Comment du Jour

Hungary Calls for Baby Boom to Offset Demographic Decline

“Migration is not the solution to demographic problems,” warned Katalin Novak, Hungary’s Minister of State for the Family.  Though conceding the European continent faces a significant “demographic decline” and the undertow of a falling population, individual states can counter the “inevitability” through focused family friendly policies such as those being pursued in her Central European country.

“In Europe we face population decline, and imagine in the European Union there is not a single Member state where the fertility is sufficient to maintain the population. In each and every    member state it is below 2.  It is as if we have lost our capacity to maintain our population.   That is also the situation in Hungary with a population decline since 1981. Thus for three and one-half decades we have lost over ten percent of our population, approximately 850,000 people.”

In an interview with this correspondent, Minister Novak, the highest ranking woman in the      center-right Hungarian government speaks proudly as the mother of three children.  She was    visiting the UN for activities related to the Commission on the Status of Women. 

Hungary’s population is below ten million.  “At the lowest in 2011 the fertility rate was 1.23 now it’s 1.5, “ said Novak, adding, “But you know what we inherited is very hard to overcome.  In    Europe many leaders speak of migration, ‘Europe is the continent of empty cradles, so why not bring in migrants?’  But Hungarians are not ready to do this.  When you ask young people, they say they want to get married and to have children.”

The European statistics agency Eurostat says that 1.58 remains the EU average fertility rate.In Germany the rate is 1.5, in Italy 1.35 and in Spain 1.3. 

So what are the Budapest government’s goals?  She stressed,  “The goal is 2.1.” But when asked if this is too ambitious she retorted, “If you start by Plan B,  you will fail.  You have to have   ambitious goals so that you can really overcome this situation.  We have made progress.  In just six years the fertility rate has increased by 20 percent.”

Minister Novak concedes that Hungary aims at reaching the target through Family Friendly    programs of financial aid and stressing the benefits of Family Life. 

Significantly, she stressed that her government has earmarked 5% of GDP for a wide range of Family Policy initiatives.  The spending is two times the OECD average.  “This is not spending really but actually an investment in our Nation,” she added. 

“Young people get married quite late as well.  Between 2002 and 2010 the marriage rate         decreased 23 percent but since 2010 now it has increased almost 43 percent. “We have value based policies.  Being neutral is not a value.  You have to hold to values.We are a value based government,” she asserted.

A stubbornly high abortion rate during the old regime caused a notable population decline.  When asked whether abortion remains widespread Minister Novak conceded  “It has dropped a lot but… I believe one abortion is too much.  In Hungary abortion is legal under circumstances but in our Constitution it is stated that ‘Life begins at the moment of conception.’ The life of the fetus should be protected. We protect Human life from conception.”  She stressed, “There are still too many abortions which remains a challenge for us.  The Abortion rate is still 31/100.  It was higher during communist times.”    

 Minister Novak concluded, “We are a Family Friendly country, that is a concept we are trying to introduce. We must show the joy and happiness of child raising.” 

Comment du Jour

New York Antiquarian Book Fair

The stunningly beautiful New York Antiquarian Book Fair has again reached new
heights of excellence and participation.  The  58th annual event at the Park Avenue Armory
brought together more than 200 American and international sellers in a setting that was
as splendid as it was interesting.

Rare historic selections as well as more recent books of note were among the offerings which also included maps, autographs, and prints.

JF Letenneur Rare Books of Saint Briac sur Mer, France, a perennial show favorite returned.

Frederik Muller a renown Dutch dealer was back too!

Seth Kaller  Historic documents of Westchester, NY brought a Draft of President George Washington's First Inaugural Address from 1789!!

Lionheart Autographs of New York City offered a rare Walt Whitman photo. 

Indeed the show offered a plethora of quality dealers such as favorites Leo Cadogan of London, the perennially popular Asia Bookroom from Canberra, Australia, Buddenbooks of Newburyport, MA and Antiquariat Kainbacher of Baden, Austria joined dealers from Britain, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Japan and Russia.  

Until nextYear!!!