Letters to Hungary
31 January 2012
Slowly but surely, people are beginning to question why the EU vilified Hungary in the way it did recently. Between the accusations of the Commission and the vitriol of some members of the European Parliament, the European public – if such a thing exists – were led to believe that democracy itself was under threat in Hungary. Large segments of Europe’s media were only too happy to sustain this belief.
17 January 2012
The EU has convinced itself that Hungary’s government is taking the country on an anti-democratic path. Ever since the furore over the Hungary’s new media law in January 2011, which conveniently for the government’s critics, blew up as Hungary was to assume the Presidency of the EU, Budapest politics have hardly been out of the news. The adoption of a new constitution has been badly received and associated laws – particularly in relation to the management of the Hungarian Central Bank – have also generated an avalanche of protest.
6 January 2012
I probably don’t need to tell you that the media – both domestic and foreign – are having a great time at your expense. I also don’t need to tell you that much of it is ill-informed, lacking in objectivity and imbalanced. The attacks on your Prime Minister are both spiteful and malicious.
6 January 2012
As an avid reader of the Financial Times (FT), I was staggered by the paper’s coverage of Hungarian affairs this week. In short, it seemed like a systematic assault on the policies of the Hungarian Government and a smear campaign against the Hungarian Prime Minister, Viktor Orbán.
4 January 2012
In recent days, a number of prominent UK media outlets, including The Financial Times, Guardian, Economist and the BBC have included articles on the current political situation in Hungary. In essence, the reporting has focused on the increased criticism of the Hungarian government from both inside and outside the country. In some respects, it was reminiscent of the media’s coverage of Hungarian affairs this time last year, particularly when Hungary assumed the Presidency of the EU. The big issue then was the introduction of a new media law – today, the cause is the public demonstrations against a myriad of complaints about either new policies or new laws.
30 December 2011
The continuing foreign media criticism of Viktor Orbán and his government shows no sign of abating. This week alone, the Hungarian government has been criticised for introducing legislation which ‘critics’ argue will reduce the independence of the Hungarian Central Bank. It has been accused of silencing a popular radio station. Its attempts to redefine election boundaries are described as a blatant attempt to hang on to power.
22 December 2011
The recent decision by a second credit rating agency to downgrade Hungary’s credit rating to junk has been hailed by the Hungarian Socialists and LMP as a vindication of their criticism of the Orban administration. In their view, the current Hungarian government is akin to a ‘fascist dictatorship’ which has snuffed out democracy in Hungary and the more that the international community can do to reverse Fidesz policy the better. Into this equation, the opposition lump the IMF negotiations and the frequent criticisms of the European Commission and Parliament.
28 October 2011
The decision of Ferenc Gyurcsány to leave the Hungarian Socialist Party, along with another nine Socialist MPs, has signalled the meltdown of the political Left in Hungary.
23 October 2011
Many commentators – both at home and abroad – mocked Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban when he declared his election victory of 2010 a ‘revolution’. Perhaps the commentators were too hasty in their judgement.
Look at the Hungarian political landscape of October 2011: the Socialists were destroyed at the polls and have now split and the old Liberals and Conservatives have been wiped from the political map. The Fidesz Party has an unheard of two-thirds ‘super-majority’.
6 October 2011
Pope Benedict’s recent speech in the German Parliament was another reminder to European politicians that secularism and the absence of God from the ‘public space’ carries with it a real risk of further damaging the fabric of an already damaged European society.