Hungary

Political Capital’s analysis of the relationship between the European People’s Party (EPP) and Fidesz, Fidesz’s suspension, and its consequences in Hungary.

The Hungarian government is about to form a parallel judiciary system where politically sensitive cases could be moved.

After months of aggressive attacks by the Hungarian government, it's most likely that the three-decade history of the Academy as a free, autonomous public body will be brought to an abrupt end.

During the winter of 2018-19, a demonstration wave spread across Hungary in response to a labour law amendment. These events turned around many trends in Hungarian politics.

Journalism is in a serious crisis. Nevertheless, alternative left-wing media are still out there in Europe, providing quality news and analysis with financial backing not from oligarchs or big business but from their readers. An exchange between the makers of merce.hu (Hungary), republik.ch (Switzerland), oko.press (Poland), and taz.de (Germany).

The state cannot expect regular people to respect the decisions made in courtrooms if state agencies themselves ignore them.

The prime minister and his wife attended a show in Milan’s famous opera house, La Scala, on November 15. Coincidentally, one of the airplanes owned by the Hungarian military, which Orban had used several times before for official trips, flew to Milan on the same day.

Three influential businessmen close to Viktor Orbán have interests in almost every sector. Lőrinc Mészáros has almost doubled the number of his enterprises last year, the companies of Garancsi are soaring and Andy Vajna’s wealth grows exponentially.

The Hungarian government is financially supporting soccer wherever it can: new stadiums are being built across the country. Besides professional soccer, there is a huge amount of money spent on junior teams and training the new generations of soccer players as well.

The watchdog NGO Atlatszo revealed in September that Viktor Orban and the political and economic elite close to the government are using a €56-million luxury jet and a €21-million yacht. It decided to build an online tool where anyone can track the yacht and the jet in real time.

This week 476 media outlets became parts of the new Hungarian media holding controlled by pro-government forces. The name of the mammoth is Central European Press and Media Foundation. This infographic shows you what happened!

The Central European University (CEU) announced that it is forced to launch all degree programs in a new location in Vienna in September 2019. The Hungarian Government has made it impossible for the university to ensure its operations in Budapest on the long run.

The Hungarian Government has identified its new target:  Index.hu, the country’s biggest independent news website, is now under the indirect control of government-friendly investors. Their journalists, in the meantime, have promised that they won’t give up without a fight.

After first targeting refugees, the Hungarian Government has now turned its focus back to one of its old “enemies”. Just a few months before the upcoming municipal elections in spring 2019, homeless people have recently become a more intensely-targeted group than ever before.

On 12 September the European Parliament voted in favour of starting procedures against the Hungarian government for breaching European values. We asked Hungarian MEP Benedek Jávor how he evaluates the outcomes of the vote.

On the 12th of September the European Parliament voted on the so called Sargentini Report, condemning the anti-democratic turn of Hungary and initiating the procedure related to Article  7 (1) of the Treaty on the European Union. Huge attention has been drawn to the continuous democratic erosion in Hungary.

Viktor Orbán`s and his government`s decisions on family tax allowance and child benefits favour middle-class traditional families and portray their conservative view on family and gender. 

The Hungarian Government has voted to further deteriorate refugee people's rights and justify the imprisonment of NGO workers and attorneys who attempt to help them. ​

The name Visegrad in Western European terminology has become synonymous with a lack of solidarity and nationalist politics. In Hungary, however, it also has implications for the future of democracy in Western Europe. How can the EU recover its appeal?

A crucially necessary reform of the healthcare system has been awaiting Hungary since the transition from the communist era. The Orbán Government would have had a historical chance - but healthcare just keeps drifting along.