This week’s “Duly Noted” concentrates on a single topic: the political situation in Hungary. From the outset, the reader should be aware of a prejudice he might be nurturing in his subconscious. It is that “big things” happen in “big countries”. Indeed, they often do. Size, numbers and statistical probability are the explanation. Even so, small countries, by their size or by the attention one is conditioned to give them, can be places where scientific innovations that change our way of life are hatched. The same is true for public affairs. A case in point is the Magna Charta. Illiterates only doubt its world historical significance. Nevertheless, in 1215 England has been a minor country. Wrongly, no one noticed.

After heeding the apologia of he introduction, the reader should not put the venue and the specific case in the center of his attention. The tale told about the story to follow illustrates a general issue that affects us regardless of residence or citizenship. The case here concerns PC-corrected news provided by the mainstream media. A related subject is how, in a liberating defiance of the facts, international leftist networks can generate hysteria to benefit its agenda. Attribute that to an influence derived from the activities of often non-declared members of the “brotherhood”.  They govern opinion, art, media, education, many social institutions and the political process.

Increasingly, that network is losing the total hold it had on the formulation of norms, the correct way of thinking and the way “things” are run. As this column likes to argue, this process of the emancipation of the masses from their prophets is a decisive trend of our age. A discrepancy is widening between the distorted reality that conforms to the ideological dictates voiced by élites and the real-life experience of the “crowd”. Even the threatened excommunication for departing from the “line” to be trodden cannot keep the barefooted from noticing that the Emperor is, indeed, naked. Noticeably to all, reality fails to conform to what might otherwise be a splendid theory.  Confirming the allegation about the unmasking of distortions is the specific case that is about to be presented. The subject of the report is the anatomy of what is, at best ignorance-born misrepresentation, and at worst, libel. A special implication of the case is that it demonstrates how fact defying “international consensus” can be generated. By it persons, parties, or countries can be made into a pariahs once the “network” wills it.

But, you might ask, how does the snowball of mutual left-liberal confirmation function? To start –this begins to sound like a recipe- take a group of like-minded individuals. They should be aware of the bond –background, education, commitments- they share and be entrenched in the opinion making business. Have one of them take up a cause. Preferably stick to a matter the average person knows little about. Cry murder and communicate the threat to humanity to excitable guild-member friends abroad. Choose persons that are eager to unearth dangers from which they can easily save mankind. Induce them to emit warnings of the scandal you have just sold to them. Once the visionary story becomes public, others will pick up the cause. As soon as the introductory alarms are printed, the second tier of writers and pundits will take up the topic. Soon it will seem that “everybody says so”. That new state of the “debate” will make the original speculation a proven charge. At the same time, the general agreement will make liars out of those that attempt to rectify what the seeming consensus has proclaimed to be an unshakeable truth. If this makes you think that the strategy confirms Göbbels’ finding that repetition makes a lie true, then so be it.

For weeks now, the tone-setting leading international dailies and weeklies are carrying news emanating from otherwise ignored Hungary. The displeasure and flagellation had several stages.

It all started by an incorrect election result. The “Young Democrats” (Fidesz) and their Christian Democratic ally attained a two-thirds majority. The mandate: To complete the removal of the old system's tentacles and to modernize the country. The previously ruling Socialists (the CP’s successors) and a genuine extreme right-wing party split the remaining votes. The Socialists’ allies, the “Liberals” who had served as an intellectual fig leaf, failed make it into parliament. Globally, regardless of the Left’s previous misgovernment, the voters’ judgment confirming a trendy move away from the Left, failed to get approval. No wonder. The pundits have their preferences. In this case, their friendly contacts to their native “liberal” informants implied that they regurgitate the views of the election’s losers. The standard analysis asserted that by abandoning the Socialists, Hungary has come under the rule of a right-wing extremist. Had anyone said the same about a left extremist mafia taking control when the Socialist tricked themselves into power? It might deserve to be noted that, since then the genuinely extreme rightist “Jobbik” party of the opposition is, due to the clever policy of the Fidesz and Mr. Orbán, rapidly losing support.

