A growing number of left-centre opposition politicians in Hungary are wrapping up their careers as advocates of parliamentary democracy and constitutionalism and are instead accepting positions from the government that they have long argued is an authoritarian, illiberal regime. The Orbán government has named Alexandra Dobolyi of the Hungarian Socialist Party (MSZP) Ambassador to Moldova. Minister of Foreign Affairs and […]
The Orbán government’s decision to award one of its own with a state medal–Fidesz founder and rabidly racist columnist Zsolt Bayer–has convinced a growing number of prominent Hungarians to return their state distinctions in protest. The message is clear and simple: if the singularly foul-mouthed Mr. Bayer can be recognized by the Orbán regime with the Hungarian Middle Cross–a publicist […]
American songwriter Desmond Child’s piece Steps of Champions should have been a major media coup for Hungary’s Orbán government. After all, Desmond Child–an American-Hungarian dual citizen who had worked with music legends such as Bon Jovi, Aerosmith, Cher, Bonnie Tyler, Ricky Martin and Kiss–had been successfully enlisted by Hungary’s government to write the official anthem of the sixtieth anniversary commemorations […]
Mátyás Eörsi, a prominent member of the Democratic Coalition (Demokratikus Koalíció – DK) and formerly a Member of Parliament for the now defunct Alliance of Free Democrats (SZDSZ) announced that he spoke with Minister of Foreign Affairs Péter Szijjártó and the Orbán government intends to nominate him for the position of General Secretary of the Community of Democracies. This international organization includes countries, […]
Tibor Navracsics, one of Fidesz’s most prominent politicians and currently the European Commissioner for Education, Culture, Youth and Sport, spoke this weekend at a symposium organized by a foundation affiliated with the Politics Can Be Different green party (Lehet Más a Politika – LMP). Mr. Navracsics, who is considered a dove within Fidesz, especially now that he works for the European […]
Two polls are making headlines in Hungary. One of them examines perceptions of government-sanctioned corruption, while the other one explores the popularity of Hungary’s political parties. The results of the two polls, when explored side-by-side, are paradoxical. Medián’s poll, released today, shows that fully two-thirds of all Hungarians feel that corruption is “very” characteristic of the ruling Fidesz party. In fact, […]
Many in the West still fail to understand that Fidesz is a significantly more extremist party than Jobbik. Some of the founders of Fidesz, most notably Zsolt Bayer, one of the country’s most popular columnists and a close friend of Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, publishes the type of explicit hate speech and vitriol that almost nobody else dares to express, […]
Jobbik, the party that is a trying hard to shed its extremist, far-right image, will focus much more attention on the ruling Fidesz party’s unprecedented and systemic corruption spree. Tamás Pintér, the party’s local president in the industrial town of Dunaújváros, will enter parliament in the fall, and will take over the seat of Előd Novák, a founding member of […]
Lajos Simicska, one of the wealthiest and most influential businessmen in Hungary, has often boasted that he was the one to lift Viktor Orbán–once his close friend and former college roommate–to power. (HFP reported on last year’s stunning and very public falling out between the two men here.) According to a report in the Népszabadság daily, based on sources close to Mr. Simicska, he has now […]
It was another bad week for the increasingly erratic Máté Kocsis, the Fidesz party mayor of Budapest’s 8th District, after the politician, who is also the ruling party’s president in Budapest, went on yet another homophobic tirade using social media. As we reported, Mayor Kocsis recently lost a court case that he launched against liberal politician Klára Ungár, who he […]
