Steven N.A guest on pro-government news station Hír TV on Tuesday evening was high school history teacher Gergely Czuczor, who also happens to be a Fidesz local municipal representative as well as Fidesz president of the Budapest suburb of Budaörs, reports 444.hu. Czuczor sharply criticized recent demonstrations in support of teachers, describing them as political mockery.
While the teacher and Fidesz politician thinks it is legitimate for teachers to demand higher salaries, he believes the timing of the protests is wrong. And Czuczor also disputed protestors’ claims that the lack of teachers is related to the low wages in the profession.
Czuczor acknowledged that reforms were needed, but he thinks priority should rather be given to soldiers and the police, who they are fighting for the country’s sovereignty. He said that the left was making a political issue out of education in Hungary, and that teacher unions were silent during the left-wing Gyurcsány government.
The history teacher also felt it necessary to bring up the latest government talking points, claiming that “all of Hungarian society is seriously affected by the various problems resulting from the mistaken sanctions policy,” and that now is the time to stick together instead of causing divisions.
The Hír TV guest mentioned that Minister Gergely Gulyás called raising teacher salaries a strategic priority for the government, and that there was an “exhilaratingly large number” in Minister Tibor Navracsics’ promise to increase wages. [HVG]
I seriously doubt if any Hungarian Hír viewers would expect to hear opinions from non Fidesz spokespersons, except perhaps from the other Fidesz allies.
True, on one level this is just a “dog bites man” story, but the duplicity here is really something to behold.
No doubt, this “history teacher” lacks the objectivity to accurately assist students in understanding, let alone analyzing historical topics. He is peddling nonsense, for example, blaming EU for sanctions against the aggressor, Russia, attacking supporters of the former government -with out any evidence- for their past “silence” and giving higher priority for increased funding for soldiers and police salaries. His talk of “unity” rings hollow given the demonizing by the existing regime of any one with opinions different than Fidesz. As Steven commented, the “duplicity” is incredible. And Michael is correct about Hír television.