The second violation of the rules imposed by PC’s guardians is the case of private pension funds. In this case, Left and Right positions seem to become reversed. Besides an obligatory basic-services fund, individuals had the right to put additional discretionary money into a second “pillar”. A state-run and several private funds competed to manage wealth earmarked to finance additionally retirements. A new law changes this. Within the next three months, either those in private funds must accept transfer to state management or they need to certify their intention to stay with their commercial fund. Voices that muster understanding for nationalization in general are outraged. Nearly universally, the “theft” of individual retirement savings is alleged. Alas, not accidentally unmentioned facts complicate the seemingly clear case. As elsewhere in the region, privatization after 1989 meant that members of the Party used their political power to acquire firms and real estate for a fraction of their value. (A Socialist ex-PM, Mr. Gyurcsány, is said to have made a purchase of 495:1). Thereby insider families converted the economic power of the politically ruling party into private economic clout. Accordingly, individuals with inherited pull now control the private pension management firms. Their trustworthiness corresponds to the quality of the network’s crowd. Initially, the yearly cost of management had been eight percent. Currently the take is over four percent. In addition, the funds do not purchase stocks directly but go through middlemen. Guess why! The economic consequences are obvious. Let this end by pointing out a genuine blemish of government action. The money about to be transferred will be invested to restore the country’s neglected economic health and to reduce, as promised, the deficit to below 3%.

It is the third item on the list that could be converted into a Socialist publicity success whose local and international branch cannot forgive their electoral defeat. This case is about legislation that regulates the media. By now, even reputable centrist and right-of-center sources abroad  have accepted the thesis of “censorship”, and the dictatorial “imposition of government controls”.

The other day, your correspondent has been asked for an interview regarding the outrage. Before the expected callback, with difficulty, copy of the law could be secured. It took three readings before I could believe what I read.

To begin with, an organ that supervises certain media activities had existed for a long time. This fall there has been reorganization. After January 1st, a new set-up and a name-change will follow.

The critical question is what the board is charged with. As before, the agency assigns frequencies that apply radio and TV stations. Getting, respectively retaining a frequency is attached to conditions. This - as well as the following- is most likely to be the rule in the country where you read this.

Music stations must prove a program with a local content. Radio is also to broadcast news. Similar restrictions apply to TV. At least 50% of the offerings must be “European” and 30% needs to be local. Regular newscasts must have a certain length and need to be prepared by the station. Programs that handle social, political and cultural themes are also required.

There also provisions that put limits on pornography, the dissemination of group-hate content and titillating crime stories. By now some readers might have concluded that all the above is part of their country’s system. Nevertheless, some messages between the lines deserve emphasis. One is that the regulation of content appears to be part of an effort to combat the boulevard-style of triviality, bad taste, sensationalism and irresponsibility. Indeed, the catering to easily digested frivolities and gossip causes brains to atrophy. Second, the requirement of independent, station-generated reports and news provides for diversity. Assuredly, the provision hardly satisfies the definition of “Gleichschaltung”. The left might depict its fears as facts. Outside of that circle, the story might not sell. An instrument of dictatorial power grab? The practical implementation will answer that one.

Those that depict the regulation as a step toward dictatorship like to insinuate that the composition of the board proves their thesis. Indeed, only members of the Fidesz and the Christian Democrats staff the board. One might add here, that having one agency is a less polished solution than would have been the creation of a supervisory panel for each media. One might explain Fidesz/KDNP control with the distribution of the seats in parliament. On paper, a multi-party board would look better. However, seating the opposition implies drawbacks. Including it would have brought in a Socialist member but also a representative of the radical right. The latter’s presence would be sand in the machine and, by the way, support accusations of a rightist take-over. Here one might add that Mr. Orbán is quite intent and most successful to reduce the Jobbik party’s influence.

One more consideration speaks for the solution. In a democracy, the voters give some of their power to a legislature and to a government to implement a program. This is a mandate and that implies responsibility. To bring into an executive organ the disloyal opposition means that they determine its actions while the responsibility for the result rests on the government. One is left now with the question of what remains of the laments predicting the coming end of the world. A lot, but only if one has not read the law and listens only to those who comment it without having read and analyzed it. If one read the law, which provides for supervision but not domination, one concludes that those that had avoided doing so might have been wise. The legislation makes for boring reading. At any rate, the fictional version is much more entertaining. This must be the view of some key people in the EU. There the law is now being examined. There is also talk of preventing Hungary from taking her turn to chair the organization in the coming six months.

It is not lacking a certain entertainment value that lately the EU has asked Hungary for an English translation of its law. Will the EU and the bad-mouthers apologize once the real facts become known to them? The safe bet is: “Hardly”.  A benefit of the pillorying is that the resulting campaign aids the “right” crowd. If the confidence in the country can be shaken and its attempt to put the house in order is held up, then foreign direct investment will shrink. Contracting exports, lacking credits and a falling currency might follow. Such a scenario might have economic repercussions. These could lead to the failure of the current government and that would help the Socialist to regain power. Which is the yet unstated goal we are really talking about.