Hungary

Mr Orban, a longtime ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin, has insisted that Hungary maintain its close economic ties with Moscow amid the war in ...

“The whole world has seen tonight in Budapest that Christian democratic politics, conservative civic politics and patriotic politics have won. In a speech to Fidesz party officials and supporters in Budapest, Mr Orban addressed a crowd cheering “Viktor!” and declared it was a “huge victory” for his party. He added that sanctioning Russian energy imports would cripple Hungary’s economy.

Mr Orban's Fidesz party had 53.1 percent of votes with 98 percent of the count complete, results show.

The opposition complained that Fidesz had isolated Hungary from the European mainstream, and from democracy. The National Election Office said Fidesz would have 135 seats, a two-thirds majority, and the opposition alliance would have 56 seats. Mr Orban’s Fidesz party had 53.1 percent of votes with 98 percent of the count complete, results show

Viktor Orban scored a fourth consecutive landslide win in Sunday's election and used his victory speech to criticise Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky ...

Prime Minister Viktor Orban's fourth-term victory threatens to erode democracy further in Hungary, but he needs to tread a careful path with Brussels to ...

Budapest (AFP) – Prime Minister Viktor Orban's fourth-term victory threatens to erode democracy further in Hungary, but he needs to tread a careful path with Brussels to secure much-needed EU funds, analysts said Monday. His ruling Fidesz party extended its parliamentary majority by two seats in Sunday's general election with turnout at near record levels, trouncing a united opposition in an election overshadowed by Russia's war in neighbouring Ukraine. As a result, Fidesz and its Christian democratic partner KDNP retains its two-thirds majority in parliament with 135 seats -- two more than in the outgoing legislature. Viktor Orban's Fidesz party extended its parliamentary majority by two seats with turnout at near record levels Budapest (AFP) – Prime Minister Viktor Orban's fourth-term victory threatens to erode democracy further in Hungary, but he needs to tread a careful path with Brussels to secure much-needed EU funds, analysts said Monday. Viktor Orban's Fidesz party extended its parliamentary majority by two seats with turnout at near record levels

After weeks of failing to divide Europe over his war in Ukraine, Vladimir Putin enjoyed two diplomatic victories this weekend. Populists in Hungary and ...

However, Poland is arguably the biggest anti-Russia hawk in the EU and it's so far unclear how this will affect the Poland-Hungary axis once the war is over.And since the start of the war, EU officials have quietly been talking about offering Poland carrots to pull closer to the rest of the bloc, rather than treating Poland and Hungary as two delinquents.Serbia's Aleksandar Vucic, pictured after his victory on Sunday, has been placed in a difficult position by Russia's invasion of Ukraine. The situation is very different in Serbia in that it isn't a member of the EU or NATO. It is currently going through the process of joining the EU, with negotiations expected to end in the next couple of years. He might provide Putin with some propaganda wins and he might put the brakes on wider EU plans in the future. Hungary is a member of both the European Union and NATO, meaning Putin can claim to have a friend with seats at the top table of two of his most-hated institutions.On Sunday night, during his victory speech, Orban goaded not only the EU but Ukraine."We have such a victory it can be seen from the moon, but it's sure that it can be seen from Brussels," he said, adding that Fidesz "will remember this victory until the end of our lives because we had to fight against a huge amount of opponents." But few believe it will amount to much more than a symbolic victory and do little to affect the EU's resolve on Ukraine.The reality is, Orban was expected to win and the EU has been working around his leadership for years. Included in that list of opponents were Brussels bureaucrats, international media and, pointedly, Ukrainian President, Volodymyr Zelensky.Viktor Orban, Hungary's authoritarian leader and key Putin ally, calls Zelensky an 'opponent' after winning reelectionZelensky has directly criticized Orban for failing to support Ukraine as enthusiastically as many of his European counterparts have over the past weeks.Putin was quick to congratulate Orban on his win. In both Hungary and Serbia, openly pro-Russian parties comfortably won legislative elections, providing Putin with a welcome reminder that despite the international community's firm and largely united response to the invasion, he does have some friends to his west.The most significant victory came in the form of Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban and his nationalist Fidesz party winning a landslide.

Emboldened by a fourth consecutive landslide election victory, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban is expected to dig in against energy sanctions on ...

