Demokrácia vagy utca?
Democracy or The Street?

Summary/Abstract: In his paper the author embarks on studying what happened in Hungary since 17 September 2006, when Ferenc Gyurcsány's speech of Balatonöszöd became public, and what are the reasons in the background sharpening and deepening political conflicts. In the first chapter the author presents the primary circumstances and events of the explosion of the speech, and surveys what political and social forces have acted against the head of government in public and in the street. The next three chapters first present the reactions of the government, then outline the behaviour of the parliamentary opposition, finally the steps taken by street demonstrators are studied. Further on, the author attempts to explore the historical reasons behind the emerging grave conflict in domestic politics. He emphasizes two events of the twentieth century, the Trianon peace dictate, which has caused a deep and still not improving psychological crisis in Hungary, and its consequences can be pinpointed even in the conflicts that began in autumn last. N ext he discusses the revolution of 1956, setting out from the premise that the revolution of '56 belongs to 'living history' in Hungary, and it divides the nation even more than Trianon, enhancing the confrontation of the two camps to a dangerous extent.

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