator – again a sign of Some of these awards persisted in subsequent years, and attempts were made to rectify the times – was a representative of the their reputation. Other prizes existed as well, but in total, the 1990s can be character- world of business and not the world of ized as a period when literary prizes did not play a very important role and everybody arts. !e award was created by Henryka was on their own to find their way among contemporary literary creations. Only the Bochniarz, a businesswoman and Minis- most recent decade has seen attempts to systemize whatever happens in literature, and ter of Industry in one of the first Polish literary prizes are supposed to work as one of these tools. !is is attested to by the ap- governments after the political transfor- pearance of big and relatively prestigious awards, such as the Nike Prize in Poland, the mation. She convinced Adam Michnik, Magnesia Litera Award in the Czech Republic, the Anasoft Litera Award in Slovakia, the editor-in-chief of Gazeta Wyborcza, or the AEGON Art Prize in Hungary. Some of these prizes are financed by private of the merits of her idea and it was decid- companies, which is also a new phenomenon in the Central European cultural milieu. ed that the prize would be awarded to the Do these attempts bear any fruit? Have we moved on thanks to them? Do they best book of a single living author written help us find our way, or do they just lay the groundwork for commercial approaches in Polish and published in the preceding in the virgin land of artistic endeavor? Four countries: four different stories. Yet, they year. A novel can thus compete with a also share certain features – as is usual in this region. historical book, and a collection of poems with a biography. !e winning author The author is a Czech translator, literary critic and editor of Host magazine. receives a statuette designed by promi-

82 VISEGRAD INSIGHT 2|2012 AWARDS BOOKS WINGED VICTORY OF NIKE !e system of literary prizes in Poland

!e situation with literary prizes in Poland can "e Nike award proved to be the main driver for the book trade in Poland. be compared to the global film industry. In the Books honored with the Gustaw Zemła statuette disappear from book stores country of the Vistula River, we have a literary the day after winning the prize. A sig- equivalent of the Oscar, the Nike Literary nificant increase in sales is noted by both novels and niche collections of poems, Prize, conferred annually since 1997 by Gazeta other nominated books sell equally well. Prompted by the list of Nike winners, Wyborcza, the largest daily newspaper in Poles rush to buy new additions to their Poland. Each year this award provokes media home libraries. Most important is the fact that the judges panel, whose members discussions and fierce debates, it turns prize- change each year, dares to make brave winning books into bestsellers, and puts decisions and promote young and con- authors into the literary Pantheon.

CEZARY POLAK In 2006 the Nike prize was awarded to Dorota Masłowska. When asked how the prestigious and financially nent Polish sculptor Gustaw Zemła and mits to not reading books at all) litera- rewarding prize (approx. 24,000 a check currently worth 100,000 złoty ture can cause strong emotions. Debates EUR) has changed her life, the young (approx. 24,000 euro). "e prize money rage not only among the prominent jury writer who was 23 years old at the made a great impression as there was no members, professors, writers and crit- time replied: I enjoyed myself other equally generous award for writers ics, but also among web surfers and on for 3 hours. I lent some in Poland. "e three-stage selection pro- internet forums not even associated with money to my friends, cess lasts six months, with the final vote literature. Some authors lose their nerve. bought new clothes, taking place only a few hours before the In 1998, Professor Zygmunt Kubiak, a and then fell into award ceremony amid unprecedented prominent scholar of antiquity, could not depression. media coverage. "e announcements of come to terms with his defeat (the Nike official nominees, and then the seven fi- award was awarded that year to Polish nalists chosen by the judges (luminaries Nobel prize winner Czesław Miłosz), troversial authors like Dorota Masłowska of the Polish cultural life appointed each and ostentatiously left the ceremony be- (the laureate in 2006), or authors forgot- year), are greeted with great media an- fore its end. Jarosław Marek Rymkiewicz, ten and subsisting on the fringe of the ticipation and fanfare and there is a live a right-wing poet and essayist who of- mainstream, like Marian Pilot, the win- broadcast of the award ceremony on pub- ten launched fierce attacks on Gazeta ner last year, one of the last representa- lic television. Wyborcza and was in a legal dispute with tives of the rural trend in Polish literature. "e Nike award has been noted as Agora, its publisher, was the Nike laure- Andrzej Wajda, a film director, is right a gigantic success. It appeared that in a ate in 2003. He did not attend the award in saying that thanks to the Nike award country whose readership ranks close to ceremony but gladly accepted the prize he can discover an author living in the the lowest in Europe (60% of Poles ad- money. province.

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rial board of the leftist opinion weekly Response from Regional, but “Polityka” in several categories, including literature. Awarded since 1993, the prize the right noteworthy is dedicated to young promising authors (under the age of 40) and is intended !e market, media and influential success Two other literary prizes founded by lo- to be a passport for their future liter- and renown of the Nike award is a thorn cal authorities enjoy much more prestige, ary career. !e idea has indeed worked. in the side of most right-wing conserva- namely the “Angelus,” financed by the city !e verdict of the editorial judges panel, tive circles and Michnik’s opponents, who of Wrocław, and the “Gdynia,” sponsored supported by nominations by acclaimed interpret the jury’s verdicts as a demon- by the local government of Gdynia. Both publicists and critics from other media stration of cultural politics imposed by were founded in 2006, and are an expres- who are invited to join the selection pro- Gazeta Wyborcza. Nasz Dziennik, a daily sion of a new trend in the politics of Po- cess, is broadly discussed and the win- published by a media group headed by land’s major cities. Following European ning authors are assured of the publicity Fr. Tadeusz Rydzyk, a populist Roman Union accession, local Polish politicians generated by the award’s sponsors. Catholic priest, declared the prize award- have promoted the marketing potential ed to Dorota Masłowska for her whistle- of culture, sensing that literature can blowing book written in Polish slang !e promote their cities as effectively as a Queen's Peacock (Paw Królowej), to be football club or film festival, maybe not “an act against Polishness.” in an equally spectacular manner, but at Five years after the foundation of a relatively lower cost. However, the simi- the Nike award, conservative right-wing larities between the two literary awards circles created their own award under end here. !e “Angelus,” which derives its name from a baroque Silesian poet and The Nike prize is also awarded mystic Angelus Silesius, is an interna- by public vote and their selections differ greatly from the main jury tional award. !e jury, headed by Russian choices. Over the past 15 years, the poet and journalist Natalya Gorbanevs- audience and the judges have only kaya, awards authors from Central Eu- selected the same winner three times. rope who, in their books, “take on issues The biggest beneficiary most important for the modern world of this honorary award is As the editorial office of "Gazeta and deepen the knowledge of other cul- Olga Tokarczuk, a prose Wyborcza" collected votes from their tures.” Malicious commentators say this writer and the most readers one year, they received a vote famous Polish vegetarian. for a collection of poems by Tadeusz is the reason why the “Angelus” statuette Różewicz, a Nike prize nominee. (and a check worth 150,000 złoty, equiv- She has received the The sender was the granddaughter alent to approx. 34,000 euro) has never audience award three of the great poet. She argued been awarded to an author from Poland. times. her grandfather deserved To date, the winning authors have includ- the prize more than the ed foreign writers such as Yuri Andruk- other nominees because hovych, Martin Pollack, Josef Škvorecký, !e literary marketplace is rounded he promised to get her a and György Spiró. out by two more literary genre awards. motorcycle if he won. !e “Gdynia” literary prize, spon- However, neither the Silesius award, sored by the city’s mayor, is awarded in sponsored by the city of Wrocław and three categories: prose, poetry, and es- awarded to poets for their entire literary the auspices of Józef Mackiewicz, a say writing. !e winning authors, who output, for a debut, and for the book of writer and publicist. !e judges panel are selected by a judges panel consisting the year, nor the Janusz A. Zajdel Award, has been headed by Marek Nowakowski, of leading literary academics and trans- awarded to science fiction authors, are of a prose-writer, and the other members lators, receive memorial statuettes and greater significance. !ey are prestigious, include leading academics, writers and checks for 50,000 złoty. Because of its di- yet niche distinctions recognized by their publicists who are also open to the for- vision into three categories, the “Gdynia” own literary circles and of rather limited mer’s political views. !ese views are is perceived as the “fairest” of the major influence on the reading preferences of demonstrated in their selections, which, literary prizes in Poland. !e Gdynia the Poles. especially over the past five years, have judges do not have to face the dilemmas !ere is only one literary Oscar in promoted authors openly sympathizing that the Nike judges have – there is no Poland. !e prize which enjoys authentic with the right wing of Polish politics. need to compare a novel with a collection public recognition and can influence the !e award has even been nicknamed of poems, or a collection of essays with bestseller book lists much more strongly “the rightist Nike,” which rather reflects short stories. than the Nobel Prize is the Nike award. the wishful thinking of its organizers than its actual prestige. It attracts much The author is a Polish journalist and publicist. He less interest, does not incite public de- And the rest... works as an editorial staff member of the weekly bates, barely translates into higher book “Kultura TV”, writes for Tygodnik Powszechny sales, and offers much less prize money Other awards recognized by a statistical and the weekly news magazine Wprost. He is (the winning author receives a check poll include “Paszporty Polityki” (Poli- the founder and organizer of “Literature in the worth $10,000). tyka Passports), awarded by the edito- Suburbs”, a literary festival in Warsaw.

84 VISEGRAD INSIGHT 2|2012 AWARDS BOOKS LITERARY AWARDS AS FEEDBACK IN LITERARY COMMUNICATION !e Typology of Literary Awards in Slovakia

Literary communication may appear to be a one-way process from the author to the readership. However, feedback does exist. Before the book is published, the author gets feedback from the publisher and the editor. Later, he meets readers and receives reviews. In addition to these channels of response, literary awards also constitute a speciﬁc form of feedback.

