ABSTRACT
The legacies of the Stalinist and post-Stalinist model of previous decades in Hungary and in the other countries of Central and Eastern Europe cannot be ignored during the period of systemic transition. The capacity of action of the power structures and the government is, as a matter of course, more limited than in earlier years. However, in the absence of adequate social and political support, the less popular elements of reform strategies can be implemented only with much difficulty, by accepting too great compromises and by all means only in a "diluted" way. The distance between the heritage of the past and the requirements of the target state of a market economy make it necessary to reckon with a special transitional period in the 1990s. Hungary's liberalization strategy must, first and foremost, start with and build upon the country's endowments, elbow room, and requirements.
