HUNGARY: Belly Laughter

Nominally, Matyas Rakosi is Deputy Premier in a "coalition" Cabinet. Most of the other ministers belong to the Independent Smallholders' Party (which polled 59% of the votes in Hungary's last free elections). Actually, after the recent jailing of many of Rakosi's Smallholder colleagues by the secret police (TIME, June 9), the other ministers are virtually his prisoners. Last week, the A.P.'s Daniel De Luce interviewed this successful Communist statesman. De Luce reported that Rakosi "is full of belly laughs, looks as short and tubby as Fiorello LaGuardia, cracks out commentaries faster than Walter Winchell. . . ."

Some Rakosi cracks:

Q. Do...

Want the full story?

Subscribe Now

Subscribe
Subscribe

Learn more about the benefits of being a TIME subscriber

If you are already a subscriber sign up — registration is free!