"I did not hope for such a big victory but I was sure that the present government party would win," said Veronika Nagy, a language teacher. "Without wanting to sound overly dramatic, it’s a tragedy. "We are not happy. With inflation running at an almost 15-year high of 8.3% in February, Orban will have a tough task in unwinding some of his measures that had helped tame price growth in the run-up to the vote. Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban addresses supporters after the announcement of the partial results of parliamentary election in Budapest, Hungary, April 3, 2022. Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban addresses supporters after the announcement of the partial results of parliamentary election in Budapest, Hungary, April 3, 2022.

The Hungarian government has allocated a HUF 200 billion or €542 million fund to the development of 20 state-owned and private universities as the first ...

Additionally, the number of international students in the country has been on an upward trend since 2009, starting with 14,300 foreign students, recording a year-on-year increase of 131.4 per cent since then. “The aim has been to provide universities with a structure that allows them greater flexibility and autonomy so they can be competitive both at home and abroad. The Hungarian government has allocated a HUF 200 billion or €542 million fund to the development of 20 state-owned and private universities as the first phase of a €731 million scheme, the authorities reveal.

Ruling Fidesz beats unified opposition, setting up potential clashes with Europe over Putin and rule of law.

As Hungary's nationalist Prime Minister Viktor Orban prepares to continue his autocratic governance of Hungary for another four years, he faces a shattered ...

Along with the parliamentary election, a referendum on LGBTQ issues was held on Sunday with questions pertaining to sex education programs in schools and the availability to children of information about sex reassignment. That this election was democratic and free is, of course, something we continue to dispute.” Of the 44% of voters who cast valid votes, more than 92% voted with the government’s position “Hungary seems to have reached a point of no return,” she said. “The whole world has seen tonight in Budapest that Christian democratic politics, conservative civic politics and patriotic politics have won. But while Orban's party won 53% of the vote in Hungary, convincing Europe to get on board won't be so easy.

The pro-Putin nationalist managed to turn the war in Ukraine to his advantage in a win that deepens the EU's troubles, says Guardian columnist Timothy ...

Faced with the latest evidence of the barbaric behaviour of Russian troops in Ukraine, Europe needs to step up its sanctions against Putin. When Orbán returned from back-to-back summits of Nato and the EU in Brussels last month, his government sent an email to all Hungarians who had signed up for a Covid vaccine saying that “proposals were put on the agenda against which Hungary’s interests had to be protected”. His government would never allow weapons supplies to go through Hungary to Ukraine, nor sanctions to be imposed on the 85% of Hungary’s gas and 64% of its oil that comes from Russia. In response to the Bucha atrocities, EU leaders such as French president Emmanuel Macron are now calling for more sanctions, including on Russian oil. Self-styled “realists” may argue that Brussels has to stay soft on Hungary in order to keep Orbán on board for a common front over Ukraine. Hungary’s political system is now closer to that of non-EU Serbia, which this weekend saw a simultaneous victory for another nationalist electoral authoritarian, President Aleksandar Vučić, than it is to that of a democracy such as France or Portugal. Orbán and Vučić are close allies. “Russians go home!” some youngsters chanted at the very end of that disconsolate opposition wake in Budapest, recalling a slogan from the time of the Soviet invasion of Hungary in 1956. Walking back at midnight across a deserted Heroes Square, I recalled how in that very place in June 1989 I had heard a young, seemingly idealistic Orbán himself call for the withdrawal of Soviet troops from Hungary. Yet now the ageing cynic is flatly refusing to let western arms supplies pass through Hungary in order to help the Ukrainian army send the Russians home. They included the international media, Brussels bureaucrats and the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, who has criticised him fiercely for his opposition to the weapon supplies and further sanctions that Ukraine desperately needs.

Hungary's authoritarian leader and longtime Russian ally, Viktor Orban, has declared victory in the country's parliamentary elections, clinching a fourth ...

As Hungary's strongman prime minister Viktor Orbán secured a fourth term, his referendum deciding the fate of LGBT rights sunk.

However, the poll failed to attract enough voters to make it legally binding. He proposed the referendum in July as a way to ease criticism of the country’s ban on the discussion of LGBT+ people in schools and the press. Hungarian prime minister Viktor Orbán and members of the Fidesz party celebrate their re-election.

The nationalist conservative Fidesz party romped to victory at Hungary's parliamentary elections on April 3, securing a fourth consecutive term in office ...

