The Iron Curtain is coming down, but this time it's not the work of East German tourists but of European Parliament deputies - thus ran the rumours around the city. And those who like their politics on the street reached as one for their flags and banners, heading for Kossuth ter. "The time has come! It's now or never!" We had people over to read our gas and electricity metres this week - officials, if you will. They announced their arrival with home-made notices. No, they had no desire to harass the honoured residents. Would they be so kind as to copy out the numbers on their metres and stick the paper up in a clearly visible place. After all, if they had to listen at length to everybody with a view on the matter - those worried about prices rises or compensation - they'd never get to the end of it. In return, of course, pensioners can use one of the oldest tricks in the book: they can inflate the number on their metre just ahead of a price rise and thereby get by for a few more months at the old price.

And then came the circus on Kossuth ter, just as the price of bread is about to rise - you need gas to bake it. So there are things to talk about.

Cool heads might argue that debating matters of constitutional law on the streets is very much in the interests of the government. It means, for example, that school and hospital closures, wage cuts and price rises can be supplanted in public debate by the hotly contested fate of a few square metres of unproductive land. What could serve the Gyurcsany government better?

Our hopeless opposition politicians should perhaps have pondered a little before acting. They could have come up with better ideas. The police barriers on Kossuth ter are frequently referred to as the Iron Curtain. So, why not make it look more like the original? With a little creativity and some theatrical skills they could have added some barbed wire, a few watch towers, turning Kossuth ter into a no man's land patrolled by guard dogs. They'd be protected by parliamentary immunity and they could even have justified themselves by saying they wanted to feel safer inside the building they worked in.

Attila Michnai