PAVOL RANKOV

iterature is not horse racing skepticism is not based on postmodern Western commercial prose, and from the When Madeleine Chapsal, relativism of values, rather it stems from other side by the selective cultural policy a juror for the prestig- the rural distrust of all urban (read: elitist) of Mečiar’s authoritarian regime that was ious French prize Fémina, pastimes such as arts, literature, and even cultivating writers who had been engaged claimed a few years ago their reflection in aesthetics and literary in the former Communist regime. It was that the decision regarding science. Despite this, Slovakia is probably a at this juncture that Bagala’s hip contest the winner had been made standard country in terms of the structure appeared with excellent promotion and before the jury even met for and typology of literary awards. public relations. Moreover, the authors the first time, it did provoke a scandal, but In recent decades, short-story con- remained absolutely anonymous while Lthe following year, the announcement of tests featuring primarily young and un- their works were assessed. It was the the winners received just as much attention established authors have been thriving. texts that were competing, not the con- from the media and the public as before. !e annual Jašíkove Kysuce contest (the nections. !e contest has been successful While in France, the land of great literature name refers to a Slovak author and a in achieving its goals: the creative skills and great literary awards, the winners are Slovak region), is enjoying its forty-third of debuting authors are praised, and the vibrantly discussed in the media both be- year and many of its laureates have en- subsequent anthologies of short stories fore and after the results are announced, in joyed fairly respectable literary careers. provide further motivation for writing. the Slovak media, the discussion is reduced However, it is the Poviedka (Short Story) An acknowledged Slovak author to the oft repeated statement that “litera- contest that has a wider social reach. !e can be acclaimed by the public or by the ture is not horse racing.” !is phrase not publisher Koloman Kertész Bagala first experts. Book-of-the-year surveys have only relativizes the decision made by the organized it in 1996, when Slovak litera- the form of a public plebiscite; they are jury, but casts doubt on the very existence ture was twisting in a post-communist organized by bookshops such as the larg- of a literary award. As there is no way to cramp, squeezed from one side by the est Slovak internet bookstore: Martinus. measure literature, we cannot create a ta- loss of its audience who had temporar- !e Panta Rhei Awards are prizes for the ble of rankings and point to a winner. !is ily succumbed to the kitsch beauty of best-selling authors in the Panta Rhei

85 BOOKS AWARDS QUESTIONS FOR KATARÍNA KUCBELOVÁ

Slovak poet and critic Katarína Kucbelová is one of the organizers of the Anasoft Litera literary prize. Since 2006, this award has caused quite a stir on the Slovak literary scene.

interview by MAREK SEČKAŘ

What exactly spurred you to start the Anasoft Litera award? There were so many other awards in Slovakia... All literary prizes, except the Dominik Tatarka award, were rather stuffy from a media point of view. In the first place, we wanted the readers to learn about the winning books and to turn the awarding ceremony into a media event. Another reason was that the existing prizes were not interesting financially. We wanted to come up with a prize which would offer a significant amount of money to the winning author. At the bookshop chain. It’s based on book sales moment, the prize money is 10,000 euros. and its purpose is to provide fresh mar- Did you draw inspiration from any foreign prize while pondering the award’s keting support for the most commercially system? successful titles. In comparison with customer polls, "e Anasoft Litera award started about 4 to 5 years after the inception of the Magne- expert surveys yield quite different re- sia Litera Award in the Czech Republic. We were thrilled by how it boosted interest in sults. In Slovakia, surveys are primarily local literature. We were also inspired by the prize’s title, including a sponsor’s name: conducted by the dailies: Pravda, SME, we hoped the Czech example would attract possible partners in Slovakia. And indeed, and the magazine Týždeň. All these pe- corporate sponsorship made it easy to find a partner. On the other hand, we knew riodicals use the same methodology: in that Anasoft Litera would never reach as broad a scale as its Czech counterpart; that’s early December, they ask several dozen why we dismissed categories. We decided to focus on fiction – this brings us closer to writers, publicists, critics, people from various awards for novels, such as "e Man Booker Prize or "e Goncourt Prize. We theaters and film-makers, which book also wanted to provide more time between the announcement of the shortlist and the they have found most interesting in the award ceremony itself. Slovakia has a small media milieu, especially as far as culture past year. Rankings are created based on is concerned, and we need more time to acquaint the public with the books. Many the replies. As the taste of these people promotional activities, such as the Anasoft Litera Festival, are organized exclusively is quite heterogeneous, sometimes five or by ourselves. Slovak cultural periodicals are scarce and Slovak TV provides little space seven votes are enough to win “book of for cultural debate; for this reason, we do not get as much room for promotion as the year”. Of course, the prize is not as- we would like to; on the other hand, we are quite successful in making use of what is sociated with any prize money or other available. reward for the winner. Do the results meet your expectations? As in other areas such as culture, the minister is supposed to be the great- Anasoft Litera has really become a highly watched and influential award. To an extent, est expert. Every year, the Minister of it helps to increase sales and readership; this is quite plausible, but there’s still a lot Culture Award is conferred in Slovakia. to do. What we lack is more powerful feedback – on the level of literary criticism, Usually five important figures from dif- debates concerning the jury’s decisions, more sophisticated discussions in the media. ferent areas of the arts receive it and there And we would also like the people to understand what the prize is about: so we do is always a writer or translator among not have to keep explaining why we do not award commercially interesting, but less them. "e prize laureate for 2011 was valuable titles. Daniel Hevier, for his collection of poems

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Vianočná pošta (Christmas Mail) and for the award, which is conferred during the lisher did not have any available copies. “important activities in the promotion main Anasoft Litera ceremony, is called And it’s almost a rule that at the time of of reading in children and youth.” A year the SME Readership Prize. !is seem- the autumn ceremony, the winning book earlier, the Minister of Culture Award ing restriction, where the broad com- is sold out. !e public is informed of the was received by Ján Paulíny for a community of readers chooses only within jury verdict in the media, but cannot buy plete translation of One #ousand and the bounds of ten titles, pre-selected by the book. One Nights. Obviously, when this prize the expert jury, protects the fine repu- A specific feature of a literary prize is conferred and received, the promotion tation of this literary award from being as a form of feedback is the seeming ob- of a work (of the author) merges with defiled with books by Slovak clones of jectivity of assessment. !e three or five the self-promotion of a politician (the Dan Brown or Danielle Steel. !e social critics, who express their subjective opin- Minister). !at is why the media rejoice prestige of the Anasoft Litera has also ions in reviews – so that the reviews are when a laureate does not turn up to re- been increased by the regular May fes- more telling about the reviewers than ceive the prize in person, which offers an tival aimed at promoting the ten final- about the works reviewed – turn, after opportunity to speculate on the explicit ists. Other Slovak literary awards ignore their appointment to the jury, into an lack of interest in shaking hands with the these methods of promotion, perhaps be- institutionalized arbitration body that is- Minister. cause they are limited to certain groups. sues rulings about the “real” values of the Like the Minister of Culture Award, Unintentionally, Anasoft Litera is also a works. A literary award is a source of pres- the Dominik Tatarka Prize is also con- publisher’s competition. Every spring, tige not only for the laureate, but also for ferred on one or two authors for a book the publishers try to get at least one of the juror. In Slovakia, the egotism of ju- published in the previous year, but also their books among the ten nominees. Up rors built in this way can reach ridiculous with consideration of lifelong work and till now, the most successful publisher dimensions. For example, Jaroslav Šrank, attitudes which must be in line with has been the aforementioned Koloman a member of the national jury of the Bank the legacy of the controversial dissident Kertész Bagala with three victories (2007 Austria Literaris Eastern European prize, and prose-writer D. Tatarka. It is not – Marek Vadas, Liečiteľ [Quack] – col- complains in an article about the “dishar- an award for young artists, and in the lection of short stories, 2010 – Stanislav mony or even discrepancy” in the assess- end, it is not strictly a literary prize, al- Rakús, Telegram – collection of short sto- ment of different expert panels, as the though its organizer, the M. R. Štefánik ries, 2011 – Monika Kompaníková, Piata book selected by the three-member jury Conservative Institute, has named it so. loď [Fifth Ship] – novel). Backstage, some of which he was a member, was “passed To date, only one half of its laureates have express doubts about the literary merit of unnoticed” by the other awards. !e been poets or prose-writers. !e other each year’s winning book; however, the frustrated juror would only be satisfied winners have written books on history or winner is certainly happy with the prize by some kind of prize that superseded the arts. !e past two years for example, of 10,000 euros. Nor does the winner of all others. But we have a prize like that this “literary prize” has been awarded to the SME Readership Prize leave the stage in Slovakia as well! Rak magazine organ- art historians (who happen to be rela- empty-handed – he or she receives a nice izes and confers the Award of Awards. All tives) – in 2009, it was Juraj Mojžiš for the bouquet. books that have received any literary prize book Voľným okom II (With the Naked At the beginning of this article, in the past year are automatically nomi- Eye II) and in 2010, Iva Mojžišová for the we mentioned French literary awards. nated for it. Paradoxically, the Award of book Giacomettiho smiech? (Giacometti’s !e award of the Prix Goncourt in the Awards is not the culmination, but rather Laughter?). autumn opens the pre-Christmas book an appendix of the Slovak prizes as it lacks From the moment it was estab- market and books by laureates sell in big both a raison d’être and niveau. !e jury, lished, authors, readers, and the me- numbers immediately after the prize is consisting of the members of the editorial dia have been greatly interested in the announced. !e situation in Slovakia is board of the magazine, also chooses from Anasoft Litera prize. !e jury, which also different in this respect. !e publi- books that most jurors cannot even read consists of literary critics and publicists, cist Rado Ondřejíček recently criticized as they are written in languages of ethnic chooses from all prose by Slovak authors Anasoft Litera, arguing that the selec- minorities – in Hungarian (the winners of published in the past year (as the first tion is too intellectual and elitist – not the Imre Mádach Prize), or in Ukrainian edition). And beginning this year, Slovak even “middle class readers” are interest- (the Ivan Franko Prize). translations of books by writers from the ed in the winning books. Such criticism !e importance of literary awards ethnic minorities that live in Slovakia will could be directed at any Slovak literary for literary life should not be made light also be included. Hence, among the cur- prize, but Anasoft is truly opinion-form- of nor demonized. !e merit of a literary rent favorites to win the Anasoft Litera is ing, and its sophisticated media policy work is independent of them, it resides in Hungarian-writing Péter Hunčík, as the promotes the sales and readership of the work itself, and cannot be increased Slovak translation of his novel Hraničný the winning books. If there is a prob- by the prize awarded – at the most, the prípad (Borderline Case, Határeset) was lem, it is not on the part of the award’s work can receive more attention from the published in 2011. However, the book jury or organizer, nor on the part of the public. And... that is not unimportant. has first to make it among the ten final- “middle class readers”, but on the part Translated from Slovak by David Klimánek. ists to be announced in the spring, out of the publishers and booksellers. One of which the jury selects the laureate in time Anasoft Litera manager Katarína The author is a Slovak writer and media theo- the autumn. !e public can choose their Kucbelová actually had difficulties in se- rist. He lectures on Literary Communication at book from the shortlist as well, by voting curing some of the books for the jurors the Faculty of Arts of Comenius University in on the SME daily webpage – that is why – they had sold out and even the pub- Bratislava.

