Is the tide turning?

On Monday Gyurcsány appeared on Az Este, a late evening political program on MTV. He seemed to be in a very upbeat mood and was his old combative self. Yesterday morning he gave a long interview on Mokka, an early morning show on TV2. Here his performance when confronted with a rather antagonistic reporter reminded me of his debate with Viktor Orbán when he basically won the 2006 elections. He had at least three reasons to be happy.

First, parties learn about polling results before they are released to the public, and he saw what may be an inflection point in Hungarian political sentiment. Moreover, by then he must have known that Mercedes Benz had chosen Hungary for its new factory that will employ some 2,500 workers. He must also have known that the European Union’s Center for Technology and Innovation would be established in Budapest. All this is, of course, excellent news for Hungary and helps the cause of MSZP and the government.

The media is very excited about Daimler-Benz’s decision. The shrinking camp of left-liberal journalists note that the German automaker wouldn’t be investing money in a country that is in the throes of economic and political collapse. I understand that this particular foreign investment is the largest in the history of the Third Republic. According to Gyurcsány himself (in his blog), once this plant is operative (2011) it could add between one and one-and-a-half percent to Hungary’s GDP. It would, in addition to the 2,500 people employed at the headquarters in Kecskemét, also provide employment to about 10,000 people who will be working for different local sub-contractors. Admittedly, this is not 100,000 jobs a year as Orbán promised, but it is very significant indeed.

All in all, it’s no wonder that Gyurcsány looked so happy and relaxed. Another interesting bit of information. Two days after Gyurcsány appeared on Az Este Orbán also appeared. What surprised me is that according to rating statistics kept by the television station, more people watched Gyurcsány than Orbán. In the case of Orbán people started to watch the program but eventually switched channels.

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