Bertalan Farkas Symbolizes Nation's Change From Soviet
Satellite
Bertalan Farkas is a big
frog in a small pond: not only was he the first Hungarian in space,
he still the only one. In 1980 he spent eight days aboard the
Soviet Salyut 6 Space Station; now he's seeking an seat in the
parliament.
The one-time Communist hero was later Defense Attache in
Washington during the 1990s, as a free Hungary moved closer to the
USA and NATO. He retired as a brigadier, and is now a leading
member of the Hungarian Democratic Forum, or MDF from its initials
in Hungarian, a center-right party.
A report from Reuters tells us, however, that Farkas's chances
of electoral success are not good. MDF, which ruled before 2002 in
coalition with Fidesz, the "Young Democrats," has been polling
poorly. Analysts seem to think that the Hungarians, a people often
stereotyped as gloomy, are ready to vote the ruling socialists out,
but in favor of Fidesz, not MDF. In fact, the MDF may fall short of
the 5% threshold for representation in Parliament.
If that happens, Farkas could poll the most votes in his
district in Szabolcs-Szatmar- Bereg County, but still not be
seated.
It is possible that Farkas's personal popularity will launch him
into office, whatever the electorate does across the land, as long
as the MDF stays above 5%. Farkas today is not as young or wiry as
he was in 1980 (who is?), but he still has the same confident
test-pilot grin, and he's managed to stay in the news well enough
that he may be able to exploit the popularity he won in 1980. In
1980 he had the help of the now-defunct Communist propaganda
machine, but now he doesn't need it any more.
He's still in demand for lectures and autographs.
Last year was the 25th anniversary of his space flight with
Russian cosmonaut Valery Kubasov, and the flight was honored by a
commemorative stamp in Hungary (see picture).
They rode the Soyuz 36
capsule to the Russian Salyut 6 station; after conducting twelve
experiments devised by Hungarian scientists, they returned to
Earth. The Hungarian involvement was, in one way, a huge hit with
the Russians: they really liked the spicy Hungarian space food.
Farkas and Kubasov came down in the Soyuz 35 capsule (one purpose
of these missions was to rotate the Soyuz "Lifeboat" at the Space
Station, so that a fresh vehicle would always be on hand).
Farkas won the nod over three other Hungarian candidates. Two,
Laszlo Elek and Imre Buczko, stayed in Hungary, but the final
decision favoring Farkas over Bela Magyari was only made the
morning of the launch at the Gagarin Space Center.
The subjects of the experiments are a time capsule in
themselves: Interferon, cosmic radiation, and "Balaton," which
was a device for measuring cosmonauts' cognitive performance. One
feature of Hungarian TV in 1980 was a nightly children's Bedtime
Story, read by a celebrity; Farkas read one night's story from
orbit.
The children who heard his voice then will have to decide
whether to vote for him now.
Win or lose, it's a heck of a step down from Earth orbit to
politics.
Just ask John Glenn.
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