Poland, he adds, is not set to suffer the same fate. This has many opposition voices inside and outside Hungary complaining that the vote was not free and fair. That this election was democratic and free is, of course, something we continue to dispute.” However, a referendum that was run alongside the vote asking for approval of controversial legislation aimed at LGBTQ rights failed to pass the participation threshold. The six-party United for Hungary alliance flopped badly, winning just 56 seats. However, pundits on both sides of the fence agree that the Hungarian leader will have to adjust his government’s outlook to take account of the new realities that the war has brought. That has sparked worry that further capture of Hungary’s state institutions and conflict with the EU is on the cards. The opposition and many in Brussels accuse Fidesz of having established a network of corruption designed to steal the billions in funds that Hungary receives from the EU. Budapest has also waged a bitter campaign against the “globalist elite” and the European Union, which the prime minister insists is trying to usurp Hungarian sovereignty and European Christian culture. The Hungarian strongman will have to adjust his nationalist conservative government’s outlook, pundits on both sides of the fence say. The Hungarian strongman will have to adjust his nationalist conservative government’s outlook, pundits on both sides of the fence say. “We won a victory so big that you can see it from the moon, and you can certainly see it from Brussels,” Orban said in a bullish victory speech.

Viktor Orban's landslide victory in Hungary's parliamentary election on Sunday dashed many hopes. Notwithstanding an electoral system strongly biased in his ...

Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orban easily sailed to victory against a coalition of political opponents from the left and right, while Serbian President ...

Zemmour, who has been convicted of using hate speech at least three times, has previously expressed support for Russia, though he condemned its invasion of Ukraine. In Serbia, Vucic has boasted about his personal ties to Putin, the Associated Press reported. In his 12 years in power, Orban has often clashed with the EU over what critics have called his increasingly undemocratic tendencies, such as gaining influence over a majority of Hungary's legacy media and cracking down on the country's LGBTQ population.

Is Hungary pro-Russia? Country's position on the EU, NATO and Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine explained. Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has just ...

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has just been re-elected for a fourth consecutive term in office Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has just been re-elected for a fourth consecutive term in office

Prime Minister Viktor Orban celebrated his farcical victory Sunday, in which his opponent was hamstrung by gerrymandering and all but excluded from state-run ...

Under Mr. Orban, it has gained notoriety for spying on and harassing journalists who have the temerity to do real reporting on government malfeasance; forcing once-independent media outlets and universities to become part of the government’s propaganda apparatus; and twisting voting rules to tilt elections in favor of the governing Fidesz party. It’s also that Mr. Orban’s contempt for the niceties of pluralism, tolerance and democracy, as well as his indulgence of a blood-spattered dictator in Moscow, runs the risk of savaging Hungary’s economy. It’s not only that Hungary has become a semi-pariah state within the European Union or that liberal democracies — the ones whose values Mr. Orban disdains — will tut-tut at his penchant for using immigrants and LGBTQ people as political punching bags. By continuing to antagonize Europe and subvert European principles, Mr. Orban jeopardizes that cash flow. His position has infuriated not only Western European governments but also Poland’s populist leadership, which until recently was closely allied with Mr. Orban, as well as neighboring Central European countries such as Slovakia and the Czech Republic. Europe, specifically the European Union, has been grappling with the problem of Mr. Orban for years; his victory will give him a fourth consecutive term, and a fifth overall.

BUDAPEST – Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has just won a fourth term. In a democracy, such a victory would reflect the decision of the voters to whom the ...

Please note that the link will expire twenty-four hours after the email is sent. But that is a theory better left untested. Hungary's authoritarian, Russia-aligned prime minister, Viktor Orbán, has now secured a fourth consecutive term and parliamentary supermajority in an election that was neither free nor fair.

The Jewish community of 100000 or so has been divided on the prime minister largely across religious-political lines, even though they agree that ...

Social-media sites were awash with pictures of Orbán and Putin’s handshake in 2017 and “pro-Putin” epithets. And also, they want to have heating in their houses, which would not be possible without energy from Russia.” Hungary’s election has some parallels to Israel’s political constellation, particularly between the reigns of Orbán and Benjamin Netanyahu. Both Orbán and Netanyahu were been long-serving prime ministers with a recess in-between their first two tenures. I see that Hungarian politics in government have shifted to be very favorable towards Israel.” Organizations affiliated with the Chabad-Lubavitch movement generally taking a friendlier stance towards the self-professed pro-Israel, pro-Jewish leader, while Jewish liberals, unofficially represented by the Federation of Hungarian Jewish Communities, generally side with his would-be ousters. Overshadowed by the war in bordering Ukraine, the elections served as a referendum for Orbán’s national-conservative approach.