Editor’s note: Joschka Fischer was Germany’s foreign minister and vice chancellor from 1998 to 2005. This article was published about a year ago by Project Syndicate/Institute for Human Sciences. Fischer’s parents were ethnic Germans from Hungary; his father a butcher in the town of Budakeszi, just outside Budapest. The family was expelled from Hungary after World War II and Joschka […]
After days of chaotic and inconsistent communication, the Orbán regime announced that it is withdrawing the bid to host the 2024 Summer Games in Budapest. That only leaves Paris and Los Angeles in the running. Initially, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán simply attempted to distance himself and his government from the fall-out after the Momentum Movement and allied opposition parties exceeded […]
László Botka, the Hungarian Socialist Party’s (MSZP) candidate for prime minister, is statistically tied in popularity with Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, according to a poll by the Republikon Intézet. Mr. Orbán’s favorability rating rests at 46%, followed by Mr. Botka at 44%. Gábor Vona, the leader of the Jobbik party, stands at 31% among the main contenders for prime minister […]
The fledgling Momentum Mozgalom had the challenging task of collecting at least 138,000 signatures within just 30 days, in order to force a referendum on withdrawing the Budapest bid to host the 2024 Summer Olympics. On Friday morning, Momentum’s young leaders announced that they, along with some of the smallest opposition parties, had collected more than 266,000 signatures. Initially, the […]
The Momentum Mozgalom’s campaign to launch a referendum that would force Budapest City Council to withdraw their bid to host the 2024 Summer Games is heading into its final, critical stretch. According to the most recent statistics, Momentum–with the help of the Politics Can Be Different green party (LMP), the Együtt party, Párbeszéd (Dialogue) and some modest assistance from Socialist […]
One of the tricks used by Hungarian diplomats is to walk up to a prominent US politician, snap a photo as proof of their “close relationship” and distribute it with a misleading caption. A couple of days ago an American Red Cross charity ball was held at Mar-a-Lago, the sprawling Palm Beach, Florida, estate owned by Donald Trump. The President […]
Republican Congresswoman from Tennessee Marsha Blackburn is pleased with President Trump’s executive order to bar Syrian refugees and block citizens of seven countries, among them Iran, from entering the US. Rep. Blackburn considers Iran an enemy of the United States and two years ago she expressed strong concerns over Barack Obama’s Iran nuclear deal. She wrote that the Iranians were […]
Just over a year before the 2018 elections, a new poll suggests that the Hungarian Socialist Party (MSZP) is seeing a modest rise in its popularity, while Jobbik is continuing a trend that has been apparent for months–the party that is trying to move away from its far-right roots is faltering. According to a poll released Sunday by the Publicus […]
Last Saturday, January 21, millions marched worldwide to protest the inauguration of President Trump. On the same day Hungary’s Ambassador to Washington, Réka Szemerkényi, organized a party to celebrate the inauguration of the new president. The Salute to Freedom Inaugural Brunch was held at the newly purchased Hungarian Embassy building in Washington DC. Salute to Freedom? Hungary, one of the […]
In just four days, Momentum Movement and opposition parties that have been assisting them, have gathered 40,000 signatures out of a required 138,000 to hold a referendum this spring demanding the withdrawal of the Budapest 2024 candidacy to host the Summer Olympics, according to Népszava. Activists still have over three weeks to keep collecting signatures. In a separate interview, Anna […]