87 BOOKS AWARDS CONSERVATIVE CONFIRMATION OR PROGRESSIVE LOTTERY? !e World of Czech Literary Awards

!e small Czech language community has lost its literary authorities. Czechs don't have time to read fiction; on covers not only writers, but also critics, the other hand, there are more fictional books being philosophers, translators, musicians, vis- published than ever before. !e contemporary situation ual artists and “secret organizations.”1 An- in literature is generally perceived as that of a crisis or other important literary prize – actually a survey – is !e Book of the Year (Kniha chaos. And the existing literary prizes play a considerable roku), which is bestowed by the conserva- role in all of this. tive daily Lidové noviny and is based on the votes of a host of intellectual celebrities. Its focus ranges from novels to memoirs EVA KLÍČOVÁ and essays. Winners of these prizes enjoy a substantial increase of critical response, but he Czech Republic is a Exile, the prizes themselves have little more country with a relatively than a limited impact on the readers who small book market; in spite underground and don’t belong to the small intellectual com- of that, more than twenty munity. !ere are, however, two prizes literary and book prizes big publishers which are often criticized for shameless are awarded every year, of commercialism. !ese are the Magnesia course excluding the daunt- Some of the contemporary awards have Litera Award and the Book Club Prize ing number of regional, existed uninterrupted for decades. For ex- (Cena Knižního klubu). !e winners of the genre and amateur prizes. My guess is that ample, the State Prize for Literature (Státní former are selected by boards consisting Talmost nobody in the various literary cir- cena za literaturu) has been awarded, with of nearly three hundreds literary person- cles would be able to enumerate them all. a few breaks, since the dawn of modern alities (writers, critics, publishers, theo- If the current situation in literature lacks history as it was founded two years after rists, etc.). !e final awarding ceremony is transparency and readers find it confusing, the formation of Czechoslovakia in 1918. broadcast live on TV and the show is usu- then this also applies to literary prizes. Of Another example would be the Tom Stop- ally moderated by one of the most popular course certain awards are more respected pard Prize (Cena Toma Stopparda) which and sexiest Czech actresses. !anks to its and enjoy more publicity than others, and is an initiative of the exile circles and was wide medial support, Magnesia Litera can writers themselves truly crave them. Here established by the Charter 77 Foundation indeed increase sales and helps to pro- we will focus on the top prizes and some of in Stockholm in 1983; or the Jaroslav Seif- mote contemporary literature. !e Book their interesting circumstances. ert Prize (Cena Jaroslava Seiferta) which Club Prize is organized by one of the big- was started in 1986 by the same founda- gest publishing houses oriented towards tion. On the other hand, the Revolver commercially successful fiction, and the Revue Prize (Cena Revolver Revue) has winner – possibly a rising star – is cho- underground origins – the journal Revolv- sen among hitherto unpublished manu- er Revue was formed in 1984 as a samiz- scripts. We can't omit the Jiří Orten Prize dat magazine with underground poetics, (Cena Jiřího Ortena) which is intended which still exists today. !e prize’s policy for young authors under the age of thirty.

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!e winners include more than one, pres- the case of the poet Karel Šiktanc, who ity group of the society – thus securing the ently respected author –as well as lots of was awarded the Seifert Prize for the sec- interest of the media for himself, and even those whose books were a little more than ond time last year. Does it mean that cur- gain some literary acclaim. Such a situa- youthful attempts. rent literature is gasping for breath, at least tion only deepens the gap between critics when compared to former generations? Or and readers. But what is more important – is it just that the criteria is changing? Will while faltering critics long for some kind of Two ways of the “conservative” prize committees prove multicultural revival, and at the same time bold enough to step out of the safety of their strive to serve as prudent guardians of true evaluating authors’ circles? values, everybody realizes how elusive and On the other hand, the gener- incalculable contemporary literature is. We literature ally bolder “progressive” awards are often are still recovering from the Normalization struggling as far as quality is concerned. As of the seventies and eighties which all but In the most recent Czech history, i.e. the if their juries were at their wits’ end, unable killed this country’s literary life. Our situ- twenty-two years following the Velvet Rev- to decide whether they want to seek new ation in literature is like that in politics, olution, literary awards have played a very talents, or just look for an interesting story or the economy, where it seems that a ambivalent role. In general, we can distin- for the media. !is is the case of Lan Pham transparent and incorrupt democracy will guish two basic strategies. On the one hand, !i – a young Vietnamese female student be much more difficult to achieve than it we expect the revelation of new trends or who was awarded the Book Club Literary had appeared in the nineties. But the cures authors (the “progressive” awards: the Jiří Prize in 2009. !e fact of a Czech literary are also similar: a connection must be re- Orten Prize, Magnesia Litera, the Book prize being awarded to a young Vietnamese stored – between the state and the citizen Club Prize); on the other hand, we only ap- sounded extremely unusual and a great up- in the realm of politics, and between litera- preciate living legends (the “conservative” roar was expected. However, the hoped-for ture and the reader in the realm of books. awards: the State Prize, the Seifert Prize, the sensation didn’t take place and the affair Literary prizes are one of the instruments Tom Stoppard Prize), i.e. writers represent- was exposed as a hoax: Lan Pham !i was we can use while trying to achieve this aim. ing unquestionable qualities who had been no Asian beauty, but the pen-name of a excluded from the official Czech literary not-so-attractive second-rate author called The author is a Czech literary critic. Her articles circles before November 1989. !is illus- Jan Cempírek. An undisputed weakness of appear in several periodicals, including Respekt trates two tendencies. First, we are trying commercial prizes is their ambition to cre- and Host. to repay a historical debt which was formed ate attractive and bestselling writers. Czech during the communist era. With some ex- critic Petr A. Bílek calls this phenomenon aggeration, we can say this is the task of the “one-year authors” – which is essentially “conservative” awards. !e awardees rep- a showbiz principle. !e idea of a reliable REFERENCES resent outstanding achievements in litera- touchstone of literary quality belongs to 1. The artistic group and secret organization B. ture, but presently the prizes are often seen the realm of dreams. Another thing is that K. S. (Bude konec světa – Doomsday is com- as awards for earlier merits, for the author’s a second-rate writer can grow young, ac- ing) was awarded the Revolver Revue prize in previous works and political attitudes dur- quire some exotic beauty and join a minor- 1993. ing the twenty years of normalization. !is makes sense as some kind of dealing with the past. Literary prizes, however, need to function in the real contemporary world. BOOK OF THE YEAR MAGNESIA LITERA AWARD Literary contests should work, at their best, During its 11-year long history, the Book of the Year Magnesia Litera Award has only as a link between writers, publishers, re- been awarded four times to an original Czech fiction book. The prize’s scope ranges from viewers and readers; they should point out historiography to children’s literature, artistic publications and even translations. tendencies, emphasize values and quality and last but not least, promote literature in In 2007, the best Czech book Best Czech book the context of other media. was a translation of the decade The year 2007 proved to be especially Last fall, the association Litera, organizer "successful" for Czech literature. The Book of the Magnesia Litera award, declared the of the Year Prize, awarded as the main one best book of the first decade of its existence. Strengths and among the Magnesia Litera awards, was Quite deservedly, the prize was awarded bestowed to the novel Simion the Liftite by to the collection of short stories Možná že weaknesses the Romanian author Petru Cimpoeşu – to odcházíme (Maybe We’ll Go) by the late Jan much critical despair. The amount of 200,000 Balabán. The book was published in 2004 !e most threatened species among Czech crowns was subsequently bestowed to the and was awarded the Magnesia Litera prize literary prizes are the “conservative” ones. translator Jiří Našinec. Jan Šavrda, editor for prose in 2005. !ere are two reasons for this. First, the re- of the publishing house Dybbuk which had lationship between jury members and the published the book, noted that the amount should probably be split up between the authors has been recycled many times – the translator and the author. This objection was jurors are frequently former or future awar- rejected by the award’s board, saying that the dees. !is provides something like a private prize was specifically awarded for translation party. And second, prospective awardees and not for the work itself. are becoming scarce. !is is reflected in

89 BOOKS AWARDS

MY PRIZES

ENDRE KUKORELLY

can’t make my appearance in aluska V slacks and a pullover.1 !en

Gabor how? !ere was even a time when I was in shorts, the thing had happened so unexpectedly. I have quite a few prizes, I received them, they were Hungarian poet and novelist bestowed upon me, I was glad about it, there wasn’t a time when I wasn’t, – Endre Kukorelly – recalls his personal I was glad about them even if they came with no money attached. If they came account of prizes and awards. We all with money I would have been much more pleased, but the moment I heard know how much recognition a writer my name and had to show myself, shake hands, and so forth the thing that went gets once receiving those awards. But round my head was not how much was how much that was worth but I was un- has anyone asked the award winners able to what it was. In all likelihood nothing, an atavistic, swirling gladness similar about what they think of the prizes to rapture. “I’m a money grubber, I myself am also an unprincipled pig.” You get to themselves? your feet, button your jacket, go up, not slowly but deﬁnitely not fast, you don’t

90 VISEGRAD INSIGHT 2|2012 AWARDS BOOKS

particularly look around but by and large out champagne, good thing I didn’t come truly a great poet and did not receive too your entire organism is looking around, with my own car. many awards. “!ose who were before me you pay no attention to anyone, you shake I’ll now give a list of the kinds of in receiving that so-called”— my mother hands with the person concerned, give prizes I have won, I have never sorted inserts the name —“and right there and your thanks, turn round, make an awk- them out like this before. Apart from an- then” no one “came to mind.” In 1994, it ward little bow, your eardrums are throb- ything else, they all get their name from was the Sándor Weöres Prize and in 1995, bing but you hear the sparse applause, a Hungarian male literary figure, you the award of the Kelemen Mikes Circle in you return to your seat, you see little of can check them out via Wikipedia. #ey the Netherlands (émigré Hungarians) and what’s going on around, but you spot the deserve it, the poor sods! First up is the the Tibor Déry Prize. It seems that when occasional odd smile, someone grips your György Bölöni Prize, which I was award- I was younger I picked up an award just hand, then it’s already someone else’s ed in 1984 for my first volume. #e Prize about every year, sometimes two. turn. Even if you are the sole person be- for the Best First Volume, I was greatly A big, ornate, academic sheepfold. ing awarded a prize, it is someone else’s pleased by that, it was a prize that was I arrive in good time. #ere is a fair turn. Not you. Not you. You sense how given once and once only. A Nobel Prize sprinkling of people. #ey have come on ineptly you walk, all but march, even that any number of times. Bölöni himself my account. I am not recognized. No one comes to mind, you can almost picture was a fairly complex figure,2 a descend- is waiting for me. yourself, no, not almost, but really pic- ant of Ferenc Kölcsey, a friend of poet I hang around disconcertedly. Hang ture yourself so you then strive to step Endre Ady from an aristocratic family in my coat up, go to the lavatory, wash my naturally, and that totally does not come Transylvania, Hungarian ambassador to hands, and pretend I am waiting for off. Never mind, after three or four min- the Netherlands in 1919, a member of the someone, and I am genuinely waiting for utes you are going to chuckle to yourself French Communist Party while in exile in someone from the organizers who will that the other blockhead will be march- France, again ambassador under Rákosi recognize me and, with a broad smile on ing out in an even more stilted manner at the end of the Forties and early Fifties, their face, usher me with expansive ges- onto the whatsit, the podium, and up to art historian associated with a group of tures by the arm to the middle of the front those who hand it over, i.e. to those offi- painters known as the Nyolcak (“#e row. cial handshakers, who no doubt from the Eight”), a socialist realist writer, and the But no one. very outset are bored stiff by the whole first editor-in-chief of the cultural week- So I take a grip of myself, enter the routine, which is not surprising since it is ly newssheet Élet és Irodalom (“Life and hall, and take a seat somewhere around indeed deadly boring. Literature”): no man should be such an the tenth row. Except when you were being hailed. omnium-gatherum. #e head of a grotty #e eleventh. You were flustered enough then. old guy on a grotty medal. #e sort of “Now all the so-called guests of hon- Natch! But I’ve already said that. What a head from which plaques are largely pro- or have taken their seats, though naturally bonehead you are for having got so wound duced. Yet, in the end, they have an air the celebration has not commenced.” up, you thought what’s up pal, are you go- of something fine about them. If you are #ere were a bunch of others as ing to come a cropper on the steps? awarded one, they somehow improve in well, but I won’t list them — a Márai #ere were no steps anyway! their looks. If you are not awarded one, Prize, Poet Laureate, Knight’s Cross, and Or there were steps, but why would they somehow improve in their looks so forth. A lot. Fewer would have been you come a cropper! even more; indeed, they are handsome enough. Less is more. #at’s neither here nor there, “I had from the start, however ugly a customer “Up front on the platform excitable a feeling my knees really were trembling,” may have been. Zsigmond Móricz, A gents rushed around to and fro at ever- this is it, a prize, found money, “I am not great writer. Book of the Year Prize that shorter intervals as if they were searching inclined to refuse it,” it will be shown on as in 1991, a bit of an exaggeration but for something. As indeed they were: as a TV, it will be handed over publicly, that never mind. Both giving and not giving point of fact, me.” little attractive all-smiles bird reporter someone a prize is equally always an ex- One is enough, but in that case let will immediately come over to interview aggeration. #e following year was the everyone search for me and fail to find me, though of course if I were to walk high-water mark. When I received the me. over to her on the main road what a face Crystal of Vilenica award in Slovenia, Translated from Hungarian by Tim Wilkinson. she’d pull! On the other hand, there’ll be I was honestly in shorts. Chosen from a reception where I hope they’ll not serve among some 200 participants for a read- The author is a Hungarian poet and novelist. the usual cheap, pisspot wine and their ing, the award came with flowers. In sawdust scones but they’ll be pouring 1993, it was the Attila József Prize. He was

