Hungary’s most hated man now respected

Press, 1 June 1982, Page 21

Hungary’s most hated man now respected

From

RONALD FARQUHAR,

Reuter,

in Budapest

Janos Kadar, the pragmatic': Communist- who led Hungary out of bloody civil • strife to relative prosperity; celebrated s his 70th -birthdaylast week,, quietly and unostentatiously, but firmly in charge after.more than 25 .years in office;./-. ■ Public and .'-private com--memoration of the event .was kept to a minimum at Khdar’s wish,. Communist sources said. The'party ’chief received formal messages of. congratulation and state-de-corations and awards from the Kremlin, as well as from his own comrades in the Hungarian leadership. ' But local tributes avoided the outpourings’’ of praise that commonly mark similar anniversaries in’ other Communist states. Hungarian journalists were told .to confine their cover of the occasion to official statements. This is. typical of, the modest, unobtrusive ; . style ■ that has helped Kadar, once: reviled by many Hungarians for aiding Soviet suppression of the 1956 anti-Stalinist uprising, to achieve nationwide. popularity. From the background/he has directed skilful policies of gradual reconciliation, economic reform, and political relaxation that healed

•the wounds left by the bloody 1956 revolt, in which more ' than 2500 Hungarians died, and has transformed Hun- ;■ gary into probably the most -stable, prosperous, and liberal state in communist East Europe. Pallid-faced, with a cleft a chin, .. thinning hair, and a • wrinkled brow, Kadar often appears ill at ease on public occasions, although he is capable of convulsing an audience with witty asides, delivered with -a shrug and outstretched arms.,:- • - Born, of peasant stock in 1912 in' the Adriatic port of Flume — then part: of Hungary,now Rijeka in Yugoslavia — ne-went to. school in Khpoly, 'south-west .Hungary, aiid- later moved ; with his mother To Budapest. There they Jived in poverty, and young Janos started work at 14 in the iron industry.- ' * .He joined the Communist Sat the. age of 20, ning a political career that brough him imprisonment, torture,- and accusations of betrayal, before he achieved his present recognition and prestige. As Interior Minister under the Stalinist party chief Maty as Rakosi fn Soviet-liber-ated Hungary after the Second World War, Kadar controlled the political police when .Foreign Minister Laszlo Rajk was arrested tried, and executed in 1949 for treason. This was the first of a wave of purges that swept East Europe’s Communist leaderships when President Tito broke with the Kremlin after refusing to submit to the overlordship of Stalin. The process latterly engulfed Kadar himself, and in May,>1951,. he was arrested, tortured, and imprisoned. Rehabilitated, in 1954, he was re-elected to the party leadership after Rakosi was toppled two years later. As party first secretary, he

has been the political chief of Hungary ever since Soviet tanks crushed the insurrection of October-November, 1956, that threatened to overthrow Communist rule. The improvements he has wrought since then in the lives of ordinary Hungarians, - have wiped away the hatred many felt because of what /they considered his betrayal ' of the uprising by switching sides from reformist Prime Minister Imre Nagy — later 'executed for treason — and setting up a rival government under protection of . Soviet tanks. Today, Kadar’s.. departure from the political scene would be regarded with dismay by many Hungarians, but sources in Budapest say he shows no (signs of intending to retire. • “He said 10 years ago he would like to step down, but he stayed,” one Communist official, said. : “He was elected party first secretary for another four-' year term at the last party congress in 1980, so, barring ill-health, the question should not arise until the next party congress,” he added. Other Communist sources say that Kadar appears in reasonably good health for his years. Westerners who saw him during a visit to West Germany in April for talks with Chancellor Helmut Schmidt, commented on his mental and physical vigour. Even if he were to quit, his departure would be unlikely to bring any, immediate major change in Hungarian policy. The party leadership appears firmly committed to pursuing existing liberal economic policies, giving wider scope to private initiative, while striving to maintain vital hard currency exports ' and domestic living . standards . amid persisting

world recession and inflation. Conservative opponents of decentralisation who'brought the reform process to a temporary halt in 1972 and 1973, do not look strong enough today to curb present trends. The next two or three years are likely to be important, and the shape of future policies could depend on Hungary’s weathering ex : pected difficulties in this period without a major economic setback. Kadar said in a recent interview with Austrian television that the Hungarian economy needed to become more flexible and more efficient. In a characteristically pragmatic comment on the scope allowed by the Hungarian system for individual initiative and profit, he added: “This calls for socialist consciousness and patriotic feelings — but it does no harm if other stimuli play a part.” About his own role on the Hungarian scene, Kadar said: “I am a man of the Communist philosophy of life, a supporter of socialist ideas. I consider myself an . honest Hungarian citizen, and a son of the Hungarian people. “I have always worried about how to advance in such a way that people need never suffer any more than necessary. That is the point of departure that has always guided me in judging various questions.” . Asked about his advancing age, he replied: “I never think about it. When I am working I have- no time to. think about it, and when I am not working I do not want to think about it. “People tell me, ‘You should keep healthy. We need you.’ So I keep myself busy with work.” .