>> hello from brussels and a very warm welcome to "european journal." here's what's coming up in today's show -- irresponsible -- dealing with earthquakes in italy. dangerous -- right-wing slogans on the rise in hungary. and uelieble -- the por of the church of cyprus. northern italy is an earthquake- prone region, so to the people in northern italy, it is a familiar feeling when the ground

starts to trimble, the plates and cups on the shelves start to rattle, and their own four walls suddenly start to not feel safe anymore. one year ago, when region was hit by a quake so severe that houses collapsed and people were killed. although the government promised aid to rebuild the area, people have been left more less alone for construction work. >> this giant breakfast side has just about survived the earthquake. a -- this giant brick facade. the cathedral has become a symbol for the destruction caused by the earthquake that struck the region's last year. only firemen are allowed to enter the building. they are working to make it safe, as part of it could crumble at any moment. but it is a race against time. the priest is certain that the

cathedral will not survive another winter. >> this is our history, our identity. the cathedral has to be rebuilt quickly. it is just as important as working and earning money. our roots are buried here. >> treasured works of art also lie under the rubble. rescued paintings and statues are being carefully restored in a laboratory. but it is too late forome, like the statue of madonna and her child. laid out as if on an operating table. there's only so much restorers can do. >> you cannot eradicate the effects of an earthquake like this. the consequences remain with the historical buildings, the art, and the people. now we have to look ahead with courage.

>> massimo nicoletti is trying to do just that. the first if the earthquake hit here on may 20 last year. the rubble and debris have been cleared awa but there are still traces of destruction. this house is being held together with bands. this is a ghost town. no one is interested in renting or buying in the area. >> the government is to blame. they only dispense money gradually for fear it will fall into the wrong hands, but it takes too long and we do not have time. this area will die out. >> nicoletti takes us to the industrial zone. the area is getting back up and running, but the companies have to foot the bill for the

rebuilding themselves. no one here had taken out insurance against earthquake damage. it wasn't entirely unexpected evt. >> no one in the community, the province, or the region told us about a new building regulations before the earthquake, but they were always concerned with everything else from hygiene to sound protection. >> the manufacturer of transmission parts had to invest 600,000 euros into his factory for repairs and safeguarding. the beams are made from steel and concrete and should hold up against another earthquake. if only the factory in the neighboring town had done the same. four workers died in the rubble. the incident led to stricter regulation. since then, stricter building

regulations have been in place. the valley is not an official earthquake zone, but only on paper. -- it is now an official earthquake zone. residents believe officials and politicians underestimate the risk of earthquakes in italy. >> we are still in danger. we have to investigate residential buildings and factories in terms of earthquake safety. because a powerful earthquake like the one we had a year ago could hit northern italy again at any time. >> with devastating results for the economy. andrea produces all sonic bigger and had to tear down one of his factories. it was built according to the old building regulations, and its demise cost him millions. >> numerous studies turned up after the earthquake, talking about the tectonics' fault line and the tension in the earth below us it has been known about

since the 1980's without anything being done. either someone was asleep or they kept very quiet. >> the warehouse managed to withstand the quake. the roof and vinegar barrels were made of wood, which was able to absorb the shock. but that was not the case for this church where nicoletti married. he cannot believe that one year after the quake, so much still lies in ruins. >> hungary's prime minister is notorious for his aggressive rhetoric and populist slogans. his provocative comments recently comparing policies of present-day germany with the nazi past caused indignation among politicians at home and abroad. in his own country, critics say he is encouraging neo-nazi

groups. extreme right-wing groups are increasingly targeting hundred's jewish population. >> they say it is a family gathering. thousands have come to this may 1 rally organized by the far right party in budapest. the party is the third largest in hungary's parliament. he sues anyone who describes it as a neo-nazi party. it prefers the term national radicals. these bikers are also national medical's. the recently tried to corrupt a march organized by holocaust survivors. they thundered past budapest was the biggest synagogue, carrying banners with said, cassette and step on the gas -- "step on the gas." the government has banned the slogan. >> the slogan was not supposed to be provocative. we like stepping on the gas. >> the european union is not relevant here.

