VZCZCXRO4365
RR RUEHIK
DE RUEHUP #0733/01 2801452
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 071452Z OCT 09
FM AMEMBASSY BUDAPEST
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 4553
INFO RUCNEEC/EASTERN EUROPEAN COUNTRIES COLLECTIVE
RUCNMEM/EU MEMBER STATES COLLECTIVE
RUEHZJ/HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL COLLECTIVE
RUEHROV/AMEMBASSY VATICAN

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 BUDAPEST 000733 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPARTMENT FOR EUR/CE JAMIE MOORE, EUR/PGI, AND DRL 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PREL PHUM KDEM EU HU
SUBJECT: HUNGARY'S CARDINAL OFFERS VIEWS ON CURRENT 
POLITIAL SCENE 
 
BUDAPEST 00000733  001.3 OF 002 
 
 
¶1. (SBU) Summary: In a meeting with the Charge d'Affaires, 
Cardinal Peter Erdo, Hungary's primate, criticized the 
current government, observed that corruption is pervasive, 
linked the political elite to organized crime and complained 
of the judiciary's ineffectiveness. He also believed that 
politicians use racism as a tool to divert the public from 
more serious issues.  Although Cardinal Erdo praised PM 
Bajnai for banning an extremist group and arresting Roma 
murder suspects, he indicated his belief that Hungary will 
improve after the April 2010 national elections (and the 
expected victory of the center-right Fidesz party). End 
Summary. 
 
------------------------------ 
THOUGHTS ON HUNGARIAN POLITICS 
------------------------------ 
 
¶2.  (SBU) On September 30, the Charge d'Affaires met with 
Cardinal Erdo, the highest-ranking member of the Hungarian 
Catholic Church.  Cardinal Erdo was quick to share his 
critical analysis of the current Hungarian government and its 
policies.  He stated that democracy and the rule of law have 
deteriorated in recent years.  "Frequently laws are 
circumvented by the citizens and policy makers without 
penalty."  Cardinal Erdo noted that people are losing faith 
in the judicial system.  "Average citizens believe that the 
courts do not protect them.  This lack of legal protection 
leads to cynicism when minor crimes are ignored," he 
explained. 
 
¶3. (SBU) Cardinal Erdo observed that citizens rely on 
state-provided information to participate in a democratic 
life.  Regrettably, Erdo said, the state shares only the 
information it wants to, citing an example where two 
different ministries published conflicting information on the 
same day. He charged that the government manipulates data 
based on its economic agenda. 
 
--------------------------------------- 
RACISM OVERBLOWN; PUBLIC SECURITY WEAK 
--------------------------------------- 
 
¶4. (SBU) Cardinal Erdo believes that racism is not as bad as 
it seems in Hungary, and that the situation was over 
dramatized by the media. 
 
¶5. (SBU) On the issue of public security, Cardinal Erdo 
stated that people believe that the government has 
deliberately weakened law enforcement to protect organized 
criminals and gangs linked to the political elite.  "Police 
resources are available when the government chooses to use 
them," Cardinal Erdo complained.  He contrasted the resources 
used to protect the Gay Pride March last month, with villages 
in the countryside that had little or no police protection. 
 
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EXTREMISM 
---------- 
 
¶6. (SBU) In Cardinal Erdo's view, increased extremism is an 
organized attempt by political groups to distract the 
public's attention from more serious issues.  He observed 
that the right-wing paramilitary group, the Magyar Garda, 
provokes fear and unease among Hungarians, "myself included." 
 Cardinal Erdo said he does not permit Magyar Garda rallies 
on church properties and has advised priests not to attend 
Garda rallies. 
 
¶7. (SBU) Cardinal Erdo stressed that the Catholic Church 
spreads a message of tolerance and condemns extremism through 
weekly Sunday sermons and public letters written by the 
Bishops Conference.  However, Cardinal Erdo stated he 
declined -- after conferring with President Solyom -- a 
request from former PM Gyurcsany to condemn racism publicly 
during the height of the serial attacks on Romas earlier this 
year.  Cardinal Erdo said he did not want to speculate that 
the attacks were racially motivated because he believed 
politicians were exploiting the theme of racism. 
 
¶8. (SBU) Nonetheless, Cardinal Erdo agrees that government 
actions like banning the Magyar Garda and arresting four 
suspects in the Roma serial murders are positive and 
promising steps to control extremism.  He anticipated that 
the situation in Hungary will improve after the April 2010 
national elections and the expected victory of the 
center-right Fidesz party, but added cautiously, "We will not 
be in heaven." 
 
BUDAPEST 00000733  002.3 OF 002 
 
 
 
-------- 
COMMENT 
-------- 
 
¶9.  (SBU) Cardinal Erdo's views likely reflect his 
traditionally-minded constituency, compounded by ongoing 
financial tension between church and state. The latest budget 
cuts included a substantial reduction in church subsidies. 
Government support is essential, Erdo told us, because the 
state loots the church every generation. Political parties on 
the left accused the church of campaigning for Fidesz during 
the 2002 and 2006 elections. 
 
--------- 
BIO NOTE 
--------- 
 
¶10. (SBU) Cardinal Erdo is the highest-ranking member of the 
Hungarian Catholic Church, and an important figure in public 
life as 55 percent of Hungarians are Catholic.  He holds two 
doctoral degrees and has twice done research at the 
University of California, Berkeley.  At the age of 57, he is 
the youngest member of the College of Cardinals and has been 
mentioned as a potential papal candidate. He speaks English 
(although he used an interpreter for most of the 
conversation), Italian, German, French, Spanish, Russian and 
Latin. 
LEVINE