Hungary taking over EU presidency! Great, time to introduce the
rest of them to the hungarian way of dealing with politics!!
Thats it, im moving to Asia or US!

What genuine luck to leave the doomed, ugly union behind, and move to those remarkably developed parts of the world... If you consider the US, or Asia (oh dear...) a step in the right direction, then you definitely have to make your move and fast.

"Reference to cultural diversity as a "unique resource" and strengthening regionalism were added to the trio's programme on a Hungarian initiative, the ministry said.."
CULTURAL DIVERSITY??? Build more Tesco, OBI,IKEA,
stores and kill what's left of any homegrown/homemade produce.
The villages across Hungary are dying. It is a crying shame to witness the disintegration and the final dying gasps of Hungarians trying to preserve culture and tradition in the face of all adversity.

The Hungarian people have a free choice to buy
Hungarian or buy Tesco/OBI/IKEA. Their decision is
clear. This is the real outcome of the "popular
vote" regardless of who is elected in April.

Hi Tony. What is clear is that you cannot buy Hungarian agricultural produce, or meat, etc in supermarkets. Hungarian manufactured goods don't exist. So we buy cheap Chinese rubbish with our ever-dwindling forint.
You can't give agricultural land away for love nor money. Educated Hungarians piss off once they've graduated. Roma take over villages across the pusztas because they're the only ones that can eke out a living...with the help of welfare, of course.
Tesco pie eaters, IKEA bedwetters, and moonshine palinka drinkers, don't mind. Convenience for couch potatoes takes precedence. Tradition and culture bite the dust and make way for the grab-a-bag tactics of tasteless and faceles supermarkets.

What is clear is that you cannot buy Hungarian agricultural produce, or meat, etc in supermarkets. Hungarian manufactured goods don't exist. So we buy cheap Chinese rubbish with our ever-dwindling forint
Countryside at March 10, 2010 5:43 PM
---
I have a hard time finding the Chinese Red Wine among all that Hungarian crap in my nearest Tesco, Auchan (Bird-Tesco for you Hungarians) and Metro
I wonder where they put it?
.
Hungarian produce is sold to abroad for a better price than to sell it locally, that is why you do not find some local produce
But you can find some Hungarian produce in the supermarkets, because my wife comes home with it
.
Not that I ever found a good Hungarian-produced steak, so what is the meaning of having farmers when they cannot produce a decent steak?

@Viking: You really can get good Hungarian produce, but you have to look for it!

My wife also ha her preferences: She only buys at this market stall, only this type of Kolbasz, no tomatoes or other vegetables from the Netherlands etc.

But in the non-food departments (household goods etc) there really is a deluge of Chinese cheap crappy products - that usually break after or even before first use ...

BTW that's the same situation here in Germany and the US. I read somewhere that Walmart buys about half of its non-food products in China ...

PS:
Of course the Chinese can do real quality products too, like all the Apple phones and computers - but these come at a price.

@Countryside - Hungarian manufactured goods don't exist. So we buy cheap Chinese rubbish with our ever-dwindling forint.
Which Hungarian manufactured goods do you want to see, and which company would produce them at a price you would like to pay?
One reason why we see so many 'cheap' Chinese goods is because the manufacturing processes have changed, and products are seen as disposable because they are so cheap. But, the truth is that even if these products would be produced in Hungary, they would be made using the same processes. Using more expensive processes wouldn't work because people are more value conscious today. Most of the time, we buy the cheaper stuff even when we see the more expensive & (maybe) better stuff next to it. Almost all the MNC produced stuff China makes is of very good quality.
On the subject of food, I think supermarkets do have a slight advantage in that I don't have to go to 5 places for 20 things. Also, supermarkets tend to reject the lower quality produce at the purchase point. But having bought in bulk, if they don't sell them, the produce deteriorate very quickly giving the impression that all Tesco/Auchan products are bad. Few farmers do this. Farmer markets on the other hand, tend to lump everything together, and try to sneak in the bad ones they have. I have only seen about 10 farmers who really categorize all their products & price them accordingly.

I go to a local shop to buy meat. They have a farm
nearby for pigs etc. The meat is good quality and reasonably priced. Much better than supermarket imported rubbish.
I bought some taps for my bathroom and a boiler -
all Hungarian-made and good quality at reasonable prices.
I must confess to loading my trolley with Chinese
stuff in the first instance but was persuaded by the manager to look at Hungarian options. I'm glad I changed my mind because the quality of the Hungarian items were much better.
Plastic food and plastic goods...is this progress?
Convenience shopping will kill us all in the end.
We are lazy, uncaring, and accept everything without a murmur.
Viking: If you want steak- go to Argentina. Mad cow disease abounds! Your risk,mate!?

I could be wrong about this but at least at one time
when Mad Cow disease was romping through Britain,
Argentina didn't have any cases.



And on another note, I know foreigners in Hungary
who do all their shopping at Tesco (a considerable
distance away) because then they don't have to speak
Hungarian to the locals in the markets and small
stores near their homes. That is sad for me.

@Eric and Ernie: Maybe what is needed is for the state to acknowledge that there are foreigners here and encourage them to learn the language by provided decent language resources. This works in Estonia with their sizable Russian minority, who are extremely reluctant to integrate.

I've often pointed out that the money the EU pays to help with language classes and cultural integration for immigrants is the first money to get pocketed and never get used as intended.

Or Hungary can continue to pretend there are no foreigners here and even if there were, they are neither needed nor welcome.

Around here in the villages and of course in the towns of Héviz and Keszthely I can manage quite well with my very limited Hungarian and the salespeoples' rudimentary German (when my wife is not with me).

Actuall that (and my age and lazyness) is the reason for me not having learnt to really speak Hungarian - just getting on with "Pidgin Hungarian" used to be ok for me ...

Of course I try and the Hungarian people try too - we manage quite nicely, thank you ...

Eric Wise-guy. The language everyone understands is a fistful of dollars and/or forint.
I have noticed lazy people suddenly become
mesmorized like a rabbit in the headlights at the very sight of wonga.
I have striven to learn Hungarian this past year. Very difficult, but I am making good progress.
PS Vándorló.
And, as for money being pocketed by twisted officials, well er, er, WHAT'S NEW???
PPS. Steak is not good for you. Eat vegetables and drink lots of orange juice and dream of running 5 kilometers per day even if you find it difficult to make your way to the toilet.

Germans have migrated here since the 60s and before.
How many can speak Hungarian?
I shall tell you: NONE.
@Eric/Ernie. People that shop at Tesco and care less about learning Hungarian?
They’re happy.. Why worry? Cultureless couch potatoes exist everywhere.
Hungary is barely holding on to its culture and traditions and is fighting a losing battle.
Lazy fat pie eaters whose only aim in life is to switch on the TV and watch overpaid
footballers kick a pig’s bladder around for 90 mins are in the majority too.
’Do not go gentle into that good night
Rage, rage, against the dying of the light!’
PS Vánderló. I agree that Hungarians are sometimes less than hospitable towards
foreigners. Except, that is, when the smell of money is in the air.