instead, there are maps of greater hungary before this treaty divided the country. the far right extremists want the territory hungary lost after the first world war return. this is a central theme of the radicals, as is anti-semitism. the hungarians who have come to this rally are very well aware of this. the countries openly racist, anti-semitic, and homophobic, but this man posy friend from poland was apparently less aware. >> they are visiting us for three days. i think this is a very nice rally, and there is a concert. we are just taking a look. >> yes, i am. >> what? no, you are not. >> yes, i am. it is good. it is a real hungarian party. >> the talmud is supposedly on

sale here, but it is in fact a mock text of this rabbinic texts of central today is in. . >> and of hitler, even. that's not so nice. >> it is very sneaky. it is not very pleasant. >> this should not be displayed so openly. >> but this man says how can it be that every word of "mein kampf" is a lie? one leader who has made such statements respectable, in his half-hour long antisemitic tirade, makes fun of holocaust victims and even proposes that a list of jews who pose a national security risk be drawn up. he also accuses jews of wanting to buy up hungry. the question remains -- if a list were drawn up and people continue to buy of hungary and act against national interests

are in parliament, what would happen to them? >> if it turned out that they were not loyal, we would suggest that they be cleansed from public life. >> according to polls, 1/3 of hungarian students sympathize with the party and its ideas. recently, lists were circulated by student representatives that classified first years as an ugly jewish heads or nice hungarian girls. the head of the institute for our theory and media studies found a sticker on his door that read, "juice, the university belongs to us, not you." -- "jews, the university belongs to us, not you." the shop remains even though the sticker has been removed. he has never defined himself as

jewish. >> he is a holocaust survivor. it was a real shock for her because somehow, it means that we have started again the whole story. this i cannot tolerate. >> and internationally renowned philosopher, agnes heller is also a strong woman. she got over the first shock, but she says a fundamental change has taken place. >> the government is not anti- semitic. but if they want to be successful, they have to play on the country's antisemitic feelings. there was always antisemitism, but it was not respectable. now it has become respectable. >> the jewish world congress accuses the prime minister's government of sending out ambiguous signals. it has officially distance itself from antemitism, and yet, it recently tried to award

a television presenter famous for spreading jewish conspiracy theories with its top journalism prize. moreover, members of the party have openly praised the men who ruled hungary between 1920 and4. the not see allied past four and half-jewish laws that laid the groundwork for the holocaust in hungary. he is the most controversial figure in the country's modern history. hungry ghosts the third largest community of jews in europe. most live in budapest and in the country's second-largest city. samuel came here with his family from israel three years ago. he's the local community's rabbi.

he also helps run the community's senior citizens club. many members are holocaust survivors. they are reluctant to talk about anti-semitism today because they are scared. their memories of the past haunt them. this woman was 9 when she was sent to a concentration camp in austria. >> yes, we are scared again. we are scared for our children. i have one daughter and one son. i have two grandchildren, and we do not want them to live through what we live through. we really hope it wil not go that far again. >> she was also a small girl when she arrived in auschwitz. her nightmares and her tattoo have plagued her ever since. >> my parents, my brothers and

sisters, almost everyone died. please, let there be no holocaust again. >>hey are very worried about the political situation in hungary, less from the neighbors and close people they know, but they are very afraid of what is happening outside. >> about the political developments in budapest, for example. the delegates of the world jewish congress were greeted with an anti-semitic rally. there were also participants from the paramilitary guard, which is supposedly banned. far right movements apparently d thinto fear in hungary today. >> right-wing populist parties in many european countries have entered politics. most of these groups are anti- integration or anti-europe, and

in times of economic crisis, they are able to play on people's and securities. but there are other fringe groups which have not made it into parliament yet, and some do not even want to. a group of french ultraconservatives believes that democracy has outlived its time, and it is time for a fresh start. they dream of the france from before 1789, the year of the big revolution, and those activists are far from being as old and conservative as you may think. >> you need stamina if you are fighting for the return of france's king. you also need to be able to take a hit. that is what nicolas is training for in his boxing club. the history student does not have a drop of blood in his veins, but he thinks a monarchy

could be a real alternative to the current government. >> i was disgusted with the whole election game. the constant change of people who did not bring any change, the lack of logic, so i looked into the history of realism and saw there was some real continuity. i wondered about today, and that is how i found this group. the political movement was founded to promote monarchism at the end of the 19th century. he joined the youth wing two years ago. he thinks it provides a way out of the crisis, a path to a better world. >> we are fighting for a new regime in france. for a traditional, hereditary monarchy, so that there is a line of continuity. so that we can have a means of attaining a more prosperous france, and france which can performetter and hieve more.