REFERENCES 1. I talicised fragments have been taken from Thomas Bernhard’s volume Meine Preise (publ. 2009). 2. György Bölöni (1882-1959) was a great-grand-nephew of poet Ferenc Kölcsey (1790-1838, who in 1835 wrote the poem later set to music by Ferenc Erkel to form the Hungarian national anthem). He was brieﬂy accredited Dutch ambassador under the government of Mihály Károlyi in 1919 then again in 1948-50.

91 BOOKS AWARDS LITERARY PRIZES IN HUNGARY

of the minimum wage and the amount is A short survey not liable to taxation. It is awarded for a life’s work, and as each political regime’s standards differ, there are always debates !e Hungarian world of literary prizes has always over who should be considered to bear interplayed with politics. Recent developments have extremely significant values. Since it is awarded by the current government, it brought even more political elements to the question of could easily be called a political award, who and how to reward one’s use of literary talents. but let me add that seldom does the public feel perplexed by the board’s decision. And this only occurs when the awardee is evidently a “party agitator.” ORSOLYA KARAFIÁTH In this respect, the Attila József Award cannot be left unmentioned. In this case, the nominees are delegated by t is a general truth that there framework of theater events. Since the the authors’ associations. !e advisory are as many literary prizes and Attendant Art Prize is awarded six months board consists of professors of literature, awards as there are literary mag- after the Literature Prize, this is another writers, poets, playwrights and juvenile lit- azines and organizations. !e golden opportunity to trigger and stir erature authors from both political wings. amount of recognition is count- some media presence. !e advisory board Up until now, the members were meticu- less, which mostly does not come consists of 5 delegates; their decision is lous to nominate and award authors from along with financial recognition, free of politics (at least so far). both sides in order to avoid any scandals. let alone popularity and honor !e history of the financially signifi- !is year, however, the under-secretary of for the prize-winners. Needless to say cant Artisjus Literary Award also began in state in the Ministry of Culture breached Ithough, that this sea consists of more than 2006. Six authors are awarded every year: the unwritten rules and arbitrarily re- mere drops: it is possible to find prizes, the Grand Award is given to the author of moved certain names from the shortlist, some of which are relatively new, that an outstanding book (it may be a volume and replaced them with the authors who have a non-negligible positioning effect of poetry or a novel) published the previ- are closer to his own personal taste and as well as great prestigious value. As I do ous year. !e five other awards, compris- standards. not intend to enlist all the prize-winners, I ing a somewhat humbler sum, which is !e Hungarian Republic’s Laurel would like to note, that the selection pro- granted monthly similarly to scholarships, Wreath Award can be placed somewhere cess is limited to a smaller circle, and the are awarded to authors with a convincing in between the Attila József Award and the actual awardees are appointed due to as- life’s work. !e financial resource of the Kossuth Award; it is meant as an acknowl- pects other than literature itself. Award is the ten percent of the radio and edgement and recognition of significant A comparatively new, but still rather television broadcasting royalty fee collect- artistic careers. significantly prestigious (and financially ed to the advantage of literary authors. To Among the many smaller awards, considerable) award is the AEGON Art date, Zsófia Balla and Ádám Tábor have two are worth mentioning. !e Sándor Prize, founded by AEGON Hungary Co. been given the Grand Award, whereas Bródy Award is meant for literary debuts Ltd. in 2006. !e award serves a double Krisztina Tóth and Dénes Krusovszky (both collections of short stories and nov- purpose: firstly, to reward a fine literary have been granted the Scholarship. els), and is intended as an incentive for work published the previous year, and Out of the national literature awards, the writers, to keep them in the profes- secondly, to popularize the literary writ- three should be highlighted. !e Kossuth sion. Another one is the Belletrist Award, ing for the greater public. So far, Zsuzsa Award is the highest national award organized by the Belletrist Association, Rakovszky, György Spiró, and János Térey possible, and is presented by the Prime which has been awarded in the past twelve have been awarded with this prize, among Minister on March 15th (or for the first years in the categories of poetry, prose, or others. !e awarded writer subsequently time in history, March 14th this year) in essay/critical writings. appoints a fellow arts person from any the Parliament. !is is not merely a liter- Translated from Hungarian by Metta Karafiáth. attendant art field, who receives the ary award: any significant and outstanding AEGON Attendant Art Prize. !e highly art representative can receive it. For ex- The author is a Hungarian writer, poet and stylish award ceremonies usually receive ample, András Lovasi, an alternative rock publicist. great media attention: the audience is in- musician, was one of the awardees this troduced to the writers and artists in the year. !e award itself equals the quintuple

92 VISEGRAD INSIGHT 2|2012 AWARDS BOOKS

LITERARY PRIZES IN V4

NIKE JURY AWARD ANASOFT LITERA MAGNESIA LITERA FOR PROSE AEGON ART PRIZE 2008 Olga Tokarczuk Bieguni 2008 Milan Zelinka: Príbehy 2008 Martin Ryšavý: Cesty na 2008 János Térey: Asztalizene (Runners) z Karpát (Carpathian Sibiř (Travels to Siberia) (Table music) 2009 Eugeniusz Tkaczyszyn- stories) 2009 Ivan Matoušek: Oslava 2009 Tamás Jónás: Önkéntes Dycki: Piosenka 2009 Alta Vášová: Ostrovy (Party) vak (Voluntarily blind) o zaleznosciach i nepamäti (* e 2010 Martin Ryšavý: Vrač 2010 Vilmos Csaplár: Hitler uzaleznieniach (Song immemorial islands) (Vrach) lánya (Hitler’s daughter) about dependency and 2010 Stanislav Rakús: 2011 Marek Šindelka: 2011 Péter Esterházy: Esti addiction) Telegram Zůstaňte s námi (Stay (* e evening) 2010 Tadeusz Słobodzianek: 2011 Monika Kompaníková: with us) Nasza Klasa (Our class) Piata loď (* e fi fth ship) ATTILA JÓZSEF AWARD 2011 Marian Pirot: Pioropusz STATE PRIZE FOR LITERATURE 2008 Károly Alexa (Plume) JAŠÍKOVE KYSUCE 2008 Ludvík Vaculík, for 2009 Zoltán András Bán 2008 Anna Vlčková: Migove existing literary work, 2010 Attila Balazs JÓZEF MACKIEWICZ AWARD 2009 Iva Polczik: Woodoo taking account of 2011 Imre József Balázs 2008 Jaros ław Marek panenka (* e voodoo the biographic prose Rymkiewicz: Wieszanie dolly) Hodiny klavíru (Piano KOSSUTH AWARD (Hanging) 2010 Mathej $ omka: lessons) 2008 Zsuzsa Koncz, Ferenc 2009 Bronis ław Wildstein, Fragmenty zo životnej 2009 Zden ěk Rotrekl, for life Baranyi, György Rába, Dolina nicości (Valley of púte šocheta Šóbu work Joseph Utassy nothingness) (Fragments from the life 2010 Antonín Bajaja, for the 2009 Egon Schmidt, László 2010 Paweł Zyzak: Lech journey of the shochet novel Na krásné modré Végel, Szabolcs Várady Wałęsa – idea i historia. Shoba) Dřevnici (On the nice 2010 András Ferenc Kovács, Biografi a polityczna 2011 So ňa Uríková: S prvou blue Dřevnice river) Péter Lengyel, legendarnego przywódcy hviezdou (With the fi rst 2011 Daniela Hodrová, for Zsuzsa Rakovszky "Solidarności" do 1988 star) the novel Vyvolávání 2011 Agota Kristof roku (Lech Walesa - (Calling out) and other the idea and history. DOMINIK TATARKA PRIZE literary activities Political Biography of 2007 Milan Lasica: Bodka the legendary leader of (* e dot), Jozef BOOK CLUB PRIZE "Solidarity" in 1988) Jablonický: Samizdat 2008 Martin Sichinger: 2011 Wojciech Wencl: De o disente (A samizdat Cukrový klaun (Sugar profundis about dissent) clown) 2008 Ján Buzássy: Bystruška, 2009 Lan Pham $ i: Bílej kůň, ANGELUS PRIZE Mikuláš Huba: Ideál žlutej drak (White horse, 2008 Péter Esterházy: – skutočnosť – mýtus. yellow dragon) Harmonia caelestis Príbeh bratislavského 2010 David Jan Novotný: 2009 Josef Škvorecký: Příběh ochranárstva (Ideal Sidra Noach (Sidra inženýra lidských duší – reality – myth. A Noah) (* e engineer of human story of Bratislava’s 2011 Josef Hejzlar and Taj- souls) environmentalism) ťün Hejzlarová: Na Řece 2010 György Spiró: Messiasok 2009 Juraj Mojžiš: Voľným (On the river) (Messiahs) okom II (With a free eye 2011 Svetlana Alexievich: У II) войны не женское лицо 2010 Iva Mojžišová: (* e unwomanly face of Giacomettiho smiech? war) (Giacometti’s laughter?)

