Politics

Hungary mourns victims of the Holocaust and countersues Jewish survivors in the US

Hungary mourns victims of the Holocaust and countersues Jewish survivors in the US

Hungary’s young and photogenic Justice Minister Judit Varga recently visited Auschwitz-Birkenau extermination camp and declared her “zero tolerance for antisemitism.”   Hungary has “taken several steps to prevent our country’s Jews from being exposed to any kind of antisemitism that has become more and more widespread in the world.” What Varga did not mention is her government’s institutionalized efforts to rewrite […]

by · January 29, 2020 · Politics
Sir Roger Scruton

Trump basher, racist Sir Roger Scruton is awarded by Viktor Orbán

Sir Roger Scruton does not mince words. In a 2017 Hungary Today interview Scruton attacked President Trump’s intelligence: “He doesn’t have any thoughts that are longer than 140 characters.” (Read here) In another interview he talked disparagingly about the Chinese people and declared that they were “robots” and “each Chinese person is a replica of the next one and that […]

by · December 12, 2019 · Politics
Left: Ms. Novák. Right: Ms. Rácz.

Hungary — Where a 22 year old Fidesz operative is appointed Deputy Minister of State

In most countries, it would be difficult to imagine a 22 year old who has yet to complete a university education and having no relevant professional experience being appointed Deputy Minister of State. Hungary, it would appear, is the land of such possibilities, provided one is a demonstrably faithful to Fidesz, the ruling party. This week, we learned that Katalin […]

by · December 4, 2019 · Politics
Far-right State Secretary Árpád János Potápi manages the Petőfi Sándor Program. He admires pro-Hitler Miklós Horthy and keeps his painting in his government office.

Ukraine declares eight Hungarian activists “persona non grata”

Eight Orbán-paid activists have been abruptly recalled from Ukraine. They are part of the so called Petőfi Sándor Program. The Hungarian Government did not release their names. As part of an über-nationalist lobbying program, Hungary sends paid activists to western Ukraine to improve the national identity of the Hungarian minority by teaching Hungarian language, folk music and leading dance groups. […]

by · November 23, 2019 · Politics
Budapest at a standstill, thousands march against Erdogan, Orbán, Putin

Budapest at a standstill, thousands march against Erdogan, Orbán, Putin

The waitress in our favorite restaurant was livid. “I had to take a cab to get to work today because public transportation was shut down” – she complained. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan was visiting Budapest on November 7 with massive closures throughout the city all day. Budapest came to a standstill. Thousands marched against the Turkish President’s visit, many […]

by · November 7, 2019 · Politics
Gergely Karácsony, Mayor-elect of Budapest.

Hungary’s democratic opposition scores major election victory

After nine years in the wilderness, Hungary’s opposition parties scored major electoral victories across the country and especially in Budapest in local elections, where a centre-left alliance of parties won the mayoral race, achieved a solid majority on the municipal council and won back nine districts from Fidesz. Moreover, support for Fidesz in the traditionally conservative and affluent Buda districts […]

by · October 14, 2019 · Politics
A Statement from Scarlett Johansson

A Statement from Scarlett Johansson

On September 24 the Hungarian Free Press reported that Hungary’s government-controlled press widely distributed photos of Budapest Mayor István Tarlós with American filmstar Scarlett Johansson. From the misleading caption Hungarian readers might have concluded that the popular filmstar endorsed Tarlós. (Read the article here.) Now Johansson issued a statement–and it’s particularly relevant as Hungarians across the country vote in local […]

by · October 13, 2019 · Politics
Kurt Volker in Budapest in 2019. Source: Válasz Online.

Kurt Volker’s departure a blow to Hungarian autocracy

Hungary’s party state has lost a key American ally and an enthusiastic promoter of Hungarian autocracy with the departure of Kurt Volker, President Donald Trump’s special envoy to Ukraine. Mr. Volker is at the centre of the current impeachment turmoil in Washington DC, after telephone call transcripts released by the White House suggest that the American president attempted to pressure […]

by · September 28, 2019 · Politics
Eight U.S. Senators are concerned by pro-Putin Hungary

Eight U.S. Senators are concerned by pro-Putin Hungary

Eight U.S. senators, all democrats, have sent a letter to US Ambassador David Cornstein, calling on him to uphold American democratic values and security interests when dealing with the autocratic regime of Viktor Orbán. Among the prominent signatories is Bernie Sanders, currently running for the 2020 Democratic nomination for president. We are sharing this strongly worded letter dated 24 September […]

by · September 27, 2019 · Politics
Scarlett Johansson and right-wing Budapest mayor István Tarlós

Scarlett Johansson is shamelessly exploited by right-wing Budapest mayor, István Tarlós

Scarlett Johansson is a 34 year old popular American filmstar, one of the highest paid in the business and now she is part of the Budapest municipal election campaign. She is shooting a film in Hungary and a clever political operative asked her to meet with right-wing Mayor István Tarlós. Why not? 71-year-old Tarlós is a staunch ally of authoritarian […]

by · September 24, 2019 · Politics
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