Detail, the Hungarian National Bank, Budapest
There have been a couple of interesting and at times amusing news articles recently concerning crime. The first story would be amusing if it weren’t alarming. If you haven’t read or heard about this yet, Hungary has ranked 5th of 33 countries on a ‘radicalism’ index. Between 2002 and 2009, “sympathy” with far right ideologies and politics more than doubled among the over 15 year olds, rising from 10% to 21%. One can only assume those two year-old numbers will have risen even more by now. One of the interesting questions on the survey was whether or not someone agreed with the statement “crime is in the blood of Roma people”. Jobbik supporters fully or partly agreed with the statement by a whopping 79%, suggesting the need for an increased focus on biology education here in Hungary. Crime is a genetic DNA thing? If that were true and you put a solid team of sharp-toothed defense lawyers on the case; I see a dramatic increase in acquittals.
Looking for solutions
Of course, the other solution would be to repatriate Roma to other jurisdictions willing to take them. Failing that, there are always state-funded camps.
There is no arguing with crime levels in Hungary. Recently my wife tried to order a Christmas gift for her daughter and the two grandchildren in England. Experience has taught us that mailing a box of air from Hungary costs almost as as getting on a plane and personally delivering the gift so she wisely decided to order gifts and have them shipped directly from the online retailer. Brilliant idea, right? Not so fast. Ten minutes later an automated email came in saying they could not process the order because our IP address was in Hungary, suggesting there may be some history with internet fraud originating here. I was shocked. I had no idea the Roma were so computer savvy and sophisticated at online fraud. It’s giving Hungary a bad rap.
Transparency clear as mud
On another index, the 2011 Transparency Index recently released also does Hungary a disservice. First, it should be pointed out the index is created on measures of perception, not necessarily reality. And we all know how frequently perception and reality don’t jive. Take a look at Rick Perry or Mitt Romney. If you were not aware of who they were or what they did for a living, what would you logically guess that to be, based on their wardrobes, perfect teeth and hair arrangements? You could not be criticized if you answered “game show hosts” rather than American presidential hopefuls. You see? Perception and reality can be quite out of sync.
Going back to the questionable Transparency Index; out of a score between 0 and 10, with 10 being the most transparent and honest and 0 being Somalia, Hungary scored 4.6, which is not that great a score. However, when weighed against the 182 countries measured, Hungary ranked 54 which is at least in the top third quadrant, even if the score was below 5. With a little work on the perception of transparency, I don’t think it is out of the question for Hungary to move the measure up to five, like Rwanda. However, with a score of 2.4 and a ranking of 143, Hungary should be proud that it has by far outpaced its former forced trading partner, Russia.
Will that be cash or cash?
Of course, like all surveys, by the time they come out, they are history. Much can change in one year as any political party knows. The same is true with transparency. Why, just yesterday, while at lunch in a Budapest restaurant, I noticed two gentlemen sitting at the table next to me. One was Hungarian and the other America (I could tell by their accents and menu choices). I had my earphones in but the music had stopped playing and I could heard them discussing business. Then, right at the table, a few hundred Euro changed hands. There was no envelope. There was no sneaky little cellphone box. It happened right there in the open. Now. You tell me: can things get any more transparent than that?
The last item is a real crime curiosity. An arrest warrant has been issued for a Róbert Lőrincz (Lawrence), a security truck driver. Allegedly, while making his rounds, he stopped on a street in the First district, transferred 1 billion HUF cash to a van he had previously parked there and drove off with the cash, leaving his security truck behind, both driverless and cashless. Astute crime detectives were probably quick to identify a suspect. The abandoned getaway vehicle has been found.
I am curious as to this alleged criminal’s thinking and strategy. Unless the money he stole was in Euro, exactly where was he intending to go with 1 billion in Hungarian currency? Certainly not Serbia. Slovakia? Don’t think so. Germany? Romania? Even Greece? No. There is probably only one place one could go with a billion forint today.
Shopping.
Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence.
