(Billboard) ON THE ROAD TO EUROPE

FREE DEMOCRATS (SzDSZ)

The temporal orientations and the political-economic programs of the two major parties in the immediate postsociliast period are reflected in these posters about the relationship between Hungary and "Europe." For the centrist Hungarian Democratic Forum, Hungary has always been in Europe -- hence the image of the 19th Century Parliament. For the Alliance of Free Democrats with their base in the broad class of urban intellectuas, Hungary must be taken to Europe -- and the vanishing point indicates some future time when Hungary will arrive there. To bring Hungary to Europe, the Free Democrats proposed a more radical conception of "shock therapy," extensive privatization, and rapid transition to a free market. The Democratic Forum, on the other hand, proposed a slower course of change. Whereas the Free Democrats urged a "Break with the Past," the Democratic Forum cautioned, "No More Experiments."