We managed to bring inflation down. The prices of several food products have decreased thanks to government measures. This wouldn’t happen if Tisza were in power. Let it not happen!!!
Hey Balázs, listen — do you think everything is bad in Hungary? Well, no. For example, there is peace. That’s quite a good thing. And I’m just looking here at a paper showing how much food prices have dropped over the past year. So they didn’t increase. There are quite a few food products whose prices have actually gone down.
Margarine: minus 29%
Canned meat: minus 25%
Pork fat: minus 22%
Milk and dairy products: 18% cheaper than a year ago
Butter: minus 17%
Flour: minus 15%
Cheeses: 8% cheaper
This is what government measures mean. And this wouldn’t be the case if Tisza were in power. Let it not happen.
🔴 What Is “Balázska” Doing Here? – Playing with Numbers and Packaging Emotion as Data
This text is not simple information. It’s classic campaign rhetoric using multiple influence techniques.
Let’s break it down in a structured way.
1️⃣ “We managed to break inflation” – framing it as a finished victory
📌 Technique: victory framing + oversimplification
The sentence does not explain:
- how it was achieved
- over what time frame
- compared to which baseline
- what other factors played a role (e.g., global energy price declines)
Instead, it declares: “we managed”.
👉 A complex economic process is presented as a closed, successful operation.
2️⃣ Selective product list – numbers as moral proof
📌 Technique: cherry picking + numerical shock framing
The list:
- Margarine – 29% down
- Canned meat – 25% down
- Lard – 22% down
- Milk and dairy – 18% cheaper
- Butter – 17%
- Flour – 15%
- Cheese – 8%
❗ What is not mentioned:
- How much these items increased in 2022–2023
- The overall food price index
- Which products did not decrease
- Their weight in the national consumer basket
👉 If something increased by 60% and then drops by 20%, it is still significantly more expensive than before.
Here, numbers are not used for analysis.
They are used for emotional reassurance.
3️⃣ False causality
“These are the results of government measures.”
📌 Technique: post hoc reasoning
Prices decreased → therefore the government caused it.
But:
- There was a global inflation wave
- Energy prices normalized
- Demand weakened
- Monetary tightening occurred
👉 No causal link is demonstrated. It is simply asserted.
4️⃣ Creating the enemy: “This wouldn’t happen if Tisza were in power”
📌 Technique: fear projection + hypothetical future demonization
There is no:
- Tisza economic program cited
- concrete policy comparison
- cost calculation
Just the claim:
“If they win → things will be worse.”
This is conditional fear framing.
5️⃣ Emotional stabilizer: “There is peace”
📌 Technique: moral high ground + security framing
“Hungary is at peace.”
This functions as a psychological safety anchor.
The implied structure:
peace + cheaper food → stability
opposition → risk
This is classic security vs. danger framing.
🔎 Where Is the Manipulation?
Not openly.
But by:
- not showing the full picture
- not presenting long-term data series
- not discussing real wages
- not discussing purchasing power
- not providing European comparisons
Instead, a few selected positive numbers are used to construct a full economic success narrative.
This is not data communication.
It is perception management.
🎯 What Is Expected from the Audience?
- Do not verify the numbers.
- Do not ask about the base year.
- Do not think in time series.
- Accept the causal claim.
- Connect food prices to party choice.