Just as expected, politicians from Viktor Orbán’s inner circle have started to distance themselves from the authoritarian Prime Minister. Orbán’s grip on power is a bit shaken.
According to Hungarian media sources, László Palkovics, Hungary’s Minister of Innovation and Technology attempted to leave the government but Orbán repeatedly refused to accept his resignation.
Now Palkovics has made an unusual statement. He denied his resignation attempts and claimed that he is a “disciplined fighter” and plans to carry out his 4-year commitment to the government. He will stay on for the rest of the year, his tenure will expire early next year. Don’t hold your breath.
We wrote about Palkovics’s strange “invitation” to talk at the University of California at Berkeley on April 4, 2019. (Read it here) Here is what happened.
Never before had a minister spoken at a “brown bag” talk at the Department of Mechanical Engineering; the speakers are generally practicing engineers. I was told that a Hungarian-American employee at the University made the suggestion to invite Palkovics and he was hosted by Professor Francesco Borrelli.
The minister’s presentation was entitled, “Hungary as a European Hub for Autonomous Vehicle Design and Validation.” Palkovics had a distinguished academic career in the past, but stopped his research years ago. He is a right-wing politician and a confidante of Orbán. At least he was in the past. I have a feeling that the event was a publicity stunt to prove that Orbán’s minister can get an invitation to a major US university.
The seminar took place at 11AM with about 35 people present, many of them Hungarian diplomats with their entourages. Consul Tamás Széles from Los Angeles was there, as well as András Doncsev consul and Éva Voisin honorary consul and her husband. The Hungarian “delegation” occupied the first row of the seminar room and when Professor Borelli realized that they were not experts in autonomous vehicle design he asked them to move to the back of the room so his students could move to the front.
After that, Professor Borelli read a short statement from University explaining that the presentation will take place in the spirit of freedom of speech. The University provides forum to varying views, even controversial ones.
Palkovics gave a technical introduction to the subject and spoke in detail about the Zala Zone test track located near Zalaegerszeg. Professor Roberto Horowitz commented and corrected some technical details and only one audience question was allowed. Since the question was about the forced closure of CEU, Palkovics gave a curt answer that CEU would stay in Budapest and left the room.
I find it peculiar Palkovics himself called the Hungarian News Agency to report his participation at a “symposium at the University of California, Berkeley, focusing on the production and testing of self-driving cars in Hungary.” (Read here)
I don’t think that he will be invited back.
*Photo: Minister Palkovics at the University of California at Berkeley in 2019
György Lázár
“According to media sources”. That is nice, but the guy is denying the validity of those reports and he is still in his position. This is the reliable fact!
“Media sources” is a less than impressive claim of validity these days. For weeks, US MSM was parading the claim made by 50 ex spooks in regards to Hunter Biden laptop story being a “Russian hoax”. As it turned out the 50 ex spooks were selling BS and not a single journalist challenged them on it.
https://www.nationalreview.com/2020/12/the-disgraceful-hunter-biden-cover-up/
Perhaps once they get back to actual journalism (Never again in our lifetime), then perhaps citing “media sources” will carry some weight. For now…..
Dear Joe, I expected that Palkovics will directly address the media reports about his resignation attempt, he didn’t. Hun Gov media spokesman stated that he did not try to resign… I should have added that “government media sources denied the report about his resignation attempt..” I actually do agree with your last statement with a little modification… I sincerely hope that citing “Hungarian Government media sources” will carry some weight in the future…
“I actually do agree with your last statement with a little modification… I sincerely hope that citing “Hungarian Government media sources” will carry some weight in the future…”
That is a highly subjective viewpoint. A clear example of a complete lack of journalistic integrity is the way that the MSM treated the H. Biden laptop story in October, right before the election, in conjunction with Big Tech, which censored the story and deep state actors, which pushed forward the statement made by 50 former spooks, falsely claiming without any factual basis that it was a “Russian disinformation”, which then the MSM parroted over and over in order to make it the “truth”.
https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2020/dec/11/hunter-biden-coverup-mainstream-media-under-fire-f/
The fact that so many actors, in conjunction with the MSM colluded to bury such a story shows that there is something far worse and sinister going on in “The land of the free” than there is in Hungary.
Overall journalistic standards, regardless of left/right, green/purple, up/down or any other bias have pretty much collapsed in much of the Western World. It went from investigative work to uncover the facts, to setting out to piece together a predetermined storyline, by digging up any shred of supporting evidence, while ignoring all evidence to the contrary. This is a true, unbiased statement! You? You would make a great “journalist” within the current environment!