Clik here to view.
Orbán tries to exude confidence, but his fear is palpable
The Associated Press first reported on Viktor Orbán’s “state of the nation” speech this afternoon. In the article, which reached newspapers all over the world, the emphasis was on the Orbán...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Wagging fingers at Orbán leads nowhere. The anti-EU campaign continues
I suspect that most Hungarians were glued to their television sets today, watching the Croatian-Hungarian football game, which was most unexpectedly won by the Hungarians in a show of “astonishing...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Mária Schmidt: Frontal attack on Germans and Germany
A few days ago I reported, in passing, on a speech by Mária Schmidt, director of the House of Terror and one of the most loyal supporters and defenders of Viktor Orbán. In that speech, she unabashedly...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Viktor Orbán has declared war on the European Union
Yesterday Népszava’s correspondent in Brussels, Katalin Halmai, was present at an informal meeting between a small group of journalists and Manfred Weber, where the Spitzenkandidat told them point...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Mátyás Eörsi: The future of European democracy
What follows is a transcription of a speech Mátyás Eörsi delivered at a conference organized by the European Commission on its relationship with civic organizations. He was representing EFTA (European...
View ArticleClik here to view.
European Union: The cash cow and the curse of migrants
At the beginning of March, Medián made public its most recent findings on Hungarians’ support for their country’s membership in the European Union. On the surface, the results are impressive. Ever...
View ArticleClik here to view.
All politics is local and thus often distorted: The EP election
I think it’s time to take a look at the European parliamentary election, stepping outside the misleading context of the Hungarian campaign, which has been hijacked by Fidesz’s false portrait of the...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Gábor Bojár: My Europe
What follows is the English translation of a recent article by Gábor Bojár titled “Az én Európám,” which appeared in the April 18 issue of Élet és Irodalom. Gábor Bojár is a successful businessman and...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Hope for the future, in both Hungary and the European Union
I’m in an optimistic mood today, and therefore I chose two topics that offer hope for a more equitable political arrangement at home and a more closely integrated European Union. The first topic is a...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Another flip flop: Orbán now stands behind Manfred Weber
On the homepage of today’s Magyar Nemzet the editors gathered all the important headlines concerning the four-person package for the top EU posts that the prime ministers are supposed to grapple with...
View ArticleClik here to view.
After three long days, the horsetrading is over
Well, it is almost over. Apparently, the vote was unanimous, with Chancellor Angela Merkel abstaining. Here is the list of nominees: Ursula von der Leyen, German minister of defense, for president of...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Disinformation withdrawn: It wasn’t the V4 that proposed the new EU leader
Today I will write about the Hungarian perception of the outcome of the hard bargaining that took place in the conference room of the Justus Lipsius building in Brussels. My chief reason for doing so...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Hungary’s macho prime minister has nominated a woman to become minister of...
László Trócsányi, minister of justice between June 6, 2014 and June 30, 2019, has moved on to become a member of the European Parliament. If confirmed, he might be the Hungarian representative on the...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Mysterious Hungarian plans for U.S.-Hungarian cooperation in Europe
Yesterday I went through the document titled “Allegations of H. RES. 400,” written as an answer to the bipartisan resolution proposed by four members of Congress “supporting efforts to strengthen...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Orbán sets conditions for a rapprochement with Brussels: Keep your nose out...
Fidesz today held its 28th congress, which again reelected Viktor Orbán as the chairman of the party. His reelection wasn’t exactly a surprise. Of the 26 years between 1993 and 2019, 23 times the...
View ArticleClik here to view.
While the EU condemns Turkish aggression, Orbán visits the Turkish-led Turkic...
Almost a week ago, I reported on the Orbán government’s success in blocking an EU warning to Turkey about the dangers of a military attack on Syria. At that time, Péter Szijjártó justified the veto on...
View ArticleClik here to view.
The Orbán government is under fire in the European Parliament
Yesterday we heard the welcome news that four European Parliament political groups — the European People’s Party, Renew Europe (formerly the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats), the Alliance of...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Civico Europa: By surrendering to autocracy in the fight against COVID-19,...
Civico Europa is a transnational association that aims to give a new impulse to the European project and, specifically, to democracy and citizenship in a radically changing world. Civico, at the...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Under the threat of Orbán’s veto: Ahead of the European Summit
To the surprise of the Hungarian media and public, Origo reported on July 14 that António Costa, Portugal’s socialist prime minister since 2015, had paid a short visit to Budapest. Viktor Orbán’s...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Viktor Orbán’s answer to George Soros did not meet Project Syndicate’s standards
Today’s most talked about news in Hungary is Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s answer to George Soros’s November 18 article that appeared in Project Syndicate. I indicated earlier that Soros’s forthright...
View Article