Politics

Mayor László Toroczkai with his wife and children, at Ásotthalom town limits.

Ásotthalom–the Hungarian town that banned Muslims and gays in public

Ásotthalom (population: 4,200) is a small town in southeastern Hungary, located a mere 3 km from the border with Serbia. Since 2013, the town has been led by Jobbik Mayor László Toroczkai, who is also the far-right party’s vice president. In 2015, the town made news for producing a bizarre, Hollywood-esque video awkwardly entitled “Message to Illegal Immigrants from Hungary” […]

by · November 29, 2016 · Politics
Did Trump really invite pro-China, pro-Putin Orbán to the White House?

Did Trump really invite pro-China, pro-Putin Orbán to the White House?

Viktor Orbán is one of the first European leader to secure an invitation to the Trump White House. At least this is what Mr. Orbán says. The Hungarian Prime Minister is known for making grandiose statements and organize publicity stunts. Now Mr. Orbán says that U.S. President-elect Donald Trump invited him to Washington. The interview was published by small Hungarian […]

by · November 26, 2016 · Politics
Mr. Orbán can have his cake and eat it too. Photo: November 24, 2016. Facebook

Donald Trump: I’m a big fan of Hungary!

American President-elect Donald Trump reportedly told Prime Minister Viktor Orbán that he is a “big fan of Hungary,” after which he promised over the telephone to invite the controversial Hungarian leader to the White House following his inauguration. It was mainly Hungarian Minister of Foreign Affairs Péter Szijjártó who gave us a peek into what apparently transpired in the telephone […]

by · November 25, 2016 · Politics
Screenshot of Gábor Vona in N1TV interview.

Jobbik leader Gábor Vona: Homosexuals can be proud

“Is heterosexuality difficult for you?”–asked conservative journalist András Stumpf of Gábor Vona, the leader of the far-right Jobbik party, in a video interview appearing on the party’s online TV channel, N1TV. Mr. Vona, who has been accused by media associated with the governing Fidesz party of engaging in homosexual orgies, answered with an awkward “no.” What Mr. Stumpf was getting […]

by · November 24, 2016 · Politics
Prime Minister Viktor Orbán meets British Prime Minister Theresa May at 10 Downing Street on November 9th, 2016. Photo: Viktor Orbán's Facebook page.

Hungary’s Viktor Orbán–the Teflon Man

Hungary’s ruling Fidesz party had, by any standards, a terrible last month or so, yet new polling figures suggest that the popularity of Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s government did not suffer at all. It was revealed that Ghaith Pharaon, a Saudi businessman wanted by the FBI and Interpol for wire fraud, racketeering and allegedly funding terrorists, conducted business with a company tied […]

by · November 23, 2016 · Politics
Viktor Orbán on November 17th. Photo: MTI.

Orbán slashes corporate capital gains tax to 9% — Hungary to offer lowest tax rate in Europe

The Orbán government surprised the business world on Thursday, including the National Alliance of Employees and Employers, when it declared without any prior consultation that the country’s capital gains tax would be slashed from 19% to just 9% in 2017. Hungary’s dramatically reduced corporate tax rate of 9% makes it even more appealing than the already low corporate taxes paid […]

by · November 17, 2016 · Politics
Gábor Vona during a visit to Transylvania in October.  Photo: Facebook.

Hungarian far-right leader Gábor Vona accused of homosexual orgies

One of the relatively refreshing aspects of Hungarian politics until recently was that, broadly speaking, the personal lives of politicians were not paraded before the general public, and the public did not seem especially interested in this either. Over the last few years, however, media tied to Hungary’s ruling Fidesz party has rejected this unwritten rule, even to the point of […]

by · November 11, 2016 · Politics

Orbán is misreading Trump – he might be in for a big surprise

In September Hungary’s Ambassador to Washington Réka Szemerkényi met Senator Jeff Sessions, a Trump confidant, to express Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s admiration and support for Mr. Trump. This summer Mr. Orbán was the first EU’s Prime Minister to endorse Trump. Later when the billionaire’s poll numbers dived, Mr. Orbán’s press chief denied the endorsement, displaying his usual flip-flopping. Now […]

by · November 10, 2016 · Politics
The Tuesday vote in Parliament on the proposed constitutional amendment.

Orbán loses key vote in parliament due to “treasonous” Jobbik

Lajos Kósa, Leader of the ruling Fidesz caucus in Parliament, called Jobbik leader Gábor Vona a “traitor,” after the far-right party blocked the Orbán government from amending Hungary’s Fundamental Law to prohibit the settlement of any foreign nationals in Hungary, without the prior approval of the national legislature. Fidesz is just two seats shy of a two-thirds super-majority in parliament, […]

by · November 8, 2016 · Politics
Hillary Clinton

Hungarian Free Press – Hillary Clinton is our choice

On Tuesday, November 8th, Americans – among them 1.5 million with Hungarian roots – will go to the polls to elect the next president of the United States. Secretary Hillary Clinton has won the Democratic nomination and she is the most qualified candidate. Whether Hillary Clinton or Donald Trump wins both will present challenges for relations with America’s European Union […]

by · November 7, 2016 · Politics