Katalin Novák, the rising star of Fidesz and standard-bearer of the politically all-important family program of the Orbán government, just returned from the World Congress of Families (WCF) held in Verona, which CNN described as “an international alliance of far-right politicians, conservative activists and religious leaders … united in hate.” This is not the first time that Hungary has participated in the organization’s activities. To the best of my knowledge, it was in 2014 that the Orbán government first sent a representative to the WCF’s Moscow congress. WCF is an … Read the rest
In focus: the Hungarian Catholic Church and pedophilia
Péter Urfi of 444 just published an article titled “Pedophile priests in Hungary: The first steps,” which should make quite a splash in a country where articles about inappropriate sexual advances toward children and young teenagers by Catholic priests rarely appear. While hundreds and thousands of such sexual abuse cases have been reported worldwide, the Hungarian Catholic Church until very recently tried to convince people that Hungary was a shining exception to the rule. András Veres, bishop of Győr and president of the Conference of Hungarian Bishops, minimized the seriousness … Read the rest
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 praised Miklós Horthy, governor of the Kingdom of Hungary between the two world wars. In Schmidt’s view, he “restored the self-esteem of the nation, and three counts—István Betlen, Pál Teleki, and Kuno Klebelsberg—helped save the country and preserve the nation.” Until this speech no responsible Fidesz politician dared, at least not that openly, … Read the rest
The Hungarian media quickly decided on the guilt of an alleged terrorist
Last December officials at the Ferenc Liszt International Airport challenged a Syrian couple because the woman’s documents looked suspicious. The man turned out to be Farhoud Hassan, who had left Syria in February 2016 and had been granted asylum in Greece. The two were en route to Paris. Hassan had valid papers, but the woman’s documents were found to be forged. It seems, from the information we have so far about the case, that Hassan supplemented the monthly $500 he received from the United Nations’ assistance program by smuggling fellow … Read the rest
Orbán’s African venture suffers an unexpected setback
On March 26 Magyar Hírlap reported that, just as Péter Szijjártó had indicated earlier, Viktor Orbán would be flying to Luanda, the capital of Angola, that day. The trip had been prepared by the Hungarian foreign minister during his earlier trip to Angola, where he met Georges Rebelo Chicoti, Angola’s foreign minister. Until last year Hungary didn’t even have diplomatic representation in Luanda. The last official visit by a high-ranking Hungarian politician occurred 34 years ago when Pál Losonczi, the chairman of the Hungarian Presidential Council, visited the country in … Read the rest
Journalism à la Fidesz: The case of Pesti Srácok
HVG hit the jackpot when it received prosecutorial documents related to the Csaba Czeglédy case, which has been dragging on for almost two years. The case follows an all too common pattern: charges are indirectly brought by Fidesz against opposition politicians in the hope of long jail sentences for corruption and embezzlement. Most of these efforts, after years of litigation, end in acquittals, but in the interim these poor people’s lives are utterly ruined. Czeglédy is a case in point.
He became a target because he was a successful MSZP … Read the rest
Remembering the Hungarian Soviet Republic
A two-day “scientific” historical conference on the Treaty of Trianon, organized by the Hungarian National Museum, just concluded. According to the director-general of the museum, the participating historians “cover[ed] not only the causes and consequences of Trianon from the viewpoint of political history, but they [paid] attention to all aspects of human existence of the era.”
The program that is available on the homepage of the National Museum sounds impressive, but since the conference was opened by Miklós Kásler, minister of human resources, the conference was most likely part and … Read the rest