Hungarians who will soon receive a mailed letter from Viktor Orbán attacking Brussels, or who have seen the new anti-Soros and anti-Brussels billboards, which smear fellow Christian Democrat Jean-Claude Juncker, may think that Fidesz is engaged in a clear-cut and “noble” battle with a malevolent foreign power. What Fidesz supporters won’t know is that the ruling regime’s resolve is only […]
Hungary’s opposition parties presented a unified front Monday in walking out of a session of parliament to protest the widely panned overtime law, more colloquially known as the “slave law.” Rather than participating in the work of parliament, where the ruling Fidesz party has a two-thirds majority and where there is absolutely no chance for the opposition to effect change […]
The number of asylum applications lodged in the European Union’s 28 member states declined by 10 percent in 2018. And the prior calendar year already showed a year-over-year drop of 44 percent. In 2018, the EU saw a total of 634 700 asylum applications, of which the largest country of origin was Syria (representing over 10% of all applications submitted). Within […]
The Foyer Hongrois, a publicly-funded Hungarian retirement home in Montreal, decided to eliminate its entire library, citing a lack of space in the facility and low circulation figures. Sparking significant dismay among local Hungarians, the Board of Directors decided unilaterally to dispose of more than 2,000 Hungarian-language books. A large dumpster was parked at the side entrance of the residence […]
For the first time in the Visegrád Group’s history, the leaders of Hungary, Poland, the Czech Republic and Slovakia will hold a summit outside of Europe, notably in Jerusalem. It is known that Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán maintains a close working relationship with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and that Fidesz has borrowed some elements of its political strategy […]
Blanka Nagy, the 18 year old high school student from the town of Kiskunfélegyháza, is getting quite a brutal life lesson in how the expansive Fidesz media empire coordinates character assassinations against anyone who speaks up against the Orbán regime. High school students are targets too–there are no exceptions and there is no mercy. Miss Nagy spoke at a December […]
It would be a tad hypocritical to lambaste the Hungarian government from across the pond in Canada, for what appears to have been a technical glitch resulting in a delay in pension and various social solidarity disbursements. Canadian readers will recall the Phoenix payroll debacle. Tens of thousands of federal civil servants were underpaid, not paid at all or in […]
What happened on Saturday morning to Deputy State Secretary for Higher Education at an exhibit in Budapest serves as another modest warning to the now inaccurately named ruling party, the Alliance of Young Democrats (Fidesz), that its previous hold on Hungarian youth has vanished. Zita Horváth was about to give a speech at the Educatio Exhibit in the Hungarian capital […]
I am compelled to reflect on a letter written by Béla Lipták and published in The New York Times. In response to an NYT article entitled “Hungary’s Autocracy Beneath a Patina of Democracy,” Mr. Lipták argued that Hungary’s slide towards authoritarianism and the embrace of anti-western rhetoric is caused by, and is indeed justifiable due to, a deep-rooted anger and a sense […]
Father Mihály Kardos has spent the last four years of his life in a medical facility for the homeless in Szeged run by the Hungarian Charity Service of the Order of Malta. With both of Fr. Kardos’ legs amputated, the elderly priest needs assisted living and care. Four years ago, he was given the option of living in a much […]
