Hungary is a country in central Europe. It is a landlocked country, and Budapest is its capital. It has a population of about 9,700000 people. The current head of state is President Janos Ader, and it has a unitary multiparty form of government. It is a unique country since they speak a language unrelated to most European languages.
Political, social, and cultural reforms
There were political reforms that were realized in Hungary between 1965 and 1989. Towards the end of the 1980s, the Hungarians wanted to reform the misgovernment through political reforms other than just economic reforms. This was after there was a rise in the annual inflation to about 18%, which led to the replacement of Kadar by Groz. The supporters of Kadar in the Politburo and central committee were also replaced. An economist named Miklos became the prime minister in 1989. Towards the end of that year, the socialist worker party was dissolved, which led to the formation of the Hungarian socialist party, which came with many communist policies (Tokes & Rudolf, 1996). The democratic union of scientific workers challenged the communist-controlled national council of trade unions. The existing communist regime was condemned, and the government of Nemeth started a serious conversation with the opposition.
Similarly, the government representatives and leaders of the opposition discussed ways of a peaceful changeover which led to new election law. Also, a system of proportional representation consisting of 386 members was introduced. In May 1989, Hungary opened borders with Austria and became the first eastern bloc to break through the iron curtain. On March 15, 1989, there were demonstrations in Budapest that aimed to explain the struggle between the communist government and the opposition (Tokes & Rudolf, 1996). It was a bitter fight connected to the bloody and unlawful revolution in 1956. By then, Hungary had been experiencing liberalizing reforms from the 1960s. This was after Janos Kadar was concerned with the increment of the rights o workers and the introduction of new market systems to the economy of Hungary. The demonstrations held in Hungary were mainly centred in Budapest with a strong political aim.
Role of EU
The EEC had four major institutions: a commission, assembly, court and ministerial council. The treaty formed an economic and social committee to advise the commission and the council of ministers concerning social and political policies. The signing of the Brussels treaty in 1965 helped merge the EEC commissions and the ECSC into a single commission. The three European Communities, EEC, Euratom and ECSC, became the principal institutions of the EU. It consists of a continuous civil service that commissioners direct. It functioned to articulate policies concerning the community, monitor obedience to verdicts in the community and superintend the implementation of community law (Yilmaz, 2003). The commission’s leader is a president chosen by the head of state and the organization’s members. The president functions to appoint the head of the directorate-generals to control areas such as agriculture, rivalry and the situation. The European Council, established in 1974, has a key role in European political and economic integration, with the president as its leader.
Collapse of communism
The communist rule in the people’s republic of Hungary ended in 1089. It led to a peaceful democratic system. It had been a communist country since the Hungarian revolution in 1956. Likewise, the eastern bloc debilitated towards the end of the 1980s because of the disintegration of the Soviet Union. There were political and economic issues in Hungary that led to much pressure on Hungarian communism, which all led to the fall of communism in 1989. Economic reforms, such as the new economic mechanism, were formed due to the revolutions in 1968. The new economic mechanism resulted in the weakening of communism. For instance, in 1968, NEM was launched by the socialist worker’s party to reduce economic issues by introducing decentralization and fixed prices (Janos, 1971). NEM was significant in the self-management of collective farms and the end of monopoly industries. These ways led to a trade-dependent national economy, but by the 1980s, Hungary suffered from inflation, running a massive foreign debt and increased poverty. In 1985, Kadar decided to recognize the collapse due to political and economic instability leading to the collapse of communism.
References
Janos, A. C. (1971). Nationalism and Communism in Hungary. East European Quarterly, 5(1),.
Tökés, R. L., & Rudolf, L. T. K. S. (1996). Hungary’s negotiated revolution: Economic reform, social change and political succession (Vol. 101). Cambridge University Press.
Yilmaz, B. (2003). Turkeys Competitiveness in the European Union: A Comparison with Five Candidate Countries-Bulgaria, The Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Romania-and the EU15 (No. 12). Ezoneplus working paper.
write