The author of this essay is a former journalist of Lánchíd Rádió, the conservative radio station that closed days after the April election, along with the Magyar Nemzet daily. The author, a former supporter of Fidesz and Viktor Orbán, contacted us this week and asked the Hungarian Free Press to use the pseudonym “blahalujza”when we publish this piece, as revealing […]
Milán Constantinovits is a columnist whose work often appears on the conservative Mandiner news site and he is also a linguist and an author. This week, he published a type of “wish list” of areas that he would like the third Orbán government to engage in as a matter of priority. I thought about referring to these as demands. Yet […]
Jeppe Bjerre Trans is a Danish journalism student, finishing off his Bachelor degree at the Danish School of Media and Journalism in June. He was in Hungary in the beginning of April to report on the elections in the country, as part of his studies at the International Europe in the World program – a journalism program focusing on European politics. […]
This interview with Hungarian political philosopher G.M. Tamás first appeared in The Dissident Blog–a publication of the Swedish PEN. Mr. Tamás offered us this interview to share with readers of the Hungarian Free Press. The philosopher explains why freedom of speech and democracy are in decline in Hungary and also speaks about how Budapest is a type of intellectual bubble […]
We’re told by confidential sources, that ever since Hungary’s Prime Minister, Viktor Orbán, chalked up his third electoral victory in a row, on April 8, his Ambassador to Canada, Bálint Ódor, spends most of his nights tossing and turning in his bed, unable to fall asleep. The question that keeps Mr. Ódor awake is this: how is it possible, that […]
An estimated 100,000 Hungarians–mostly young adults–filled Kossuth Square and spilled over into Alkotmány utca on Saturday to issue two overarching demands. First, they are demanding new elections–based on a fully free and fair electoral system. Second, they scolded the opposition for their inability to field a single candidate against Fidesz in every electoral district and demanded full cooperation against the […]
In 2015, I penned an editorial in The New York Times warning against the growing influence in Europe of Hungary’s right wing prime minister, Viktor Orbán. Last Sunday Orbán was re-elected for a third consecutive term. His hold on power is more entrenched than ever, and his xenophobic, nationalist platform continues to spread beyond Hungarian borders. As U.S. Ambassador to […]
Dear Doris, I am glad you make clear your own and János’ position concerning migrants, and the very fact that you are not willing to compromise: “Ok, Sandor. But there is one issue on which Janos very firmly support’s Orbán’s view and policies: mass migration. A quote from Janos, “‘It is crazy to welcome people, especially masses of people, into […]
Introduction When Julius Caesar and his troops crossed a shallow little stream, called the Rubicon, on January 10, 49 BC, they set the course of European history for centuries to come. The Rubicon was the official boundary between Italy and the province of Cisalpine Gaul. According to Italian law at the time, anyone who entered Italy at the head of […]
Joe Gunn is the Executive Director of a Christian faith-based public policy organization in the Canadian capital, Ottawa, called Citizens for Public Justice (CPJ). His group’s advocacy work in democratic reform, anti-poverty initiatives, refugee rights and ecological justice are initiatives valued by HFP, as well as by many civil society organizations in Hungary–though admittedly, in the Hungarian context the faith-based […]
