Page 30 - bon-dia-aruba-20220618

A30 world news
Diasabra 18 Juni 2022

Foreigners pay more for gas in Hungary. It risks an EU fight

prices for fuel at Hungarian for something which goes
With these interventionist gas stations, blocking them straight against the values of
measures, which also include from purchasing gas and die- the European Union,” Gyor-
price caps on some food sel that has been capped at gy Suranyi, an economist and
items, right-wing populist 480 forints ($1.25) per liter former governor of Hun-
Prime Minister Viktor Orban since November. gary’s central bank told The
is jettisoning the conservative Associated Press.
financial model of deregula- Representing a price hike
tion and free market capital- of as much as 60% for driv- In a radio interview last week,
ism. ers with vehicles registered Orban blamed the war in
in other countries, the EU neighboring Ukraine and EU
The policies have helped low- asked Hungary to scrap the sanctions against Russia for
er some prices for Hungar- requirement until it could Hungary’s economic woes:
ians, but some multinational determine if it complies with its currency has weakened to
and domestic companies say the bloc’s rules or face legal record levels and core infla-
they are damaging their bot- action, calling it “discrimina- tion soared to 12.2% in May.
tom lines and competitive- tory.” In comparison, consumer
(AP) — Hungary has dis- ness. Meanwhile, the EU has prices rose 8.1% in the 19
counted the price of gaso- The nationalist government raised questions of whether The fuel price cap gave Hun- countries using the euro.
line at the pump. But not argues that it’s trying to ease the policies comply with its gary among the lowest fuel
if you have a foreign li- an economic downturn and rules, following clashes be- prices in the EU, leading to “We’re now in a wartime sit-
cense plate. the highest inflation in nearly tween the 27-nation bloc and fuel tourism and increased uation, and this must be re-
25 years amid Russia’s war Hungary over rule-of-law demand that caused lagging solved,” Orban said. “(Com-
It’s also taxing what it calls in Ukraine, but the unusual concerns and corruption. supply and shortages. panies) will have to shoulder
“extra profits” of industries moves by the central Euro- more of the burden than they
including airlines, with car- pean country are alienating The EU takes issue with a “The government had to normally do because Hun-
riers like Ryanair and Easy- companies and threatening requirement introduced in act, but instead of opting garian families cannot pay the
Jet increasing ticket prices to a renewed standoff with the May that drivers with for- for a more market-friendly price for this.”
cope. European Union. eign license plates pay market solution, they have opted

Former hotel housekeeper aims to give French workers a voice

(AP) — A former hotel house- ment dominated by white men, many voice of the voiceless.” Campaigning Thursday in Thiais,
keeper who fought for the rights of them holding jobs in senior man- a farmer’s market town in the Paris
of her co-workers has become a agement, it could represent a turning “People who take public transporta- suburbs, she energetically tried to
symbol of the recent revival of point in the National Assembly re- tion at 4 a.m. are mostly migrants. I convince often skeptical residents of
France’s left, which is expected flecting a more diverse cross-section stand for them, too,” she said. the importance of Sunday’s vote. Ac-
to emerge as the main opposition of the French population. cording to opinion polls, voters from
force in the French Parliament to She joined Melechon’s party, France the traditional right are expected to
President Emmanuel Macron’s “I am proud to tell Black women that Unbowed, during the presidential widely support Macron’s candidates
government. anything is possible,” she told the As- campaign that resulted in Macron’s in places where their own party didn’t
sociated Press. reelection in May and then became qualify for the second round.
Rachel Kéké, 48, is poised to win part of the New Popular Ecological
election as a lawmaker when France Kéké worked as a hotel chambermaid and Social Union, the left-wing co- “There are some (voters) who are
holds the decisive second round of for more than 15 years and eventually alition trying to curb the president’s interested in the election from a na-
parliamentary elections on Sunday. climbed the ladder to next job grade, power in Parliament. tional point of view. They want Em-
She placed first in her district with becoming a governess who managed manuel Macron and the majority to
more than 37% of the vote in the teams of cleaners. But after she start- If elected, Kéké would be in position be able to govern,” Maracineanu said.
election’s first round. Her nearest ri- ed working for a hotel in northwest to support one of the key items on “Some others are against Jean-Luc
val, Macron’s former sports minister, Paris, she noticed how the demands the coalition’s platform: increasing Mélenchon, clearly.”
Roxana Maracineanu, received less of cleaning hotel rooms threatened France’s monthly minimum wage
than 24%. the physical and mental health of the from about 1,300 ($1,361) to 1,500 Born in Romania, Maracineanu ar-
people she supervised. euros ($1,570). rived in France with her family in
Macron’s centrist alliance is projected 1984 and was naturalized French
to win the most number of seats in She thinks “it’s time” for essential She claimed her rival “doesn’t stand a seven years later at the age of 16. She
the National Assembly, but it could workers to have a voice in Parliament. chance.” That’s not what Maracinea- became the first world champion in
fall short of securing an absolute ma- “Most of the deputies don’t know the nu, 47, the former swimming world French swimming history and silver
jority. In that case, a new coalition worth of essential workers who are champion who served in Macron’s medalist at the 2000 Sydney Olym-
composed of the hard left, the Social- suffering,” said the candidate, who government, thinks. pics.
ists and the Greens could make Ma- has repetitive motion tendonitis in
cron’s political life harder since the her arm because of her cleaning work
National Assembly is key to voting in and still manages hotel housekeepers.
laws.
In 2019, along with around 20 cham-
Kéké, a Black mother of five who is bermaids who were mostly migrant
from the Ivory Coast and settled in women from sub-Saharan Africa,
France 20 years ago, appeared confi- Kéké fought French hotel giant Accor
dent this week while visiting Fresnes, to obtain better work and pay condi-
a suburb southeast of Paris, to hand tions. She led a 22-month, crowd-
out flyers near a primary school and funded strike that ended with a salary
encourage people to vote for her increase.
Sunday.
The hotel workers’ grueling but suc-
Kéké, who acquired French citizen- cessful battle inspired many. Drafted
ship in 2015, knows she represents by hard-left leader Jean-Luc Mé-
more than the face of her own cam- lenchon’s party, Kéké agreed to run
paign. If she wins a place in a Parlia- in the parliamentary race “to be the