‘Hungary is more democratic than France,’ says French party leader and former MP

Certain European opinion-leaders and media outlets, reacting to the news of the re-election April 8 of Viktor Orbán and the ruling parties, could barely conceal their disappointment, according to a former member of the French National Assembly. But in some respects, “Hungary is more democratic than France,” he writes, and Orbán’s victory should be celebrated.

French media outlets like CNews spoke of the “controversial” Viktor Orbán while the 24-hour news channel BFM reported on the victory of the “far right” in Hungary, writes Christian Vanneste. Huffington Post reported with grave concern that “The Results of the Elections in Hungary…

Frank Füredi: The demonization of Hungary is the real threat to democracy

Last week, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s Fidesz-KDNP alliance won Hungary’s 2018 general elections by a landslide, securing another two-thirds supermajority in Hungary’s National Assembly. The 70 percent voter turnout, an increase of nearly eight points over the previous elections, gives the government one of the strongest mandates in Hungary’s entire democratic history.

In an article published on Spiked Online, sociologist Frank Füredi says that the real threat to Hungarian democracy is not the Fidesz government but the absence of a serious and responsible political opposition. Without one, Füredi argues, no government can genuinely work effectively.

“If you only listened to Western…

PM Benjamin Netanyahu sends congratulations, invitation to PM Viktor Orbán

Following Fidesz’s victory in the April 8 parliamentary elections, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu congratulated PM Viktor Orbán on his re-election and extended an invitation to visit Israel.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu congratulated re-elected Hungarian leader Viktor Orbán for his sweeping victory that resulted in a two-thirds parliamentary majority. According to The Times of Israel, PM Netanyahu invited his Hungarian counterpart to visit Israel and thanked Prime Minister Orbán for “Hungary’s support for Israel in international forums.”

At the end of March, Hungary was one of four countries joining the Unites States voting in support of Israel and against UNHCR’s…

Hungarian elections: a near record high turnout delivers a third consecutive victory to Prime Minister Orbán

With nearly 99 percent of votes counted and voter turnout approaching 70 percent, the outcome of last Sunday’s general elections is clear. Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s ruling Fidesz-KDNP alliance secured a third consecutive term, an achievement unparalleled in Hungary’s democratic history. 

“Hungary is a country of brave people who today have made it clear – not only for ourselves, but for the whole of Europe – that things cannot continue like this,” said PM Orbán commenting on preliminary results in a television interview on Sunday night.

The voters “have stood up for Hungary’s sovereignty,” the prime minister said later at a…

PM Orbán addresses crowd of unprecedented numbers: “Our biggest battle is about to begin”

“One hundred and seventy years ago was the day when the Hungarian word for freedom, szabadság, entered the world’s lexicon” – said PM Orbán in his March 15th address before a crowd estimated in the hundreds of thousands to commemorate the 170th anniversary of Hungary’s 1848 Revolution and War of Independence.

“Over the last 30 years we have fought many great battles,” the prime minister said, “but our biggest battle is about to begin.” PM Orbán said, alluding to the fact that on 8 April Hungarians will go to the polls and cast a ballot that will decide Hungary’s fate…

We have much to be proud of

If today’s European politicians and decision-makers knew more about Hungarian history, they would be more cautious and prudent when talking about Hungarians, said István Pásztor, president of the Alliance of Vojvodina Hungarians, in Brussels earlier this month. If we compare Hungarians to the European nations to the west of us, we can walk a bit prouder, we have plenty to be proud of, he added.

Commemorating the 170^th anniversary of the Hungarian Revolution and War of Independence of 1848-1849, an event organized by the Hungarian delegation of the European People’s Party Group and the Hungarian Wave Public and Cultural Society,…

A look at what we accomplished in eight years of government

Over the last eight years since Viktor Orbán and the Fidesz-Christian Democrat alliance formed a government in the spring of 2010, Hungary has seen a dynamic period of change. Here are just a few examples, drawn from a list published recently in Magyar Idők of the accomplishments of these Orbán Governments:

Shortly after the Fidesz-KDNP victory in 2010, a catastrophe at the Ajka alumina plant flooded neighboring Hungarian villages with red toxic sludge. The new government cleaned up the spill, repaired the damage and renovated those houses that could be salvaged.

Inheriting an economy that was teetering on the edge…

Minority SafePack: More than 700,000 signatures and only 300,000 to go

More than 100 million people live in Europe as national minorities. Many of them enjoy the necessary, basic rights in the country where they reside. But not all. Many ethnic minorities, like the ethnic Hungarians living outside of Hungary in the Carpathian Basin, do not enjoy the same rights. And we can find many such examples across Europe. That’s exactly what the Minority SafePack European Citizens’ Initiative is all about.

Introduced with the Treaty of Lisbon in 2007, the European Citizens’ Initiative (ECI) offers the opportunity for the citizens of Europe to call directly on the European Commission to…

PM Orbán on the Visegrád Four: “Our goal is for Europe to be stronger”

“We – V4 countries – have become a group of countries with independent economic performance, the fastest developing region in Europe,” said Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, adding that “that does not diminish the strength of Europe but adds to it.”

The prime minister was speaking at a gathering of heads of government of the Visegrad Four that took place late last month in Budapest under the banner, “The Future of Europe.”

A few years ago, not many would have predicted that the Visegrad countries would become the driving force behind Europe’s economic growth. Today, the four countries share much in common,…

The Hungary debate is about sovereignty, not democracy, says human rights expert

European Parliament hearings on Hungary raise sharp questions about the undefined competencies between the Union and the Member States, according to the head of a leading Hungarian think tank.

The debate is not about democracy or the rule of law but rather about sovereignty, according to Miklós Szánthó, president of the Center for Fundamental Rights. Testifying before the LIBE Committee at a hearing in December, Szánthó said that the heated debate is taking place not only between Brussels and national governments or parliaments but also in the judicial realm, between national constitutional courts – such as the Czech, German and…