Four International Conspiracies I Would Happily Join

There's been a lot of talk in Hungary over the past few weeks about the country having to undergo a round of massive tax reform in order to keep up with Romania, which just shocked the region by passing a flat tax. This, no doubt, has left some Hungarians feeling ill at ease, having never entertained the possibility that we would be left in the dust by our poor and chaotic neighbor to the east. Some probably even think that the whole thing is an intricate plot hatched in Bucharest to influence events in Budapest. In which case they would be almost half right.

Apparently unknown to Hungary's politicians and media is the fact that the intricate plot leading to the stunning decision by the new Romanian government was partly hatched in Hungary, and, more specifically, on Budapest's Liszt Ferenc tér.

It was here, at ground zero of Pest's throbbing café scene, that Romanian-American lawyer Dan Visoiu several years ago began plotting with other Romanians and members of the Romanian diaspora to finally do something about that country's deep economic and political problems. Out of all that plotting came the Think Tank Romania, a free-market research and advocacy group that has spearheaded the drive to get the new government of Traian Basescu to quickly implement the flat tax and other pro-market and transparency-friendly policies.

Visoiu: I'll drink to reform

"I conceived of TTR while drinking on Liszt tér," Visoiu laughed to me over the telephone last Friday from his "new" home, where he moved last year after a quarter-century absence. He and his family emigrated from Romania in 1979, eventually settling in South Florida, where he grew into what I'd have to call the most American American I can remember ever meeting in Europe. (And yes, I mean that as a compliment.) After graduating from the University of Florida he returned to his mother continent in 1997, settling in Budapest, where he says he was "professionally raised" at the Moquet Borde Szecskay Law Firm. Now, in addition to his political work, he is managing partner of BAC Romania Investment Advisory, a group specializing in mergers and acquisitions, privatization and foreign investment advisory services.

While still stunned at the changes of the past few months in Romania - "I did not expect things to move so fast," he says - Visoiu is convinced that what was partly hatched in Budapest and transported to Bucharest may quickly make its way back.

"I always told my colleagues that if Romania implements a flat tax, it will happen to Hungary," he told me. "I'll give it one year, three max." Moreover, he says Hungary could play the role of the "first domino" in the overtaxed EU leading to a continent-wide revolution. (I'm not sure why Hungary would be the first domino - Slovakia is setting the pace in this game - but you get the picture.) Either way, the next time someone tells you how economically avant-garde Romania is, tell them the road to Bucharest still goes through Budapest, and there are still better places here to get a drink.

In other alpha-male expat news, last week I had the pleasure of attending a party celebrating the opening of an exhibition about the long-in-the-making reconstruction of the Várbazar, the complex of buildings underneath the Buda Castle. The mega-project, which will eventually consist of office buildings, shops, a cultural center and God knows what else, is the brainchild of Benjamin LeBor, who has been quietly planning the redevelopment of this unique property for the past several years.

LeBor: Talk is cheap

When I say "quietly" I mean just that: While most businessmen (or any normal man) would have talked his friends' ears off about such an epic endeavor, LeBor managed to keep his powder totally dry until the project was assured of becoming a reality. In a town where talk is routinely confused with action - and for a congenital loudmouth like me - this alone is an amazing achievement. As for the project itself, it is nothing short of breathtaking and, if successful, will do more than any other such development to put Budapest squarely on the map as one of Europe's most spectacular cities. And when it is, LeBor should feel free to crow about it until the day he dies, and then some.

While I'm being so nice to everyone, a deserved plug for another local international success. If you are in town this weekend, be sure to stop by for the second installment of Hungary for Laughter? , the stand-up comedy series being promoted and artfully MC'd by local comic Keara Murphy. The lineup this Friday 9.30 p.m. and Saturday at 9.00 at the Merlin International Theater includes Alan Wilkinson, Laila Estes, Kevin Burns and Miklós Galla, among other cut-ups. Last time around I went expecting a night of groaning amateur acts, and on several occasions almost spit up my fröccs. In other words, yes, it's funny.

What do British expats in Hungary know about sex and relationships that Russian women don't? One longtime Budapest Brit hopes to soon find out, after landing a job as a sex-and-relationship columnist for a leading Moscow women's magazine. The problem is, from what he tells us, translator/writer Mark Griffith's love life is currently "quiet." Which means that hundreds of thousands of ladies in the frozen east may soon starve for tales of romantic tumult in the west. So if any readers are currently unattached or just feeling particularly game, why don't you help give Mark something to tell Natasha about in his next column? Check out his quirky website, and, if you think he sounds interesting, sleep with him a few times and then savagely dump him, or, if someone has beaten you to it, let him dump you. And then read all about it