93 LOOKING BACK/ARTS POTENTIAL OF ARTS

Since the reconstruction of nations in the region, art galleries and museums have had a signiﬁcant role in the nation building process. !erefore, the recent development of several modern art museums in the region has been very important in deﬁning the condition of culture and society. Our guest 2.0) by kalevkevad / Flickr kalevkevad 2.0) by ND

editor –Miklós Székely C- N - – invited two insightful Y (CC B authors in the topic. Kristina Norman “After War” (2009)

MARGARET TALI

he coming of globaliza- Austria” (2000) and “After War” (2009) teract and vote the most unsympathetic tion and neoliberalism has – arise from particular spatial and social of the asylum seekers out of the country. challenged local practices contexts. My own understanding of them According to the concept the one who of belonging in post-Soviet is related to my remoteness and closeness would gather the most votes, would be Europe in various ways, to them as well. Having experienced one able to stay in Austria. Two of the least creating new fears and in Estonia as local resident, and encoun- popular residents of the container were threats that are shared by tered the other through the eyes of a mi- sent back to their country of origin every Eastern and Western Eu- grant scholar first in an academic context day, based on the votes received through ropean societies alike. !e kind of fears in Munich, and later in the Bak Gallery phone calls and the Internet. !e course Tthat I want to touch upon relate to mi- in Utrecht where it was publicly narrated of events was covered daily by numerous gration. It is through representation for the first time. !ose works are mean- publications, quiz and talk shows aired that migration becomes a political issue ingful in the context of nation building on TV, while simultaneous real life mani- for and within museums. !e new chal- since they engage with art’s potential for festations pro and contra the project took lenges that it poses to museums require resistance in a new way, turning the reac- place in the square around the container. a great sense of critical consciousness tions of the audience into the very core of !e Schliengenslief container in the and knowledgeable agency in order to their essence.. center of Vienna triggered an immense be tackled. Although the idea of a homo- amount of attention. It hardly cooled geneous nation state has been dispelled BITTE LIEB ÖSTERREICH! the active engagement of the public that by now, nationalism continues to raise !e project of Christoph Schlingensief the event was held during the Vienna troublesome questions for museums that (1960-2010) under the name “Ausländer International Festival (2000). It might bring us back to exclusion, on the basis of raus – bitte lieb Österreich” was realized have been the opposite. !e container rights and presence. in the central square of Vienna during the was marked with flags of the extreme I discuss two examples of public summer of 2000. For one week, 12 asylum right FPÖ party (Freiheitliche Partei artworks that tackle questions of rights seekers were brought to the center of the Österreichs) and the billboards of the lo- through differences that are drawn be- Austrian capital and housed in a contain- cal yellow tabloid Kronen Zeitung. While tween people, through voice and the daily er. While they were being “held hostage” saying “yes” to the right wing politics of practices of exclusion that they turn vis- next to the State Opera, a reality-TV style exclusion in an overtly exposed manner ible through a disruption. Both of those show was screened about their life in the (“ausländer raus”), it made (along with works – “Foreigners out – please love containers, encouraging the public to in- the tabloids) overtly visible figures of

94 VISEGRAD INSIGHT 2|2012 POTENTIAL OF ARTS LOOKING BACK/ARTS IRRITATION, UNREST AND THE POLITICS OF QUESTIONING: THE EVENTFUL RELATIONSHIPS OF ART AND NATIONALISM

real people who were present in contain- never clear what precisely the danger was the accusations raised against the artist, ers. #e title of the project “Foreigners about, but the violent events, during what who was, for instance, accused of provo- out – please love Austria” captures the has locally become known as the Bronze cation, lack of responsibility working for neoliberal paradox of migration politics: Night, led to the death of a youngster, and public money, and in an attack against while people are excluded and marginal- the setting up of active police surveillance the state. In her own discourse, Norman ized daily on the basis of origin, inter- at the location. stressed her mixed family background. nationally the will to make the country Locally, this event touched upon Having parents from Estonian as well as seem sympathetic is communicated. #e a memory conflict based on two radically Russian origins, she resisted taking sides power dynamics that it visualized was different interpretations of the Second in the conflict justifying it with “the state the radically different position of the citi- World War and its consequences – of war” being over. zens towards the asylum seekers as the whether or not Estonia had joined Soviet excluded, the ones left without a voice. Union on a voluntary basis. Interestingly, AFFECTIVE RESPONSE Schliengenslief’s project exposed the na- when the statue was removed from the While in the Estonian context the largest tionalist attitudes in Austrian society and city center to a cemetery in the outskirts percentage of migration is owed to the for- divided people through stirring opinions of Tallinn, the conflict turned against mer Soviet labor policies, it is mixed with in a way that was far from safe. capitalism exercised through the looting everyday feelings of aversion and resent- of expensive brand shops. ment towards those who are perceived as WAR IS OVER IN ESTONIA? When Kristina Norman erected “not belonging”. Continuous discrimina- A decade later Kristina Norman realized a golden brother of the statue in its pre- tion by the vast community of its Russian- her public project “After War” (2009) in vious position, two years later, it was speaking minorities of whom about 30,000 Tallinn. Two years after the conflict that greeted with considerable confusion. people, the so-called grey passport holders burst around the removal of the Second #e course of events from two years have ceased to hold any citizenship at all, is World War memorial from the city cent- before were played out again: the artist in full accordance with the local legal prac- er commissioned by Estonian govern- and her statue were taken away by police tices, but which is even worse perceived as ment, Norman erected a golden replica by major force and the media burst with “just” by many locals. Austria, in line with of the memorial in its original location. divided opinions. Like Schlingensief’s EU practices, marginalizes people who are #e Bronze Soldier had been removed container in Vienna, the work was per- waiting for a permission to stay, by locking in spring 2007 on the premise of estab- ceived as offensive by several local intel- them up and keeping them a safe distance lishing “the safety of the country”. It was lectuals. National discourse prevailed in away from the public realm.

95 LOOKING BACK/ARTS POTENTIAL OF ARTS

!e radicalism of those two eventful THE AFTERLIVES OF QUESTIONS over voice and belonging are contextu- examples described above is embedded !e questions that they provoke and raise ally specific. !e setting of perceptions of in change. Presenting dialogical accounts are different locally and internationally. community creation in motion through of the present, they call for, and provoke Although the image that the Golden Sol- the tactics of radical questioning art can dispute. “Foreigners out – please love dier by Norman provided was not neces- affect routines and commonalities only Austria” (2000) and “After War” (2009) sarily one supported by the cultural and in this specific context, that effectively are thus deeply embedded in local discus- political elites, the project was presented force us to ask “where do I stand?”. While sions, habits, and daily practices of peo- in the Estonian Pavilion of the Venice nationalism in museums, as those two ple that they seek to interrupt and turn Biennial in 2009. It was later bought by works make visible, is about the included political. !ey have to do with minority the Kiasma museum to its collection in artistic positions and narratives, it is also rights and voice, which is the pressing Helsinki, where it found a place as a part about the politics of questions that are issue that connects Eastern European of the post-Soviet narration at a safe dis- posed. societies with Western Europe. !ey call tance away from the discourses and prac- to notice not only the ridiculously strict tices of minority rights in Estonia. !us, it The author is an Estonian researcher, lecturer procedures of citizenship or permissions relates to “aesthetics” rather than the crit- and curator currently working at the University to stay, but more importantly the politics ical politics of knowledge. What could be of Amsterdam. of habits, and the covert ways that they the form of narrating Schlingensief pro- are mingled with rights and national- ject anew in Vienna after 2000?1 Would ism. As those two projects demonstrate it be the container where the 12 asylum both countries, Estonia and Austria suffer seekers were held? Or the Big-Brother from xenophobia, that goes unnoticed, styled TV-broadcasts that aired in the not problematized, and what people can Austrian television? I also wonder what REFERENCES easily get away with. kind of questions would this troublesome 1. To be clear, currently the project does not container, that the filmmaker Allan Seku- belong to any national or private collection. la has called the ‘coffins of remote labor It only exists in the form of the documentary power’ and a symbol of corporate econ- “Slingensief’s container”, realized by one of omy2, raise displayed in proximity to the the participants of the project Paul Poet and square where it initially took place? !e is available through internet. presence and mobile appearance of those 2. See the documentary essay “The Forgot- projects raises questions about the links ten Space” (2010) by Alan Sekula and Noël Burch. g Still from cinema documentary "Foreigners Out! between neoliberalism and state-building - Schlingensiefs Container"(Austria 2002, direc- – while expected to be provocative in an tor Paul Poet), chronicling the Schlingensief Instal- international context, locally art would lation in Vienna, DVD with English subtitles available better remain stable and mute. Questions through Monitorpop © Paul Poet.

