I wrote the following text in 1997:

After 1989, when the old political regimes collapsed in Eastern Europe, the people's optimism about impending economic prosperity was soon dampened as the security of employment was no longer sustainable. With the political left having lost credibility during the years of communist dictatorship, nationalist parties have seized the opportunity to provide solutions to the public's financial insecurities and fears about the future. Immigrants and ethnic minorities are made scapegoats for unemployment and the rise in crime, while Jews and foreign investors are held responsible for the country's economic instability. In many ways, the nationalist parties that have emerged since 1989 blend elements of extreme right and left in an authoritarian, ethnic nationalism that condemns the international free market and the democracy that allowed their introduction to the political spectrum.

The MNSZ (Hungarian National Welfare Alliance) are a right-wing nationalist party with a relatively small membership, but a worryingly tolerated high profile. They often make speeches that go unchallenged in public spaces and post their propaganda stickers all around town, most notably in the metro.

The text "New, New Soha" (No, No Never) addresses their refusal to accept the two-thirds of Hungarian territory lost after the post-WW1 Treaty of Trianon border redefinition. Other texts read "Wake Up, Hungarians", "Sweep Away the Bloodsucking Foreigners" and "Law, work, Honour" (see image above). Although not lending their direct support to this marginal party, these sentiments can find resonance with many Hungarians looking to consolidate their identity and make sense of their confused and precarious financial situation.

I transformed the shape and colours of the cog from the 'MNSZ' logo into something soft and wobbly, wrote my own statements of uncertainty and made stickers which I posted up in the metro and around town on election boards.