A new book by photographer Katharina Roters explores an often neglected form of architecture unique to socialist era Hungary and one that is simply known as “The Cube” (or Kádár kocka). The Cube is perhaps so often neglected simply because it is incredibly ubiquitous throughout the country, especially when it comes to housing constructed shortly after World War II. Yet what made […]
Coded antisemitism is a familiar phenomenon on the “moderate” Hungarian right (provided that there is still such a thing as moderate, centre-right Hungarian politics). While Jobbik and those to the right of Fidesz-KDNP are open in their antisemitic diatribes, the pro-Fidesz press simply aims to insinuate that the Hungarian left – en masse – is somehow beholden to Jewish interests. The […]
This week, in a reversal of their previous position, Mr. Viktor Orbán’s Fidesz party declared that the writings of author Imre Kertész, recipient of the 2002 Nobel Prize in Literature, are actually in sync with their philosophy and are putting him up for a high state award. Historian Dr. Mária Schmidt wrote a lengthy article declaring Mr. Kertész the Hungarian […]
The democratic opposition’s election campaign ahead of the October 12th municipal elections in Budapest is the very epitome of a political train wreck. It is certainly true that Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s decision to completely transform the Hungarian capital’s electoral system a mere four months before the vote would have thrown a wrench into the plans of any political party, no […]
Staff of the Canadian embassy in Budapest visited the Salgotarjáni Street Jewish cemetery to pay their respects to the victims of the Holocaust, as well as to tend to a portion of the graveyard that has been largely neglected. The embassy workers visited the cemetery’s Budapest ghetto memorial and used this as an opportunity to reflect on the importance of tolerance, diversity and […]
Robin Williams, a comic and sitcom star, an Oscar-winning dramatic actor, died at the age of 63. He appears to have committed suicide. The news truly rocked North-America, television channels broke into their usual programming to make the announcement, and the news dominated online trending topics. Mr. Williams was a comic genius, a star of both movies and television for […]
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s infamous (and illiberal) Tusnádfürdő speech has taken on a life of its own in the foreign press. The Czech Republic’s Ech024.cz news site published this caricature of Mr. Orbán, as Central Europe’s new “paprika” dictator: The illustration warns of Central Europe’s dangerous transformation and of Mr. Orbán’s dreams of resurrecting Greater Hungary, at the expense of neighbouring […]
The satellite news channel RT (previously known as Russia Today) is not best known for its balanced, dispassionate journalism. It was once referred to by US Secretary of State John Kerry as a “propaganda bullhorn” for Russian President Vladimir Putin. (The State Department seemed especially vexed by RT’s continued assertion following the ousting of Ukrainian president Viktor Yanukovych, that the revolt had […]
Human Resources Minister Zoltán Balog’s recent comments concerning the deportation of Roma from Hungary during WWII reminds me of some of his earlier faux pas. The Hungarian Free Press reported earlier that Mr. Balog has denied that Roma citizens were deported from Hungary. He went on to warn the Roma community that it must not focus on these wartime experiences […]
Bálint Ódor, the Hungarian Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ deputy state secretary in charge of European Union matters, has been appointed Hungary’s new ambassador to Canada. He takes over the embassy in Ottawa from László Pordány, whose term as ambassador has been brought to an end effective August 15th, 2014. Mr. Pordány leaves behind him a politically charged embassy and a […]