96 VISEGRAD INSIGHT 2|2012 POTENTIAL OF ARTS LOOKING BACK/ARTS

ART MUSEUMS AMONG TECTONIC MOVEMENTS

GÁBOR RIEDER

he museum networks of the following World War I [perhaps the most sitting on an old tectonic plate subducting Central European region interesting of them all is Vytautas, the Great under a brand new Western tectonic plate. are on the move, as the geo- Museum of Culture in Kaunas, Lithuania]. "is collision was festive, even though it graphical metaphor in the Governments kept the focus on culture and meant the end of an era. Furthermore, title suggests: we are wit- art after World War II, switching ideologies art historians, curators, and artists were nessing the disappearance of from an (ultra)national identity to socialist pleased with the new paradigm. an old tectonic plate and the propaganda. "e new ideology resulted in After the 2008 credit crunch, we birth of a minor new one. To Western-like developed museum networks should have all realized that there were speak about the future of Central European mainly built in workers' districts and indus- no more financial resources to support Tmodern and contemporary art museums trial towns which entirely transformed the museums without strong political reason we should look into the special evolution former system. "e second Marxist layer or ideological utility. All post-socialist of these institutions first. "e great found- of the museum's networks was compara- Eastern European countries have old-fash- ers of the national art museums of this re- ble to the new, anti-elitist ideology of the ioned museum networks conglomerating gion belong to the intellectual elite of the Western World (Herbert Marcuse, Hilmar the classical nationalist and Marxist layers Central European national states in the late Hoffmann, etc.). without any real social support. "ey are 19th and the early 20th centuries. "is elite However, on the luckier side of the structures formed by the party-state, now belonged to the lower or upper class of the Iron Curtain this new model was accom- without the Party. "e glossy new model nobility (gentry and aristocracy), unlike in panied by the practice of blockbuster of corporation-like Guggenheims did not Western Countries, where the revolutionist shows and museum commercialization, even fit into the governmentally sustained bourgeoisie and the enlightened monarchs shocking leftist intellectuals with the Central and Eastern European structures. opened the first museums based on private idea of the “McMuseum” (a term used by Bigger museums in the region (for example, royal collections. Hanno Rauterberg in 1998 to describe the the Museum of Fine Arts in Budapest) have Because of foreign rulers and their American-type museum with a private gotten on the train with blockbusters, but semi-colonized status, the collections foundation and popular blockbusters). "e there were only second class seats behind of Central and Eastern European fami- McMuseum has become a reality, and even Vienna, the refurbished new museum capi- lies were incomparable to western ones. more, a question terrifying conservative art tal of Central Europe. "e fare is the same: Furthermore, the owners of the most fasci- historians in our region in the new millen- exhibitions imported from Western Europe nating collections were hit by the financial nium. Before this paradigmatic shock, the and North America: Emperors' treasures, crisis of the 30s and the collections them- museums of post-socialist Eastern Europe Renaissance Old Masters, Impressionists selves were looted by the Nazi and Soviet more or less enjoyed the relative freedom and Picasso. "e global menu is completed armies in World War II. A unique collection of “glasnost” and the democratic freedom by regional work, especially modern art which has survived is in "e Czartoryski of the 90s. With the weakening of social- from the 20th century, which is not warmly Museum in Krakow, a gem among Polish ist power, the museums and curators be- received by exhibition lending partners in museums. Contemporaneous collections, came freer, and were trying to emphasize their homes. Regional modernism has been built in the late 19th and the early 20th a professional viewpoint instead of ideo- affected by the global (French and Anglo- centuries, consist of work by respected logical directions to comrades. "ey forgot Saxon) avant-garde narrative, creating iso- artists following the more fashionable and that the entire giant cultural system was lated national footnotes disconnected from less modern movements of that time. Being erected on behalf of communist utopian- each other. an important element of the nation state's ism (and formerly of nationalist identity), Meanwhile, after the fall of the Wall, agenda, art museums became a silent weap- and that there was no point in maintaining post-war art history has mutated. Socialist on of the hidden “Culture War” for national it any longer without a proper ideological realism has been enclosed in theme park- supremacy in Central and Eastern Europe background. We have to say that they were like aesthetic ghettos (Grutas Parkas,

97 LOOKING BACK/ARTS POTENTIAL OF ARTS

Lithuania; Memento Park, Budapest; etc.), post-socialist reality into the show rooms us are the non-national private museums and only a few museums have decided to of the best international biennials. When with fine oligarchs to show goods bought show it as an ephemeral part of the story. various centers completed their mis- from Basel and London (Pinchuk Art Non-official art and the avant-garde circles sions, many were closed or transformed. Centre, Kiev; Garage, Moscow; etc.). As have ascended, winning the most impor- Ultimately, George Soros and his neo-lib- I see it, the latest version does not fit into tant rooms of the permanent exhibitions eral economic theories are no longer wel- the Central European intellectual climate in modern art museums from Warsaw to come in art circles which are turning more as old museum networks are permanently Ljubljana. In effect, they have hidden away and more anti-capitalist. disappearing without new resources and giant storage rooms packed with the official In the meantime, the global art scene new issues. New museum models have not and semi-modernist [“soc-modern” i.e. so- has grown into a giant industry with great been able to build a strong international cialist realism] art of the 60s-70s. $is is the biennials and art fairs like the international professional standing and have been more solid base of the old tectonic plate sliding world fairs of the 19th century, but dedi- like useful elements in city marketing. My under the new one, and on top of it you can cated only to contemporary and/or fine personal prediction is that smaller places find the new Contemporary Institutions. art. Huge national and private art institutes will identify with the Central European $is type of Western art infrastructure are growing in the Western World, and are contemporary art scene in the near future, – appearing like a research lab – was ab- enjoying the unique boom of the Anglo- such as independent artist-run spaces and solutely unknown before the 90s, and be- Saxon and Asian art markets, as well as the little moveable art galleries (Gregor Podnar, came an important key figure of the system support of private collectors and art deal- Ljubljana; Plan B, Cluj; etc.), but of course, because of the Soros Foundation, which ers. Brand new private contemporary mu- only if they receive international attention. created a network of national foundations seums in Moscow, Kiev or $e Emirates are Modern and contemporary museums in in Eastern and Central Europe in the 90s. following this global nouveau-rich tenden- the region – without world-known stars Different Contemporary Art Centers have cy, but in Central Europe, only the (local) – will not be able to compete with the been founded from Tallinn to Bucharest governments have opened new facilities Western and Eastern museums showing with the same aim: creating a new, demo- (e.g. KUMU, Tallinn; MOCAK, Krakow; the most expensive artworks from around cratic, and neo-liberal cultural elite through MODEM, Debrecen; etc.) to generate the globe as long as we see the heyday of the the Open Society Institute. $e political tourism. Meanwhile, private institutes re- biennials and the art fairs. $ey will not be mission of the Soros Foundation was ac- main rare: for example, the Kogart House, a part of the international game, only the companied by the support of neo- or post- Budapest, or the Marton Museum, Zagreb. local entertainer of the tourists and citizen- conceptualist tendencies at Contemporary While these cultural investments are fo- ry (and the minority of the museum theo- Art Centers. It has become an isolated and cused on reaching international visibility, rists) wrestling with the complicated and imported art base connected to the high they are in fact weak echoes of the famous impractical layers: unsustainable socialist mainstream of the global art scene and Bilbao Effect in the dreams of the mayors. networks and miniature Bilbao remakes. It poststructuralist academic sphere (Gender Currently, we are standing at a cross- is the dismal part of the paradigm shift. Studies, Postcolonial Studies, etc.) but dis- roads: behind us is an old and oversized, connected from local heritage. $ese insti- but fractured, museum network not able The author is a Hungarian art historian and editor- tutions have played an important role in to sustain itself. Beside us are entertaining in-chief of Flash Art Hungary. catapulting conceptual artists, new media blockbuster exhibitors and new museums artists, and socially engaged artists from facing the financial crisis, while in front of

98 VISEGRAD INSIGHT 2|2012 POTENTIAL OF ARTS LOOKING BACK/ARTS

MUSEUMS IN V4

number of museums number of visitors 2,788,200 source: www.stat.gov.lt number of employees 43,974,011,1 LTL source: www.culturalpolicies.net funding 3,088 source: www.culturalpolicies.net 916 source: www.kongreskultury.pl 106 source: www.stat.gov.lt 22,215,656 source: www.platformakultury.pl

195,000,000 ZŁ source: www.platformakultury.pl 6,890 source: www.platformakultury.pl

2,660 128,979,290 EUR source: www.egmus.eu + PUBLIC FUNDING 1,162 source: www.egmus.eu 164 source: www.stat.si 671 source: www.egmus.eu

335,774,708 EUR + PUBLIC FUNDING 10,123,438 2,882,440 source: www.stat.si

99 OPPORTUNITIES Social Innovation in the Limelight

Fritz Moser and Wanda Moser-Heindl, the founders of Unruhe Foundation, which awards the SozialMarie Prize, realized back in 2005 that whereas technological innovation was supported in many ways, social innovation was not recognized on its real merit. !e SozialMarie is one step to change that.

JUDIT BARTA

onica (63) a resident of Graz and a grandmother of three, had been taking In 2012, SozialMarie received 233 antidepressant submissions from more than 200 organi- pills for years, zations, mainly from Austria, Hungary and was in a stable condition despite be- and the Czech Republic. Each year ingM diagnosed with chronic depression. around 30 projects are shortlisted, and In the gloomy autumn of 2010, her con- 15 programs are awarded. !e first prize major criteria are originality, creativity, dition began to deteriorate, and she was is worth 15,000 EUR; the second, 10,000 and operability. !is means that the in- unable to go outside and later attempted EUR; and the third, 5,000 EUR; while the novation must demonstrate that it has suicide. Eventually, Monica was taken to remaining 12 winning projects receive been implemented for a while and has a mental clinic, where she stayed for five 1,000 EUR each. It is the first year that proved to be efficient at inducing change months. the Austrian and Hungarian public could either in the lives of those concerned or Before going back to her family, vote for projects, and the two winners got in the attitude of wider society. !e origi- she lived for a year in a residential home, a 3 minute promotion video. nal idea back in 2005 was that any organi- named “Swallow,” with seven other zation – an NGO, a local government, a women, who had also been treated in a PHILANTHROPY IS NOT DEAD company or an individual – can apply if psychiatric hospital for longer periods. Most social innovations are done by quix- they are operating within a 300 km radius In that safe intermediary world between otic NGO’s, less frequently by large com- of Vienna. But later that constriction was the medical environment and the out- panies with CSR dedication, and even removed. “Borders were never an issue, side world, she grew strong and when less frequently, by socially concerned it is outdated to think within the bound- the time came to go home, she felt she individuals. However, social innovators ary of a nation state”, says Nora Somlyodi, was ready to resume her roles as wife and rarely receive the same recognition and the project coordinator of the Prize. !e grandmother. fame as technological innovators like Fa- four-language-webpage in Czech, Eng- Although the name and story are cebook’s Mark Zuckerberg, Apple’s Steve lish, Hungarian, and German also reflects made-up, “Swallow” is a real place. !e Jobs, or Microsoft’s Bill Gates. !is is the its transnational focus. “!e prize via the building is located in Styria, southeast void that SozialMarie seeks to fill. !at award-giving ceremonies and confer- Austria, run by seven women who suf- this prize is still funded by private means, ences and workshops dealing with social fered from mental illnesses. !e house shows that philanthropy is not dead even innovation with the participation of the operates on a daily schedule from during harsh economic times such as Unruhe foundation also creates opportu- Monday to Friday, which includes gar- this. nity for leaders of the nominated and the dening and kitchen work, as well as awarded projects to meet, exchange ideas various opportunities for relaxation. !is WINNING SOCIAL and meet with journalists”, she adds. month, “Swallow” was one of the 1000 INNOVATIONS: WHAT IT TAKES Since 2010, projects from all Euro-award winners of the SozialMarie “Swallow” is a good example of what so- over Hungary can participate, next Prize for social innovation, announced cial innovation should entail according to year it is planned that the entire Czech for the 8th time since 2005. the SozialMarie Prize distributors. !e Republic will be included in the compe-

