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Richard Field: Experts discuss causes and consequences of the refugee crisis
This summary of a round table discussion appeared in the October 1 issue of Budapest Beacon. The participants are Daniel Kelemen of Rutgers University and Rafaela Dancygier and Kim Lane Scheppele, both...
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Closing the Croatian-Hungarian border will not solve anything
It was telegraphed way before yesterday’s summit of the European Council that the key question would be how the European Union could entice Turkey not to allow the unlimited exodus of Pakistani,...
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Viktor Orbán’s “national security experts” on terrorism
A change of pace. It’s time to have a little fun with those “national security experts” who diligently support the Orbán government’s propaganda campaign, which portrays asylum seekers as current or...
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Hungary was not an observer at the mini-summit. Orbán signed on the dotted line
Well, the emergency mini-summit is over. It was convened to take the first practical steps toward regulating and slowing the migrant flow from Turkey to Greece and from there to Germany and beyond....
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Silence in Hungary since the mini-summit
The silence in the Hungarian media about the Leaders’ Meeting in Brussels has been deafening. After searching for well over an hour, I managed to find two op/eds and a couple of interviews with former...
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International conspiracy to change the face of Europe, according to Viktor Orbán
Yesterday Viktor Orbán held his regular Friday morning interview at Magyar Rádió, and later he delivered a speech at a gathering organized by the Association of Christian Intelligentsia, the...
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Commissioner Tibor Navracsics on the Orbán government and the European Union
After spending some time on foreign policy issues, I will return to domestic affairs by analyzing two Tibor Navracsics interviews given a day apart, to mandiner.hu and Magyar Nemzet. As you most likely...
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Transparency International: Systemic government corruption in Hungary
It’s time to recall what U.S. Ambassador Colleen Bell had to say about corruption in her much discussed speech: “Corruption stalls growth, stifles investment, denies people their dignity, and...
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European Union in crisis: David Cameron and Viktor Orbán
In the last few days we discussed at some length U.S.-Hungarian relations, which are not in the best of shape. We also briefly talked about the harebrained ideas of a Hungarian Catholic bishop on the...
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Viktor Orbán: Hungary is at war
Viktor Orbán is in his element. At last we are at war with ISIS. François Hollande said so, and a few hours later French planes bombed important targets in ISIS-held Raqqa in northern Syria. And since...
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Viktor Orbán encounters Jürgen Habermas
Viktor Orbán is on his way to China from where no appreciable news has yet reached Budapest. Nonetheless, the prime minister’s name is prominent on practically all online news sites today on account of...
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Full-court press against the Orbán government
Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó compared the European Union to an old gent with halting steps, but lately the old man has quickened his stride. At least as far as Brussels’ relation with Hungary is...
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Is the Hungarian economy in trouble?
Being no expert on economic matters, I have been hesitant to comment on the state of the Hungarian economy, but for a long time I have had the sneaking suspicion that, despite the self-congratulatory...
View ArticleA new year: roll back the clock
László Kövér, president of the Hungarian Parliament, has a unique ability. Even if he utters only a couple of sentences he manages to squeeze several outrageous comments into them. Can you imagine when...
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Viktor Orbán’s meeting with Jarosław Kaczyński
Yesterday afternoon vs.hu learned from several sources that Prime Minister Viktor Orbán will travel to Poland at the invitation of PiS, the country’s governing party. In terms of protocol it will be a...
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Viktor Orbán, the politician of European stature, fails as a negotiator
After mulling over the available reports on David Cameron’s short stopover in Budapest, I have come to the conclusion that Viktor Orbán, who is believed to be a maverick politician of mythical powers,...
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Polish-Hungarian friendship in action
The situation in Poland has become a serious concern not only for the politicians of the European Union but for the whole western world. The largest East European country among those that joined the...
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The latest business venture of Orbán’s son-in-law
István Tiborcz, Viktor Orbán’s son-in-law, pretty well disappeared from the spotlight once OLAF, the European Union’s anti-fraud office, started to investigate his firm, Elios Innovatív Zrt. The firm...
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Poland at a crossroads?
After spending three days on domestic affairs, today I will concentrate on the Polish-Hungarian-European Union triangle, with a quick look at Putin’s Russia. There is no question that Jarosław...
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Viktor Orbán on a diplomatic mission in Mongolia?
Hungarian opposition papers usually have a jolly time making fun of Viktor Orbán’s slim pickings when it comes to making fancy state visits to countries that, from the vantage point of Budapest, don’t...
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