Bálint Magyar gave a presentation at the University of California at Berkeley entitled: Parallel System Narratives: Polish and Hungarian Regime Formations Compared. The event took place in one of the older buildings at the Wildavsky Conference Room; the place was packed, standing room only. Mr. Magyar is a sociologist and a former Hungarian Minister of Education. (See invitation here.) In […]
Despite three days of government-propagated hysteria and accusations surrounding the visit of nine inspectors from the European Parliament to examine how EU funds have been spent in Hungary, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán can rest easy. The inspectors confirmed that from the perspective of how EU funds were spent on a vintage train, a project that has been the target of […]
Documents uncovered this week suggest that the Orbán government’s motivation for handing back to Azerbaijan Ramil Safarov, the Azeri axe murder convicted of killing an Armenian army lieutenant in Hungary, may have been financial gain. In 2012, Hungary earned global scorn for transferring the murderer to a country where he was welcomed as a hero. Here in Ottawa, Canada, the […]
A proposed referendum aimed at making it easier to prosecute politicians guilty of corruption managed to pass the muster of Hungary’s National Election Commission, even though the group’s Fidesz delegate fiercely opposed the anti-corruption initiative. Yet just when it seemed that Hungarian voters would have a chance to vote on the proposal to increase the time limit to prosecute corrupt […]
I visit Budapest every year and enjoy my stay there although the Hungarian way of doing business bothers me. Here’s a story about the US Swim Team that illustrates how business is done in Budapest. (Read details here in Hungarian.) Small corruption was always part of life in Hungary. In the old days when I bought produce at the market, I knew when […]
One of the hallmarks of the Orbán regime is the systemic and blatant nature of corruption involving key Fidesz political leaders, their oligarchs and the party’s media empire. In this context, one can only imagine how frustrating and infuriating it must be for someone like Zsolt Császy, the victim of a show trial, to have to serve a prison sentence […]
Ripost.hu is one of Hungary’s bottom of the barrel political tabloids: an online publication that specializes in seedy, politically motivated character assassinations against opponents of Hungary’s ruling Fidesz party. Ripost is the publication that took a photograph completely out of context, in order to insinuate that Jobbik leader Gábor is a homosexual and participates in gay orgies. Earlier this spring, […]
Fidesz politician Lőrinc Mészáros, a plumber by trade and the mayor of Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s tiny home town of Felcsút, has acquired a 49% share in Hungary’s MKB Bank–the fourth largest commercial financial institution in the country. Mr. Mészáros’ company, the Konzum Befektetési Alapkezelő, bought 45% of the bank’s shares and approval is imminent to acquire an additional 4%. […]
Fidesz Vice President Szilárd Németh is a fortunate man. According to János Hudák, a municipal politician associated with the Párbeszéd party, Mr. Németh’s private foundation, registered at his home address, will receive 2 billion forints in state subsidies to build a new sports complex, which will become home to the Hungarian Wrestling Academy. Curiously, but in keeping with how things […]
In the past 10 days, Hungary’s former Socialist Prime Minister Ferenc Gyurcsány made two very significant and interconnected accusations against Prime Minister Viktor Orbán and the ruling Fidesz party. First, he claimed to have seen documents years ago that suggest Mr. Orbán’s cozy relationship with Moscow boils down to blackmail. More specifically, Mr. Gyurcsány charges that Prime Minister Orbán is […]