100 VISEGRAD INSIGHT 2|2012 OPPORTUNITIES

tition. “!ere is no quota on how many project this year illustrating empower- other patron, the couple Susanne Schu- Hungarian, Czech or Austrian projects ment is called “When I think of home” bert-Lustig and Francis Lustig support should win, but the projects’ originality coming from Salzburg, where fifteen the “Swallow” program for women with is measured on a country basis, whether homeless persons under the guidance of a mental illness. there have been similar projects im- professional writer, wrote autobiographi- plemented, or not. !is year it turned cal or fictional accounts of what “home” GOOD PRACTICES CATCH ON out that the first three winners were all means to them. Partly due to social network sites such as Austrians, while last year a Hungarian Facebook, SozialMarie is gaining recog- community building project was selected PATRONS PAVE THE WAY nition; between two and three hundred for the first prize. !e Mosers came up with the bright idea projects are handed in each year. !ere is that two patrons are appointed each year, also growing evidence that it is conducive EMPOWERMENT AND one from Hungary and one from Aus- to the spread of good practices. A Czech SOLIDARITY ARE THE GOALS tria, to choose a program from among project called “Next door family,” which !e projects entering the annual compe- the nominated ones. Milan Gauder (35), was launched in 2004 and won an award tition have been tackling a wide range of a regional director of MasterCard, who in 2011, has just expanded into a Euro- issues such as migration, homophobia, has assumed the role of the Hungarian pean wide international project spanning parenting, environmental protection, re- patron this year, opted for a Hungarian Belgium, Hungary, Italy, Malta, Slovakia newal of residential buildings, and pov- project taking place at the Hétes-settle- and Spain. “Next door family” is based on erty. !e connecting themes that seem ment of Ózd in northeast Hungary to a very simple idea, as all great ideas are. to run through all of them are empower- help a poor Roma community. He was On a given day, local and immigrant fam- ment and solidarity. A program entitled struck by the enthusiasm of the founder ilies sit down to have their Sunday lunch “Children of imprisoned parents”, sub- of the project and is also aware of the dire together in order to get to know each mitted this year from the Czech Republic, situation the impoverished Roma are in other, and break down the walls built helps families with one parent in custody Hungary. “I see myself as a sort of inter- from ignorance, prejudice, and fear. !is to keep regular contact. In September, preter”, he says. “I know the language of project seems to symbolize the credo of they will start a Skype-based pilot project the business world, so I can help the or- the SozialMarie Prize for Social innova- in one prison in Prague. Another selected ganization to communicate better with tion. Without mutual help, responsibility it to attract sponsors”. “All the investors and solidarity, societies do not work, It is look for systems that work, where they vital to realize that the walls people and feel safe to pour their money into. With communities erect between each other the help of his network, he will try to en- are mostly fake, they can collapse easily FIRST PRIZE hance the visibility of the program. !e if people take the effort to look closer. The author is a Hungarian freelance writer and translator, PhD candidate in Film, Media and Contemporary Culture at ELTE University, Fac- ulty of Humanities. ! , SECOND PRIZE went to the Viennese project Children’s Hos- pice Network (Kinderhospiz Netz). Families with terminally ill children or adolescents are offered free medical and nursing care, as well as psychosocial care, and counseling for the THIRD PRIZE financial and practical aspects of everyday life. ! , According to the jury, “with its combination of Eltern.chat – Expert talk by parents for parents, services, Children’s Hospice Network is unique a project from Vorarlberg, won second prize in the Germanosphere! What is of central im- (10,000 euros). Roughly 100 times a year, portance is that illness is not considered in parents and legal guardians gather in twelve isolation from its social context. Financed al- communities in Vorarlberg for an ‘eltern.chat’ most exclusively through private donations, the – a parents’ circle, where they speak Turkish, ! , network strives to integrate children’s palliative the Vorarlberg dialect, or Russian. They discuss The project – Junior City Farmer Schönb- care into the public health system.” pedagogical topics introduced and moderated runn – was awarded the third prize (5,000 by a specially trained facilitator, topics such as euros). In the heart of Vienna, under expert, how to make children strong, managing televi- age-appropriate guidance, children and pre- sion, sibling relationships, bedtime, learning teens aged between 4 and 12 plant vegeta- to speak, nutrition, sources of energy, and bles, harvest, cook and eat together, as well puberty. The jury appreciates: “This system is as play in a miniature (fairytale) pine forest, self-managing, built on a well-structured and and frolic through nature among fruit trees. well-equipped configuration, and it is easily ex- “Fallow land has been transformed into a pandable. It contributes to the practice of com- garden – grounds for a collective experience munal learning – one-eighth of communities in for children and pre-teens from the city; in Vorarlberg already participate!” this way, untapped potential can be used to accomplish social, integrative learning,” the jury stated.

101 OPPORTUNITIES SUMMER SCHOOL CENTRAL

Visegrad Summer School is a two-week long international educational program organized since 2002 by Villa Decius in collaboration with the Foundation Cracovia Express, the Association for International Aﬀairs in Prague, the Center for the Research of Ethnicity and Culture in Bratislava, and the Institute Euroregio Ukraine in Kiev.

NATALIA SAWICKA

his initiative is directed A good example of this was in 2011, "ese kinds of initiatives aim at cre- to young people from the when the 20th anniversary of the Visegrad ating new spaces for youth, where they Czech Republic, Slovakia, Group was celebrated. Participants had are able to improve an interdisciplinary Hungary, Poland, Ukraine, a chance to summarize and discuss the approach. Besides the regular panels and and other Central Euro- changes which happened in their respec- debates, participants have the opportu- pean countries – mostly to tive countries over this period. An open nity to take part in integration activities students or recent gradu- space for discussion creates an opportu- like various workshops, sightseeing trips ates, but also to young nity to get acquainted with the opinions to nearby sites, concerts or exhibitions, people who have just started their proof the youth and give them chance to ex- ect. Every year there is also a possibility Tfessional careers. Each year a group of press their thoughts about the Visegrad to encounter participants from previous forty participants is chosen from nearly group. gatherings. 350-400 applicants. "ey have an op- However, except for the histori- Visegrad Summer School enables portunity to be guided by invited guests; cal analysis, every year most of the top- young people to broaden their intercul- well-known philosophers, sociologists ics focus on current aﬀairs – the most tural experience, break stereotypes, and and activists who are leading debates and important political decisions, cultural learn how to build a sense of community. panels. It is worth noticing that Viseg- transformations, demographic chang- "ese kinds of actions are bound to add rad Summer School provides room and es, the formation of new social classes up, by creating a platform of cooperation board for participants, who are only or reconﬁgurations of political scenes. and experience among those, who will asked to cover the registration fee and While Visegrad Summer School encour- shape the world in the future. travel expenditures. ages looking at every issue from a local Maybe that is why Villa will be "e program of the Visegrad perspective, it also centers the debates on honored with the 2012 International Summer School includes debates, lec- more general topics, such as the dynam- Visegrad Prize. "e celebration will take tures, and seminars about current politi- ics of the Visegrad Group, the coopera- place in Prague at the end of May, during cal issues or economic problems not only tion between the countries, the prospects the meeting between ministers of culture from a local perspective but also from a for each of them, and the further integra- of the Visegrad Group. more global view. tion with the rest of Europe.

102 VISEGRAD INSIGHT 2|2012 OPPORTUNITIES

SUMMER SCHOOLS IN THE REGION

RE WHEN QUIRE WHO? TOPIC MENTS

BA degree, and strong CENTRAL EUROPEAN Students, command of English-- Political and economic UNIVERSITY Depends on the course junior faculty additional requirements for issues and researchers BUDAPEST speciﬁc courses.

CHARLES East Goes West UNIVERSITY September 8th –23rd Knowledge of English Students – West Goes East? PRAGUE

UNIVERSITY OF Energie: des énergies Knowledge of English and ECONOMICS July 9th – 15th, Graduate students traditionnelles French BRATISLAVA aux énergies du futur

Summer course of the Slovak COMENIUS UNIVERSITY Students, July 9th – 27th None language businessmen BRATISLAVA and culture

UNIVERSITY OF EDS July 18th – 25th Knowledge of English Students ŽILINA

EÖTVÖS LORÁND UNIVERSITY August 5th -31st None Mostly students Language and cultural course BUDAPEST

CENTRAL EUROPEAN The Politics of Ethnicity, MA students, PhD students, UNIVERSITY June27th – July 8th Knowledge of English Nationality researchers, and junior faculty BUDAPEST and Citizenship

EÖTVÖS LORÁND Implementation of Health Technology Assessment in UNIVERISTY June 25th – 28th Knowledge of English Students Middle Income Central BUDAPEST Eastern European Countries

WROCŁAW UNIVERSITY OF ECONOMICS, June 30th – July 14th Knowledge of English Students and graduates International Entrepreneurship WROCŁAW

SUMMER Emerging Realities and Potential Alternatives in a UNIVERSITY June 24th – July 6th Knowledge of English Students and graduates Global, European IN KŐSZEG and Regional Context

103 OPPORTUNITIES THE METAMOR PHOSIS OF

Ádám Bodor: Verhovina madarai THE (The Birds of Verhovina), Magvető, Budapest, 2011 DISTRICT

104 VISEGRAD INSIGHT 2|2012 ESSAY THE METAMOR PHOSIS

GERGELY ANGYALOSI

hat can no long- meaning. (" e only character whose full part since soon after World War I but er be written name we do not learn is precisely the one which is still home to a substantial eth- is the proper who, for the most part, serves as the nar- nic Hungarian minority, it is certainly name,” wrote rator: we know him only as Adam.) What close to it in mood as Bodor himself has Roland Barthes these names have in common is that they acknowledged. It is an imaginary locale forty years ago elude any attempt to identify their lin- impossible to associate with any one eth- OF in his seminal guistic origins—playing host to a mix of nic group but possible to associate with work S/Z. Of Slavic, Romanian, German, Greek, and many of them, and yet it can more or less course he was saying neither that there who-knows-what elements. Interestingly be pinpointed on a map as somewhere in Wwould no longer be novels nor that char- enough, not a single one has anything the eastern reaches of Central Europe. acters in novels would not have names. Hungarian about it at all—a fact whose As Bodor himself once put it, the Rather, he aimed to suggest that the age- import we will address later. key source of inspiration for his prose is old “economic” function of the proper But if we think twice about it, Bodor the existential image of Eastern Europe name would, going forward, be available goes about his naming technique precise- as a region of “rudimentary morals and only to traditional, “readerly” as opposed ly in the spirit of what Barthes described. lethargic disposition”—that, plus the re- to “writerly” texts—that is to say, to prose Indeed, the reader is well-advised to gion’s captivating landscape. In this half in which a proper name conveys informa- proceed with caution before associat- of the Old World, unrelenting brutality tion about the social ranking, economic ing any social status or ethnic identity makes the bed for moments of mercy, status, or ethnic identity of its bearer. In- to names the likes of “Anatol Korkodus” yielding a mood that might be termed THE deed, literature that set out to undermine and “Hamilcar Nikomuk.” And yet it is “fecund ambivalence.” It was in his par- the illusion of realism targeted the proper precisely this mode of naming that be- ticular corner of this land that Ádám name early on, sometimes eliminating it comes a pillar of this novel’s world—that, Bodor’s literary sensibility long ago altogether, as did Proust in the case of his coupled with Bodor’s fantastical descrip- found its home. " is ambivalence also Narrator. tions of the natural landscape. " e setting explains why his works have not been In the case of the great Hungarian is simultaneously isolated—situated as it “about” speciﬁ c social issues or political writer Ádám Bodor, it seems we bear is at the edge of a territory that is itself oppression in a historically identiﬁ able witness to the opposite of what Barthes remote—and precisely on account of manner. Hence, those readers already described. Much as in Bodor’s earlier its isolation, it has the characteristics of familiar with ! e Sinistra District (forth- works, ! e Birds of Verhovina abounds in a closed “district.” While not the author’s coming in English from New Directions, proper names—wondrous, even brilliant onetime home of Transylvania, a largely New York), or ! e Archbishop’s Visit, will names that in some cases are obviously mountainous region lying immediately quickly get their bearings in Verhovina DISTRICT the product of the author’s imagina- to the east of present-day Hungary which too. Bodor is, after all, a rather precise tion, whereas others perhaps carry some has been part of Romania for the most writer, and one might even venture to