>> the ideas include leading the european union, getting away from brussels, and from laws that the young royalists' perceived as shackles. the program has clear far right undertones. activists make no bones of that ideological closeness to others. but they are against the electoral system. >> people vote for an image. politicians and engage in marketing. they do not sell ideas, just their face. >> it is disenchantment with politics and the need for stability that has driven these 20 somethings to join the movement. the youth wing has just 210 members across the country, but they are full of hope for the future.

>> i a ver optimisc. l of us are very motivated. we think we have high chances of succeeding -- may be not tomorrow or the next day, but this is a long-term struggle. a regime does not fall just like that. we need to put our minds to it and spread our ideas. >> they even want to trigger a real revolution. for them, all means are legitimate. >> how did the republic come to power? that was also by force. regimes always cling to power, but ift has to be dislodged, we will dislodge it. there is no doubt about it. >> these youths are not alone in dreaming of a monarchy in france. according to a 2011 survey, some 5% of the country's population would prefer a king, but for them, the path should be through the parliament.

in 1974, the only royalists' kennedy to present himself in modern french history ran for president and manage to scoop up 1% of the vote. >> we are democrats. they are not. we support the republic and its institutions. they denounce it as if it were a regime, and that is a very grave confusion. >> he supports a constitutional monarchy akin to the british model. his movement goes back to suorters of the kg who fought exactly for this during the french revolution. he thinks the system would work in today's world. >> we cannot compare the

monarchies of today with the pre-18th-century monarchies. royal absolutism, which existed in france, changed into a different regime. that is what the revolution did. in many other countries, the monarchy provided the means to make the transition to democracy. >> but the monarchy the dream of would not need a parliament. they would really need a strong man to head. a dictator? >> this nothing to be worried about here the market ran for over 1000 years, and there was never a dictatorship. the king never had absolute power. i think hollande today has more power than louis xiv did.

>> who else if not him? >> the royalists' probably posed little threat to francois hollande today and even to his successors, but in a country that is deep in crisis, their ideas might not fall on completely deaf ears. i too was only two months ago, that cyus w on the verge of bankruptcy. help from abroad came at the very last minute. in return, cyprus had to make drastic cuts and implement painful reforms. it is only slowly beginning to recover. it is a difficult process, and some even warn that the cypriot state may need money again soon if the economic situation does not improve. this time around, help could come from within. but that would mean the country 's most influential institution would become even more powerful. >> most of the people who attend

mass in nicosia our elderly. some say that at times of crisis, the church is a place to seek peace away from the turmoil of daily life. >> the church is a pillar of strength for us, more than just a charity organization. it is also a spiritual institution. >> these hard times are also an opportunity. we are able to see our faults. god will help us with that. >> the archbishop of cyprus has also identified this as a chance. he is inviting people to mass and showing the church in all its glory. a power seven clergymen, he is said to be a skilled technician and shrewd businessmen. he presents himself as a man of the people, putting into words what many cypriots field. he has railed on about brussels for crisis management, going as far as calling for cyprus'

withdrawal from the eurozone. his position, the nearly inexhaustible financial clout of the church, is solid even now. >> all in all, we have lost about 100 million capital. but we will survive. the church has often had to sell its cannons, upon its chalices, and it has always survived all that. >> after all, the cypriot orthodox church owns most of the property on the island. it enjoys tax privileges, owns shares in several major firms, and a quarter of the country's second largest financial institution, the hellenic ban. this makes some people uneasy. >> the church has a finger in too many pies. it is exercising political influence in cyprus, and it can do it because of its political and financial strength. it owns a ton of real-estate.

>> at the patriarch's residence in nicosia, like mrs. can be seen everywhere. he was once an archbishop, and after 1959, the first president of the republic of cyprus. church vehicles are housed in a special parking garage. one of them, said to be a gift from john f. kennedy, is known as the big mac. but the church was already a political force before that, even back in in times. and it will influence, especially the part of the church that feels compelled to express itself on political issues, and the politicians react. it continues to have influence because the political parties held -help the people elect the bishop. >> the church collects donated food. during the crisis, people have been particularly dependent on its support. many see the church as its

savior during a time of need.