Post Tagged with: "Budapest"

Wizz Air flying over Budapest

Will Hungary’s Wizz Air survive the pandemic?

At first glance Wizz Air, Hungary’s low-cost carrier, may appear well-placed to be among those European airlines that survive the pandemic without filing for bankruptcy. In 2019, Wizz Air transported nearly 40 million passengers, making the Hungarian carrier the eighth largest airline or airline holding in Europe. At the start of the pandemic-related lockdowns in March, József Váradi, Wizz Air’s […]

by · May 9, 2020 · Focus
Gergely Gulyás speaking on Thursday.

Economic fears propel Hungary to consider reopening the country after May 4th

Although the Coronavirus pandemic in Hungary has not yet peaked and with 2,284 confirmed cases of COVID-19 and 239 deaths, the Orbán government announced that it will be prepared to begin re-opening the economy soon after May 4th. On April 29th, the government intends to announce its plan on re-opening the economy. The current model predicts that the coronavirus will […]

by · April 23, 2020 · 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
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
Budapest Mayor István Tarlós (left) and Prime Minister Viktor Orbán share a light moment.

Budapest Mayor István Tarlós shamed America with the removal of Roosevelt’s name

In 2011 the Budapest City Council led by Mayor István Tarlós renamed one of the most beautiful squares in Budapest. After 64 years Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s name was stripped from the oblong square in front of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences. This decision was a slap in the face of the United States, Hungarian Americans were offended and the Roosevelt […]

by · September 16, 2019 · Politics
Song Shun-keun of Korean response team (left) and János Hajdu Hungary's Counter-Terrorism Center (TEK)

Conflict in rescue operation of sunken sightseeing boat in Budapest

There is disagreement between the Korean and Hungarian authorities on how to conduct the rescue operation of a sunken sightseeing boat. According to the Korea Times, Song Shun-keun, the leader of the Korean response team in Budapest said that “while he respected the Hungarian government’s decision to raise the ship rather than conducting diving operations, he had requested that it […]

by · June 5, 2019 · East
The 1947 basilica fire

Hungary’s own tragic Basilica fire in 1947

On June 20, 1947 the iconic dome of St. Stephen’s Basilica in Budapest burned down. The cause of the fire was worker’s negligence during the roof’s renovation. Firefighters desperately tried to save the cupola, but their equipment couldn’t reach the height of the building. In the surrounding streets thousands of citizens watched with horror the struggle of the firefighters. (Watch […]

by · April 21, 2019 · Culture
Fr. András Kun

The genocidal priest — The last interview with András Kun

We know from the revelations of the past nearly two decades that some of the men who joined the Roman Catholic priesthood were socially and emotionally maladjusted, and used their position of authority to abuse the most vulnerable in their community. There are also today a number of priests, sometimes younger ones, who not only subscribe privately to the most […]

by · March 11, 2019 · Antisemitism
Photo: György Lázár

Imre Nagy statue removed predawn from Budapest square

Imre Nagy is a hero of Hungary, prime minister twice, his second term during the tragic and failed revolution of 1956. Nagy was captured and tried by the Communists and executed in 1958. He was buried in an unmarked grave. Nagy’s name could not to be mentioned during the Kádár regime. At his reburial in 1989 a crowd of 200,000 […]

by · December 28, 2018 · Politics