105 ESSAY

call him “reliable.” Once we’ve read half On this point we can identify one of the district’s myths—the legend of the of his latest book, we could be dropped the key differences between Bodor’s ear- three-legged woman, the emergence of off in the dead center of its imaginary lier novels and !e Birds of Verhovina. the hot springs. All at once the mysteri- town, named Jablonska Poljana—that is, #e district portrayed in his previous ous Czervensky family—prophesied to be dropped off somewhere in the vicinity two works was every bit as deadly and the region’s masters for a thousand years, of the water authority brigadier’s head- oppressive, but fundamentally imper- so it is said—vanishes without a trace. quarters, the barbershop, and the pub- turbable and, in a certain sense, “undy- “#ey alone, the Czervenskys, sensed lic health clinic—and we would find our ing.” While most characters did perish that something had come to an end here way about without a hitch. In no time we under the weight of continuously emerg- among the Medwaya and Paltin hills. would spy Edmund Pochoriles’s inn, ar- ing anomalies, the district itself in each #at everything would soon change here rive at Miss Burszen’s house, or even the case was repeatedly recreated, as it were. forever.” Miss Burszen, who lives alone, district’s nine healing hot springs. #ose in the greatest danger were outsid- further confirms this: “It’s not out of the #e writer’s consistency in unfold- ers who strayed in, and of course, those question that scheming has gone on being this narrative is key as, aside from “insiders” who broke the rules or tried hind our backs. We may live here, but the certain salient aspects of the landscape’s to flee. (#e narrator-protagonist of !e ground under our feet has not been ours layout, nearly everything is in the shad- Sinistra District, Andrei, did finally man- for a long time.” ows, uncertain, or half-hidden. And yet if age to escape.) We get only sparse, dubious infor- the reader accepts the rules of the game, In Verhovina, however, something mation concerning the district’s future after a while the missing information and transformative occurs (or will occur) not prospects from the increasingly strange the surreal images are not nettling at all; only to the characters but also to the dis- outsiders that arrive in Jablonska Poljana: the plot’s ballad-like blur seems increas- trict itself. In the nearest cities, where the there is talk of reopening the mines, build- ingly natural. #e “district” swallows up district’s enigmatic authorities are based, ing a missile silo, and exploiting the hot the reader just as it literally does one of forces are taking shape that will sooner springs. Nothing is yet certain though, the characters—a photographer who en- or later dismantle the district’s borders. . except the palpable sense of menace felt ters unauthorized and is swallowed at the . and will presumably bring an end to this by the few dozen people living there, for end by a murderous spring whose waters unrelentingly primitive world—a world whom the only acceptable turn of events at once preserve everything and paint it that is somehow humane and livable all would be to be left alone. But, increas- all blue. the same. (It should be noted that some ingly, they each have a gut feeling that Dreadful things occur in this pover- of the novel’s cities have real names, deadly changes are astir. ty-stricken wasteland of a region where such as Lemberg and Csernovitz as per We never do learn what will come people behave in a manner every bit Bodor’s Hungarian text—which is to say, to pass. It is only the fate of the “water as odd, every bit as baffling to city folk the western Ukrainian cities of Lviv and authority brigadier,” Anatol Korkodus, from the outside, as was the case in !e Chernivtsi.) which suggests the change is not to be Sinistra District. But even the Verhovina And, in a radical departure from a rosy one. At a certain point in the book “district” has a morality unto its own; we the earlier novels, not only do the char- he shows up in town, moves into the might even say that the characters go acters inhabit time, but so too does the empty house once occupied by the leg- about their business within a complex district. Indeed, it is already from the per- endary Czervensky family, and writes on web of rules—rules that strike outsiders spective of the catastrophe to come that the door: “W A B.” as either incomprehensible or invalid. we arrive at that chapter that describes No one knows who appointed him to

CEJISS.ORG

106 VISEGRADCENT IRNSAILGHT EU R2|2012OPEA N JOURNAL OF INTERNATIONAL AND SECURITY STUDIES ESSAY

this post, and no one cares a whole lot. be taken away. Such instances of “incon- der of wonders, the Hungarian officer fi- Indications are that the local authorities sistency,” such contradictory twists and nally does arrive, frozen to the bone, only know about him and tacitly acknowledge turns of plot are integral to the workings to learn of Miss Burszen’s death and to his position; and yet at other times they of this text. "e writer takes care to en- complete his own life journey here in this do not seem to give him the time of day, sure that neither the characters nor the strange district. "is is a fairytale turn of not even reading the reports he keeps situations should “come together” in ac- events not unlike more than a few other submitting. Rather, as we come to know, cord with the comforting rules of some surreal twists in !e Birds of Verhovina. his reports are no longer being read by psychological or narrative code. "us, Another such motif is the murderous those he is addressing them to. after burning his documents, Korkodus spring that coats (and preserves) all in its !e Birds of Verhovina comprises in- starts writing anew; he can’t stop, though midst with a blue crystal and whose bril- terlinked chapters that often depart from even he knows it isn’t necessary, that no liant description greets us in the novel’s chronological order, the first of which one is interested. It is this illogical be- closing pages. But the birds—or, rather, begins two weeks before the arrest of havior that, above all, shows he does not their looming absence—count as the Korkodus, whose subsequent detention have a place in the new world—a world most important motif of all. In the first and killing occur in circumstances just as that aims to square accounts precisely chapters we learn that persons unknown mysterious as everything in this region. with the past as it lives on in the form have taken to toppling over their nests, in Everyone—including Korkodus himself, of writing. "ose present at Korkodus’s consequence of which Verhovina is home it seems all but certain—knows what will arrest—including Adam, who respects to not a single bird; indeed, even migrat- happen, but his “sin” is perhaps precisely him like a father—understand this full ing birds avoid this ominous district. And that he is unwilling to acquiesce to the well: afterward they speak of the event as so it is easy for Adam to reprove a char- destruction of a world he himself did if they had only heard about it. To know acter named Januszky who—when asked much to build. What is it that he has kept something precisely and, indeed, to be how he had the gall to go missing for four himself busy with, then? So busy indeed a witness does not bring luck in this com- days and return without the notes on wa- that his constancy at the task has helped munity, where not long before even the ter levels he was supposed to have collect- maintain, or at least represent, an order train schedule had been abolished. ed—replies, “Birds snatched him up while of sorts in Jablonska Polnaja. "e utmost While Adam narrates most chap- he was on his way to the lake, and if he re- sign of this order? Korkodus’s penchant ters, there are exceptions where we can’t members correctly, he spent a few days in for keeping a journal or reports—for identify the person telling the story. But their nests.” "e complete absence of birds archiving, as his unknown predecessors even Adam often relies on others’ narra- seems indicative of the hostile relationship must also have done. He embodies the tives, stories that don’t always match up. between Nature and the District. But in memory of the place. As observed by For example, the case of the stabbing of the final chapter, Adam notices a hushed Jacques Derrida, “the meaning of ‘archive,’ Nika Karanika, the “demon” with heal- rustling around the house: the redstarts its only meaning, comes from the Greek ing powers, is presented in two varia- have returned and begun to build their arkheion: initially a house, a domicile, tions that differ completely, depending nests under the eaves. All this happens an address, the residence of the superior on the storyline. Never do we find out after Adam drowns the meddlesome pho- magistrates, the archons, those who com- whether one of this novel’s most impor- tographer in the blue spring without so manded. . . . On account of their publicly tant objects, a book authored by Eronim much as touching the man, and then has recognized authority, it is at their home, Mox was a cookbook or a storybook or, an orgasm, which feels to him “as if he had in that place which is their house . . . that perhaps, both. (It is in this magical vol- lost something.” official documents are filed.” (Archive ume, whose letters are illuminated, that Just what to make of the birds’ return Fever: A Freudian Impression, University the brigadier seeks an answer to his life’s is another question, as the text gives us no of Chicago Press, 1995.) Not only did the every problem, behavior that seems out hint in this regard—thankfully, it should archons issue and safeguard documents of step with the times.) "ere is yet an- be added. And so the entire storehouse though, they also had the right to inter- other mention of books: Miss Burszen, of possible interpretations remains open. pret them. who has received a premonition that Perhaps the redstarts indicate that nature Korkodus, too, is an archon, a law- a Hungarian military officer will come is willing to make peace with Verhovina, maker and an interpreter of rules who de- for her from beyond the mountains, from or perhaps that the presence of humans cides in matters of life and death—until Transylvania, consequently has others here must cease so that nature can once which time it becomes clear that in the read to her in Hungarian even though again take possession of everything. I pre- new-order-in-the-making there will be neither she nor those who read to her fer the latter: it is not that someone leaves a need neither for him nor the rules he know Hungarian—a language that is alive the district, but rather that the district will represents, not to mention the archive here only in being a part of the archives in cease to be, because it will not contain any itself. After using a clever trick to get the this district that speaks an unidentifiable people. It is this disquieting ambivalence brigadier to leave the house, Nikolsky pidgin of sorts. (While there is nothing that fills the reader on closing the pages of Damasskin, procurator for public health, to suggest that the language is spoken in Ádám Bodor’s magnificent book. burns 143 years of records, gathering Jablonska Poljana is in fact a true pidgin, Translated by Paul Olchváry. them in a pile and setting each of the four in being a necessarily simplified blend of corners alight, “as customarily done with other more complex languages, we never The author is a Hungarian writer, critic and a city.” But what do we learn in a later do learn just what it is or what it evolved literary historian. Head of the Department chapter? "at it was Korkodus himself out of; the extinct Hungarian language for Ethics and Aesthetics at the University of who burned the records while waiting to alone is mentioned by name.) But won- Debrecen.

107 f Inthephoto:Peter N ádas

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INTERVIEW: Timothy Garton Ash on the Future of Europe