Salami tactics

In the general election, considered free and fair, the Smallholders’ Party (center-right) wins 57% of the overall vote, with the Communists finishing third with 16.9%. Despite having enough seats to form a government alone, the Communists are shoehorned into a government coalition due to the presence of the Red Army in Hungary. Hungarian Communist Party chief Mátyás Rákosi implements “salami tactics,” taking apart the civic opposition the way a sharp knife shaves off slices of salami.