Eastern European Politics

"If violence wasn’t your last resort, you failed to resort to enough of it" - 6th Maxim of Maximally Effective Mercenaries

New PIS idea: if you leave a political party (any party), you lose your status as a politician and have to say goodbye to the parliament. This disallows any changes to another parties and is to be introduced by the end of June. It also applies to any dishonorable discharges from the party.

It's a way to ensure party loyalty, for sure, but it just feels wrong.

Thats actually not that uncommon in parliamentary systems, to have a law like that.

It seems like a horrible idea to me. It encourages blind conformity party orthodoxy in lieu of any individual thought.

Thing is, without such a law, you have situations where some guy will take the party's money and use their contacts and, as soon as he is in power, will quit the party yet reap the benefit of election.

Hence why the law isn't all that uncommon. Individual thought wasn't what got the guy the election, unlike in the American system or similar places.

edited 10th May '16 9:28:03 AM by FFShinra

In our case, the seat belongs to the individual and they are allowed to stay until the end of their term even if they leave the party. Although they will only have that one seat and not get anything done, also amounting to political suicide.

In the case of the cabinet, you'll lose your office (say, foreign minister) the moment you don't belong to the parties in power.

edited 10th May '16 9:32:20 AM by TerminusEst

Yeah I think it depends on the system, if seats are geography based then they tend to stick to a person as people vote for a person, but if they're list based and votes are given to a party I can see an argument for people being locked to a party.

Paliament's going to vote on the issue of holding a referendum about the EU's migrant quota.

The socialists declared abstention. Ex-socialist ex-PM Gyurcsány's faction declared an outright boycott. Both are saying that, while public opinion is clearly in favor of holding a referendum, voting yes would mean supporting Fidesz.

In other words, they are doing exactly what the other side did earlier this year (specifically, KDNP bigwig Harrach refusing to support increased funding for feeding starving children spcifically because the socialists raised the issue first): agreeing with something but going against it anyway because the other side supports it too and God forbid they agree with the enemy on anything.

edited 12th May '16 10:38:07 AM by amitakartok

<sigh> An increasingly common behavior worldwide....

PIS wants to extend the Conscience Clause - which, as I or my other, hot-tempered countryman, might have mentioned, can result in a doctor refusing an abortion due to his religious preferences - to physical therapy and physiotherapists.

For example, a Clause-signing doctor can turn down a woman with an IUS or someone with a bioprosthesis. Granted, Health Minister seemed indecisive on just what could be forbidden with the Clause.

Still, the very existence of such Clause is offensive.

Reminds me of the "religious freedom" laws that the more right wing parts of the US are championing. Funny how the right wing politics can be similar across continents...

Today our so-called Prime Minister attacked EU and opposition. As usual with those people, they called printing the verdict of Constitutional Tribunal "capitulation" and they vowed to "never surrender" to "outside influences". They also voted through a resolution about "defending sovereignity" which is darkly funny since:

1) Polish people voted to be in EU by an overwhelming majority. (13 million voted for being in! 77% percent of voting people!)

2) Today most Polish people agree to be in the EU. (Even the PM called herself an "European", which is... well...)

3) Being in an organisation such EU, it gives not only us rights but also responsibilities and obligations, and that includes obeying to the common regulations and standards. And that includes a rule of law.

4) Calling CT verdict "not a verdict" when most of the Polish lawyers agree on its validity, and calling people who wants to have the Polish law obeyed traitors* is not a sign of a goodwill, and willingness to resolve the conflict, Mrs. Prime Minister.

5) You cannot change the fact that there's a severe problem with democracy and lawfulness through a resolution.

Even a nailbomb explosion in my home town won't make me upset (well, upset more). Pi S is really working hard on creating good conditions for a civil war.

• More or less: she insinuated that the opposition leaders welcomed Poland's recent problems with glee, and that the leaders incite EU actions against Poland.

Warning, Vice. But very interesting.

Cash for Kim: North Korean Forced Labourers Are Working to Their Death in Poland

About North Koreans being used as slave workforce in Poland - leftist party of Razem protested against it some time ago: http://tvnwarszawa.tvn24.pl/informacje,news,koreanczycy-niewolniczo-pracuja-na-budowie-osiedla-protest-razem,201080.html

And here's another article about it - according to the article, Poland and Malta are the "leaders" in this awfulness in Europe: http://wyborcza.pl/1,87648,19903681,polska-w-budowie-dzieki-niewolnikom-z-korei-pln-moze-haruja.html

I apologize that both articles are in Polish. I couldn't find similar articles in English, except this one in The Telegraph: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/northkorea/11901507/Poland-and-Malta-accused-of-using-North-Korean-forced-labour.html

Unfortunately, worker abuse in Poland is common, and National Labour Inspectorate is understaffed, underfunded and has had to WARN employers before inspection until recently. And it's one of the reasons I am upset with the current government - instead of enforcing the labour laws, they started destroying the law system.

Jobbik's holding a staff renewal congress today.

As expected, none of the ones whom Vona didn't want in the leadership ranks could be voted on, including ex-vice president and troublemaker Novák, who raised a big fuss about it when he was told earlier this month but accepted it by now in order to not cause a scandal during the congress. Novák retains his commission as parliament representative, but is forgoing a year's honorarium. Another ex-VP tossed out by Vona revealed in a press release announcing that she's not going to nominate herself in the VP elections that Vona recently broke ties with the cult-level radicals. Vona himself stayed party president at a whopping 93% approval rating and no contenders.

And the first thing Vona did after his reelection was a ballsy announcement: he's stepping down as head of fraction to concentrate his efforts on the party itself. "That changes are needed is not a question for me. The question is how. [...] The changes are important because of the great responsibility: either we defeat Fidesz or no one will!" He says Jobbik has to get into the government not to represent its members, but to represent everyone. "How does a party want to change a country without being able to change itself, how can it fix a country if it can't do that to itself?" He defines Jobbik as a "modern conservative party that wishes to keep the legacy of our ancestors, yet it is not afraid of the challenges of time but rises to meet them".

To the old-timers, he assured "I thought it over a thousand times, stayed up late, lamented; to whoever's in doubt, whoever's worried, I say: chill. [...] Jobbik's not a recreation centre, not a wellness resort to flee from the world's troubles. [...] An army's strength is in its discipline, but nothing else can be achieved with unruly horses, cocky soldiers and touchy commanders. Whoever doesn't stay in line can go away!"

For his replacement as head of fraction, Vona selected party VP Volner, by far the second most popular member of Jobbik who is expected to retain his VP position. Vona is also having the party create "an election preparation committee, a training division, an innovation center, a stronger foreign national political representation".

Well, of course there's no contenders - anyone who challenged Vona would have been tossed out.

Nope. Vona is just that charismatic to have everyone want him to be the leader.

I find that hard to believe.

Looks like Vona still isn't finished: he had Novák forfeit his parliament mandate. Novák obliged and resigned, as all representatives take an oath on the Holy Crown upon inauguration to voluntarily resign their mandate if the fraction finds them unworthy of it. Novák's fraction vote was 18 yes, 4 no, 2 abstention.

The eastern weakness for a ‘political savior’

Rising social progress in Eastern Europe likely to lead to drop in migration: economist

Minsk Fears Moscow May Organize Hybrid War and Color Revolution in Belarus

Seems like the people are more concerned about Lukashenka though. And at this rate, with regards to Belarus, color revolution/hybrid warfare would be overkill.

Hungarian minister says he might vote to quit EU if government held referendum

Hollow coming from Hungary.