President Trump is advocating the use of a malaria drug called hydroxychloroquine to treat the coronavirus. Scientifically there is no conclusive evidence that the treatment is effective and there are reported cases when it has harmed patients. Yet the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has authorized emergency use of the medicine for severely ill coronavirus patients who are already in […]
Mr. Zsolt Németh, a politician in Hungary’s Fidesz party and leader of the Parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee has launched a bizarre attack against Republican Senator James Risch of Idaho. Senator Risch recently criticized the erosion of democratic institutions in Hungary: “I am very concerned by today’s news that Hungary will be indefinitely ruled by executive fiat. The Hungarian Parliament, controlled […]
As of Thursday, there were 585 confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus in Hungary and 21 deaths, so the Orbán government is preparing to have parliament pass legislation attacking the recognition of transgender people and their rights. Deputy Prime Minister Zsolt Semjén, the leader of the Christian Democratic People’s Party, a phantom party which survives at the pleasure of Prime […]
The Hungarian Parliament recently passed the Enabling Act to extend the Prime Minister’s power. Viktor Orbán is using the coronavirus crisis to grab nearly unlimited power for an indefinite period. The Enabling Act brings up painful memories in Germany. In 1933 the German Reichstag (Diet) passed a similar Enabling Act (Ermächtigungsgesetz) which enabled Hitler’s government to issue decrees independently of the […]
The party state’s two-thirds majority in parliament meant that with 138 voting for and just 53 against, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has secured the right to rule by decree for an unlimited period of time, and to unilaterally suspend existing laws, ostensibly in an effort to better address the COVID-19 pandemic in Hungary. On Monday, the number of Hungarians confirmed […]
We published a piece about Hungarian-language announcements in California that „Slovakia” was organizing a March 25 non-stop charter flight from Washington DC to Bratislava. Stranded Hungarian citizens could also buy one-way tickets for 1,100–2,500 EUR depending on travel class and “Slovakia” would also consider charter flights from Florida and California. (Read here) The announcement also appeared on the website of the […]
There are hundreds (possibly thousands) of stranded Hungarian citizens in the US, desperately trying to return to Budapest. US airlines has suspended most transatlantic service and there is little hope that flights will be restored soon. In the last couple of days Hungarian-language ads have appeared saying that „Slovakia” is organizing a non-stop charter flight on Wednesday, March 25 from […]
On March 7th Hungary cancelled celebrations of the March 15 National Holiday due to the Covid-19 coronavirus. Opposition parties, the Momentum Movement, Democratic Coalition, The Socialist Party, Párbeszéd and green party LMP – all agreed to cancel the events. They did this “in the interest of protecting the health of attendees”. Budapest Mayor Gergely Karácsony cancelled the event planned at […]
According to the Hungarian media currently there are 19 individuals infected with the coronavirus in Hungary. Nine of them are Iranians. (Read more here in Hungarian.) How did the Iranian coronavirus arrive to Hungary? The answer will lie in Hungary’s foreign policy and its blossoming friendship with the Islamic Republic of Iran. PM Orbán frequently talks in disparaging terms about […]
There are currently 12 cases of coronavirus in Hungary. As a containment measure, the Hungarian government has cancelled all public commemorative events planned for March 15th, a national holiday marking the 1848 Revolution and War of Independence. Additionally, on Wednesday, the Orbán government declared a state of emergency — an unprecedented move since Hungary’s transition to democracy in 1989/90. The […]
