Party pride in Hungary

Press, Volume CX, Issue 32461, 23 November 1970, Page 15

Party pride in Hungary

(tt.Z. Preri Aun.—Copyright) VIENNA, Nov. 22. Hungary’s Communist Party will meet for its quadrennial congress tomorrow, and will point with cautious pride to the most sweeping reforms existing anywhere in Eastern Europe. Their pride is justified, because the reforms seem to be working. Of equal importance is that an official Soviet Union delegation is expected to be present, to give the Kremlin's blessing to Hungary’s economic and political experiments. '■ The Hungarian Socialist Workers Party Congress, which will last for six days, will debate and pass a series of guidelines, entitled the “New Economic Mechanism,” published earlier, which explain why Hungary’s reforms have succeeded, while

Czechoslovakia’s were crushed. This manifesto makes it plain that all reforms must be led by the party, which remains always the final reservoir of power. It pledges Hungary’s future and total support of the Soviet Union m foreign-policy. Many observers say that Russia invaded Czechoslovakia because it feared that party control was slipping and pro-Soviet policies were being lost sight of. The new economic plan stresses decentralisation, profits, exports and con-sumer-goods. Unlike other East-European economic reforms which promise the same thing, Hungary’s N.E.M. has had a solid impact on the economy. A new political climate that has erased much of the average Hungarian’s fear of the police, has produced an exciting theatre and film industry, led to press criti- ' cism of Government Minis- ■ ters, given the go-ahead to i small-scale private enterprise ' and has permitted a wide freedom of religion. The guide-lines even praise Hungary’s “middle - class, people with different ideologies . . . non-party citizens and religious believers" as good citizens. SHY OF PRAISE i Hungarian officials have ■ said that they liked it better when nobody noticed. Recent . articles have appeared in the . Hungarian press denying that . there is much reform, or - denying that it is new, or i that it is at all different i from reforms elsewhere in Eastern Europe, i The unspoken fear is that 1 Western praise will be the . kiss of death —that Russia , will decide that anything the t West considers good must be I bad.

So far, that has not happened. AU articles in the Soviet Union press on the reforms have been favourable —even though the reforms go far beyond anything yet attempted in Russia-

The party general-secretary since the Hungarian revolt in 1956 (Dr Janos Radar) will

lead speakers in debate on the economy, the new fiveyear plan, and on tentative attempts to introduce ‘.‘democracy”—secret balloting for leaders and improved communications within the party.