Post Tagged with: "MSZP"

Hungarian teachers protest the Orbán government's education policies in Budapest earlier this year. The banner reads: I would teach. The future of our children is at stake." Photo: Népszava

Shambolic public education in Hungary — PISA survey paints grim picture

The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) released the most recent Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) results, showing a dramatic decline in the scores of Hungarian teenagers and an especially grim picture of just how poorly children from socio-economically disadvantaged backgrounds fare at school. Every three years, PISA assesses the scholastic performance of 15 year old students in […]

by · December 6, 2016 · Focus
MSZP's party logo, with the slogan "we are building community."

Socialists propose opposition primaries–Will it energize Hungarian voters?

The Hungarian Socialist Party (MSZP) is taking a leaf from France’s political playbook and is suggesting a system of opposition primaries ahead of Hungary’s 2018 parliamentary elections, in order to ensure that the liberals and the left-centre field a single candidate in each of the 106 ridings and also nominate a joint candidate for prime minister. The recent primaries among […]

by · November 30, 2016 · Politics
Prime Minister Viktor Orbán meets British Prime Minister Theresa May at 10 Downing Street on November 9th, 2016. Photo: Viktor Orbán's Facebook page.

Hungary’s Viktor Orbán–the Teflon Man

Hungary’s ruling Fidesz party had, by any standards, a terrible last month or so, yet new polling figures suggest that the popularity of Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s government did not suffer at all. It was revealed that Ghaith Pharaon, a Saudi businessman wanted by the FBI and Interpol for wire fraud, racketeering and allegedly funding terrorists, conducted business with a company tied […]

by · November 23, 2016 · Politics
Gyula Molnár standing in front of the MSZP logo.

Hungarian Socialist Party president won’t rule out his party’s disappearance after 2018 elections

Complete dysfunction continues in the Hungarian left-centre opposition and the president of the Hungarian Socialist Party (Magyar Szocialista Párt–MSZP) appeared to exacerbate the situation with a defeatist, bewildering and unnecessary statement. Gyula Molnár was speaking to the conservative HírTV news network within the context of the shambolic negotiations between left-wing, democratic parties aimed at launching primary elections as a first […]

by · November 6, 2016 · Politics
Viktor Orbán observes a simulated terrorist attack in Budapest, and the subsequent counter-terror response.

Failed referendum boosts Fidesz popularity, as support for Jobbik tumbles

Communication must truly be everything and reality is perhaps little more than a fleeting and malleable perception. The first public opinion poll conducted after the anti-migrant referendum, which failed to reach the minimum turnout threshold to be considered valid, shows major gains for Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s ruling Fidesz party and a marked drop in support for Jobbik–a party that […]

by · October 20, 2016 · Politics
Turn-out in Budapest and in the 19 counties. Turn-out was below fifty percent in 18 out of 19 counties and also in Budapest. Illustration: National Election Office.

Hungarian referendum declared invalid — An embarrassing defeat for Viktor Orbán

Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s anti-migrant referendum proved to be the first major defeat suffered by Fidesz in a decade. Fidesz has won every election and referendum since fall 2006, including the 2006 municipal and regional elections, the 2008 referendum calling for the elimination of compulsory medical fees and university tuition, as well as the 2010 and the 2014 parliamentary and […]

by · October 2, 2016 · Politics
Anti-electoral fraud hotline.

Socialists shred election documents in protest ahead of Hungary’s referendum

Politicians and supporters of the Hungarian Socialist Party (MSZP) protested outside the National Election Office in Budapest on Saturday, less than 24 hours before the country’s national referendum on “migrant quotas,” which the left-centre opposition is boycotting. Gyula Molnár, MSZP’s party president, was joined by Gergely Karácsony, the popular district mayor of the small Dialogue for Hungary (Párbeszéd Magyarországért) leftist […]

by · October 1, 2016 · Politics
György Budaházy receives a standing ovation in the Budapest Capital Regional Court on Tuesday from Jobbik supporters, right before his sentencing. Photo: Balázs Mohai / MTI.

Hungarian extremist sentenced to 13 years in prison for terrorism

A far-right extremist, whose group sadistically assaulted and nearly killed a media personality, bombed gay clubs in Budapest and attacked the homes of Socialist and liberal politicians using Molotov cocktails, received a 13-year prison sentence on Tuesday in the Budapest Capital Regional Court. Between 2007 and 2009, György Budaházy led a group of far-right terrorists, called the “Arrows of Hungarians” […]

by · August 30, 2016 · Politics
Alexandra Dobolyi

Two more opposition politicians accept positions from Hungary’s Fidesz

A growing number of left-centre opposition politicians in Hungary are wrapping up their careers as advocates of parliamentary democracy and constitutionalism and are instead accepting positions from the government that they have long argued is an authoritarian, illiberal regime. The Orbán government has named Alexandra Dobolyi of the Hungarian Socialist Party (MSZP) Ambassador to Moldova. Minister of Foreign Affairs and […]

by · August 27, 2016 · Politics
János Zuschlag: From Party Headquarters to Prison.

A review of János Zuschlag’s book From Party Headquarters to Prison (Part 1)

János Zuschlag was only 21 years old when he became a Member of Parliament for the Hungarian Socialist Party (MSZP) in 1998 and the country’s youngest MP. Nine years later, he was charged with fraud and received an eight year prison sentence. He spent six years behind bars, before being released in 2013. In the middle of the 2014 national […]

by · August 18, 2016 · Focus