Articles by: György Lázár

The celebration of new bread in Hungary...

What do Hungarians celebrate on August 20th?

August 20th is Hungary’s national holiday and most Hungarians agree that it is an important one. When a reporter asked people on the street in Budapest what this holiday signifies to them, most of them had to think twice. People are not sure what this holiday actually stands for. This is not surprising considering that even in my lifetime the […]

by · August 20, 2017 · Culture
Abádszalók clothespin monument.

Hungary’s clothespin statue at Abádszalók

This is admittedly a lighter story, fitting perhaps for an August weekend. Hungarians celebrate St. Stephen’s Day on Sunday, and the founding of the first Hungarian state. Many Hungarians have turned this into a long weekend and are relaxing on the shores of Lake Balaton. Here’s a story that binds two countries and two communities–literally. And it all focuses on […]

by · August 18, 2017 · Culture
J. D. Gordon is one of the critical "players" in the Manafort investigation

J.D. Gordon, Paul Behrends, Hungary and the Russian connection

There is a suspicion that the Orbán government played a role in building a “bridge” between Russian President Putin and President elect Trump. At this point, we don’t know whether this “bridge building” effort is significant enough to register on the radar screen of the ongoing US Congressional and Senate investigations in Washington DC. According to the European Council on […]

by · August 12, 2017 · Politics
The dangers (and politics) of Hungarian drinking water

The dangers (and politics) of Hungarian drinking water

After the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released information concerning the questionable quality of Hungarian drinking water, the Orbán government did what they do best: they denied the problem and started a propaganda campaign to discredit the CDC. (Read here.) The CDC recommendation is clear. In a health advisory for travelers to Hungary they do not recommend […]

by · August 9, 2017 · Politics
Prof. Christopher Ball (left) with ex-Ambassador György Szapáry.

Christopher Ball says that Orbán’s attack on CEU is anti-American

Professor Christopher Ball teaches at the Business School of Quinnipiac University in Hamden, Connecticut. In 2013 he was handpicked by then Hungarian Ambassador György Szapáry, an Orbán confidant, to serve as Honorary Consul. Professor Ball, Director of the Central European Institute and István Széchenyi Chair in International Economics, lived in Hungary for a couple of years but does not speak […]

by · August 3, 2017 · Politics
Gábor Boczkó blames poor performance on “migrants” and “colored people.”

Hungarian fencing team blames poor performance on “migrants” and “colored people” in Germany

Gábor Boczkó, the leader of the Hungarian Fencing Association and also an Olympic silver medalist, recently told viewers on Hungarian TV M1 that the “security situation” was despicable in Leipzig, Germany, where the his team participated in the World Fencing Championship. (Read in Hungarian here.) According to Boczkó, it was hard to focus to the competition because there were disturbances […]

by · July 31, 2017 · Politics
Mission San Juan Capistrano in California.

San Juan Capistrano – A California town’s Hungarian connection

Most Californians do not know that the picturesque city of San Juan Capistrano, south of Los Angeles close to the Pacific Coast, has an intriguing Hungarian connection. The town is a popular tourist destination with palm trees, lots of sunshine and gorgeous architecture. If you visit Budapest, and walk around in the Castle district you’ll bump into a small square, […]

by · July 28, 2017 · Culture

George Soros elected Honorary Fellow of the British Academy

On Friday, July 21 the British Academy announced sixty six of the “world’s leading minds” as new Fellows of the Academy. George Soros, Chairman, Soros Fund Management; Founder and Chairman, Open Society Foundations is a new Honorary Fellow. The announcement noted that Fellows of the British Academy represent the very best of humanities and they contribute to research of social […]

by · July 25, 2017 · Culture
US Swim Team

US Swim team in Budapest gets taste of Hungary’s way of doing business

I visit Budapest every year and enjoy my stay there although the Hungarian way of doing business bothers me.   Here’s a story about the US Swim Team that illustrates how business is done in Budapest. (Read details here in Hungarian.) Small corruption was always part of life in Hungary.   In the old days when I bought produce at the market, I knew when […]

by · July 23, 2017 · Culture
In February 2017 Ms. Bogyay (second left) Hungary’s UN envoy in New York met Iddo Netanyahu (middle with glasses) to discuss Hungarian translation of his play.

Netanyahu, Hungary’s favorite playwright

Viktor Orbán, Hungary’s Prime Minister, has told his diplomats to charm influential decision makers everywhere, and use every opportunity to convince the world that his image is distorted in the Western media. At home Mr. Orbán is winning far-right voters with revved up racist, anti-Muslin and anti-Semitic rhetoric. Overseas he is advertising a moderate image, as a politician who has […]

by · July 19, 2017 · Politics