Hungarian Round Table Talks
The Hungarian Round Table Talks (Hungarian: Kerekasztal-tárgyalások) were a series of formalized, orderly and highly legalistic discussions held in Budapest, Hungary in the summer and autumn of 1989, inspired by the Polish model, that ended in the creation of a multi-party constitutional democracy and saw the Communist Party (formally the Hungarian Socialist Workers' Party or MSzMP) lose its 40-year grip on power.
Background
The talks originated in March 1989 as a meeting among opposition groups. At that point, longtime leader János Kádár had been removed from power for almost a year, and the Communists' Central Committee that month admitted the necessity of a multiparty system, with various groups like Fidesz and the Alliance of Free Democrats (SzDSz) having emerged. Mass demonstrations on March 15, the National Day, persuaded the regime to begin negotiations with the emergent non-Communist political forces. A week later, these new movements, at the initiative of the Independent Lawyers’ Forum, formed the Opposition Round Table (Ellenzéki Kerekasztal, EKA), designed to prevent the Communists from trying to maintain power by dividing the opposition, and to establish some degree of unity in the face of the regime’s own reform agenda. The table was composed of a small number of elite organizations, whose grassroots links were poorly developed and whose very existence stemmed in part from the collaboration of key Communist reformers. Specifically, it involved the SzDSz, Fidesz, the Hungarian Democratic Forum (MDF), the Independent Smallholders’ Party (FKgP), the Hungarian People’s Party (MNP), the Endre Bajcsy-Zsilinszky Society, and the Democratic Trade Union of Scientific Workers. At a later stage the Democratic Confederation of Free Trade Unions and the Christian Democratic People's Party (KNDP) were invited.
Round Table Talks
The Round Table Talks were a series of negotiations that took place in several countries of the Eastern Bloc between Communists and the opposition. They were a key component in the collapse of the Communist regimes and the smooth transition to democracy.
Also:
Podcasts:
-
by Roger Mcguinn
Round Table
by: Roger McguinnSeventeen feet across
of the hardest oak to be found
cut to the shape of the sun and the moon
shine the color of ale
and the knights of the living cross
gathered all around
raise their goblets and drink a toast
to the search for the holy grail
there was one well known for charity
and whose voice was gruff
and one who wielded a deadly sword
with the finest lace on his cuff
there was talk about a fearful ghost
the bastard son if a king
who died at the knee of his lordly host
you could hear his armor ring
still hear his armor ring
pure in heart and mind,
the key to all you seek
those were the words of the mighty king
as he looked deep into their eyes
the best of you have wined and dined
you're treacherous when you speak
you look for a way to seal your faith
but you find a compromise
you have raised your voice in vanity
you have turned your back on the poor
you have closed your heart to the written word
you defend the evil-doer
now the time is come to clean your minds
if the good is to prevail
i offer this emerald to the one who finds
our saviour's holy grail
our saviour's holy grail
banners in the sky, armor gleaming in the sun
the sounds of the horses, trumpets and drums
as they marched for the countryside
and the villagers they rode
be were silent everyone
frightened mothers closed their shades
and they made their daughters hide
and then they came upon a community
on a quiet summer's day
but these travelers to jerusalem
saw nothing in their way
and before the night fell on that town
they had crucified the priest
they robbed and pillaged and burned it down
and kept headin' toward the east
they kept headin' toward the east
came to israel stood shimmering in the sand
thirsty men could close their eyes
and see the milk and honey flow
the blood of the infidel
still fresh upon their hands
they knocked the ancient doorway down
like the walls of a jericho
and they thanked their christianity
for the temple they had seized
and though no one found the holy grail
the mighty king was pleased
for he had changed the face of history
and a legend had begun
and little children were taught to see how
the good lord's work is done
and little children were taught to see how
the good lord's work is done
and little children were taught to see how
the good lord's work is done
and little children were taught to see how