Politics

Zoltán Kész during a visit to Montreal in 2014. A sports enthusiast, Mr. Kész was watching a hockey game at the Bell Centre.

Opposition win in key Veszprém by-election much larger than anticipated

An unpublished Ipsos opinion poll commissioned two weeks before a critical by-election in a traditionally centre-right Veszprém riding suggested that Zoltán Kész–the independent candidate supported by most of the left-centre opposition–stood a semi-realistic chance of beating Fidesz in a constituency that it had long held. The leaked poll found that Fidesz’s candidate, Lajos Némedi, was ahead of Mr. Kész by […]

by · February 22, 2015 · Politics
Lajos Simicska

The stunning implosion of a Hungarian oligarch

It’s been an absolutely astonishing day in the world of Hungarian politics; after all, it rarely happens, that the country’s wealthiest businessman and a close friend of nearly 35 years of Prime Minister Viktor Orbán is humiliated in public, and then goes on a whirlwind expletive-laden media tour, in which he repeatedly calls Mr. Orbán a prick and claims that […]

by · February 7, 2015 · Politics
Mr. Orbán and Ms. Merkel in Budapest on Monday. Photo: Parliament of Hungary

Merkel came and saw, while a giddy opposition waited with bated breath

Prime Minister Viktor Orbán didn’t have an exceptionally good day. He almost certainly could have avoided an embarrassing press conference with Chancellor Angela Merkel if only he would have taken the more pragmatic route of distancing himself from comments made last summer in Transylvania, about the possibility of turning Hungary into an illiberal democracy. Mr. Orbán was answering a question […]

by · February 3, 2015 · Politics
NYC protest

Hungarians in New York City set to protest Orbán

Hungarians in New York City are joining a series of protests against Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s authoritarian and socially unjust government, under the slogan “Spring is coming – Orbán is going.” The protest aims to draw attention to dissatisfaction with Mr. Orbán, ahead of Chancellor Angela Merkel’s official visit to Budapest on Monday. The New York protest is being held […]

by · February 1, 2015 · Politics
Colleen Bell in Budapest

Namaste, Ambassador Colleen Bell!

President Obama appointed Ms. Colleen Bell to serve as the United States’ Ambassador to Hungary and in December 2014 she was finally confirmed by the US Senate. Now she is in Budapest where she released a smart video message, sending greetings to the Hungarian people. Here is the video. She also visited the Sándor Palace where she presented her appointment letter to […]

by · January 23, 2015 · Politics
Mr. Orbán in Paris

Orbán marches in Paris, yet blocks freedom of speech at home

Viktor Orbán is desperately trying to make his countrymen believe that he is a respected politician in the European Union. His participation in the Paris march might have provided a great photo opportunity, but his dismal record in stifling free speech at home has not changed. Reporters Without Borders (RWB) is a France-based international organization that defends freedom of speech. They […]

by · January 13, 2015 · Politics
Mr. Orbán and Mr. Putin (Reuters)

Investigative journalists say that Putin, Orbán are most corrupt

2015 started with a new condemnation of Mr. Viktor Orbán; the embattled Prime Minister of Hungary was declared one of the most corrupt politicians of Europe. The Sarajevo-based Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP) announced on December 31, that Russian President Vladimir Putin has been named corruption’s “person of the year” for 2014. OCCRP is an international organization of […]

by · January 2, 2015 · Politics
Mr. Volker maintains close contacts with Mr. Tibor Navracsics Hungary's EU Commissioner of Education, Culture, Youth and Sport.

Senator McCain accepts money from the fascistic Orbán government

Don’t you just love it! A couple of days ago, John McCain, a senior Republican told the U.S. Senate: “I am not against political appointees … I understand how the game is played, but … (Hungary) … is on the verge of ceding its sovereignty to a neo-fascist dictator, getting in bed with Vladimir Putin, and we’re going to send […]

by · December 12, 2014 · Politics
Mr. Orbán in the DMZ, between North and South Korea. Photo: Facebook.

Fidesz support continues to collapse, but an opposition win in Veszprém is still a challenge

Accoring to polling data released this week by two reputable firms — namely Ipsos and Medián — Fidesz is continuing its losing streak and Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s popularity has taken a hit as well. Both Ipsos and Medián had very similar findings: in under two months Fidesz support has decreased by between 10 and 12 percent. Medián’s director, Endre Hann, noted […]

by · December 11, 2014 · Politics
Photo: Balázs Nagy

The “crucifixion” of Viktor Orbán

Prime Minister Viktor Orbán knows that his government is in trouble. There is open in-fighting between Fidesz and the Christian Democrats (KDNP) over prospective changes to the church laws, which Mr. Orbán’s party initiated without first consulting with KDNP (or any of the churches, for that matter). And then, the forced Sunday closures of stores, the scrapped Internet tax,  heavy-handed drug testing laws proposed […]

by · December 10, 2014 · Politics