Szili's Failure "Fiasco" for Gov't, Pushy American Women

The opposition's victory in Tuesday's presidential election was not just a humiliating failure for the government and its candidate, Katalin Szili. According to Prime Minister Ferenc Gyurcsány, the vote represented a "fiasco" for the ruling Socialists and the Liberals, who are the former Communists' junior partners in Hungary's disaster-prone government. Meanwhile, the decision by Hungary's Liberal not to support Szili leaves a bit of egg on the faces of several American congresswomen who somewhat brashly made statements in support of Szili's candidacy, even after it was clear to everyone in Hungary that it was likely to result in stinging failure.

In an article last week in leading daily Népszabadság, the top Democrat in the U.S. House of Representatives, San Francisco ultra-liberal Nancy Pelosi (she's the white one up top all in red), was quoted as saying that it would be preferable if more women held the top spots in countries in the region, apparently having been led to believe that Szili's election was a done deal.

Slightly less diplomatic was Ohio Rep. Stephanie Tubbs Jones (left), who sent the following written statement to Népszabadság: "I was delighted to hear about Katalin Szili's nomination for president. As the first African-American woman to be elected from the State of Ohio to the Congress, I and my colleagues appreciate her achievements and wish her further success."

Finally, Pelosi's fellow Californian Diane Watson (right) more or less just told Hungarians to shut up and vote for Szili. "I suggest Hungarians utilize the advantages stemming from Parliamentary Speaker Katalin Szili's personality and experiences." For Watson's sake, we hope the man who pipped Szili for president is as passive as he is strict.