Chapter 653

However, compared with other countries in the east of the iron curtain, the unrest in remote Georgia is only the tip of the iceberg. Since the 1970s, due to the influence of the oil crisis and other events, serious problems have emerged in the economies of all countries in the world, whether in the capitalist countries in Western Europe or the socialist countries in Eastern Europe. Because of the economic downturn, all countries have high unemployment rates. Many countries have to rely on foreign debt for a living, especially some small countries in Europe, because they are poor in resources and have a high degree of economic dependence on foreign countries. In the context of the long-term downturn of the world economy, the financial situation of these governments has come to the brink of collapse.

At the forefront of the cold war, Hungary's finances were particularly bad. Although there will be no unemployment in socialist countries, Hungary is particularly dependent on foreign trade because of the lack of a complete industrial system. A lot of things need to be imported from abroad. However, the fixed wage and the actual price of goods in the market have deviated seriously. People can't buy what they want with their wages, so the World War II rationing system reappeared in people's lives.

If people's life has been moving in a good direction, then people will not complain about the government. But the key is that people work hard, but feel that the more difficult it is. This makes the masses have great doubts about the government's ruling ability.

As the actual leader of Hungary, Kadar, the first Secretary of the Hungarian Socialist Workers' party, is concerned about this situation. Since October 1956 (Khrushchev sent troops to suppress the Hungarian opposition, resulting in bloody conflicts, 200000 Hungarian refugees fled to Austria), Kadar has led Hungary for more than 30 years. In these 30 years, Kadar tried every means to bridge the Hungarian Society torn by the October incident. He worked hard to adjust Hungary's economic policy, hoping that Hungary could become a prosperous and strong socialist country. However, the deteriorating external economic environment has made Kadar's efforts in vain. Now in Hungary, many people say that Kadar is old and can't keep up with the times.

If it wasn't for economic problems, most people in Hungary would have liked Kadar. Kadar is almost the most simple and approachable leader among the leaders of Eastern European countries. People are used to calling him uncle Kadar. During the 30 years of ruling Hungary, Kadar did not build a luxurious official residence for himself. He lived in a bungalow surrounded by iron fences. Most Hungarians lived in this kind of house. There was nothing in his house except books. There were no guards or secretaries, Apart from a gardener and janitor, no one thought that his personal life service. If it wasn't for Kadar's simple life and decent style, how could a guy who relied on the Soviet army to help him become general secretary of the coup rule the country for more than 30 years.

However, the era of Kadar is coming to an end. Just a few months ago, the Hungarian Socialist Workers' Party secretly held a special meeting to bypass Kadar and elect a new Central Committee and central supervisory committee. Eight of the 13 members of the former political bureau were elected, including the highly respected Kadar. Kadar was only comforted by such an empty post as the chairman of the Hungarian Socialist Workers' party. Kadar's era ended in a sudden and unexpected way.

For the party's decision, although Kadar was unwilling, he still calmly accepted it. However, the new leadership began to investigate the October incident in Hungary that Kadar relied on when he came to power. Reassess the historical significance of Hungarians who died in October. Kadar felt very angry and aggrieved about this. He thought it was the betrayal of the Socialist Workers' Party of Hungary to socialism. At the same time, I feel deeply sorry for not being understood by the world. As a small country, Hungary is definitely not an opponent of the Soviet Union. Kadar has a profound understanding of this. So at the time when Hungary was the closest, when the Soviet Union sent troops to Hungary and caused bloodshed. Kadar chose to cooperate with the Soviets and give up resistance. Khrushchev was very satisfied with his cooperation. So in the end, the Soviet Union did not leave a large number of troops in Hungary. On this issue, Kadar and the Polish leader Jaruzelski share the same situation and political views.

It's nothing to be wronged. The key is that Kadar does not want the new Polish leadership to anger the Soviet Union over the October incident. But it was beyond Kadar's expectation. The Soviet Union did not raise any protest or dissatisfaction with the October incident in Hungary. This makes Kadar feel very incredible.

With Kadar's help, Hungary's new leadership began to discuss the repayment of its foreign debt with its neighbor Austria. For today's Hungary, the huge foreign debt makes Hungary's small fiscal revenue even worse. However, if the economic situation is not improved, it is even more impossible for Hungary to default on its debts, because in this case, many sovereign countries will not lend money to Hungary. So even if we tighten our belts, the Hungarian government will pay back this foreign debt.

Fortunately, the Austrian government is not worried about Hungary's debt. In fact, they prefer Hungary to open its borders, let Austrian goods enter the Hungarian market, and sell them to other countries in the Warsaw Pact through Hungary. Therefore, when the two countries were negotiating on the issue of debt, the Austrian representative vigorously led the negotiation on the issue of opening the border.

There are more than 200000 refugees in Austria who fled Hungary because of the October incident. These refugees have brought Austria a serious fiscal deficit. Austria hopes Hungary can take these refugees back. And promised that if the Hungarian government can forgive the crimes of these people, it can appropriately reduce Hungary's foreign debt to Austria.

After some discussions, the Hungarian side finally agreed to the agreement. They are willing to open the ports on the border between Hungary and Austria. Bring back the Hungarians who have fled their homes. Austria also generously remitted most of Hungary's foreign debt. This is a great thing for both countries. Hungary originally wanted to listen to the attitude of the Soviet Union in this respect. Gorbachev, on the other hand, agreed with the Hungarian government to solve the problem on its own. This is a great relief to the top of the Hungarian Socialist Workers' party. But they don't know that the behavior of these two countries has finally made a gap in the iron curtain that has been going on for decades.