Tag Archives: Viktor Orban

Mediaite reports: Former President Donald Trump continued to heap praise on Viktor Orbán on social media Saturday after he and Melania hosted a lavish party celebrating the Hungarian autocrat. Orbán changed the country’s constitution multiple times, and “has faced international criticism over democratic standards, media freedom and minority rights,” Reuters reported. Trump has a well-known fondness for dictators, having lauded …

The Associated Press reports: Viktor Orbán is taking his blueprint on dismantling democracy to Mar-a-Lago. The Hungarian prime minister first won power through a democratic election, then proceeded to weaken the institutions of that democracy by eroding the legal system, firing civil servants, politicizing business, attacking the press and intimidating opposition parties and demagoguing migration. Former President Donald Trump has …

Bloomberg News reports: Donald Trump plans to host Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida next week, a move that’s likely to fuel anxiety among US allies about the prospect of the former president returning to power. The Hungarian Embassy in Washington and the US State Department didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment on Wednesday …

The Guardian reports: Hungary’s parliament has approved Sweden’s Nato membership nearly two years after the historically neutral country applied to join the western military alliance, bringing to an end months of limbo and diplomatic wrangling. The vote, which took place in Budapest on Monday, followed Friday’s meeting between the Swedish prime minister, Ulf Kristersson, and his Hungarian counterpart, Viktor Orbán, …

“We can’t interfere in the elections of other countries, but we really want President Donald Trump to return to the White House and make peace here in Eastern Europe. It is time for another Make America Great Again presidency in America.” – Hungarian strongman Viktor Orban in a speech posted to Twitter with the tagline, “the name of peace is …

Bloomberg News reports: Hungary’s ruling party is set to ratify Sweden’s NATO accession Monday, ending more than a year of wrangling and allowing a major boost to the alliance’s defense capabilities. Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s Fidesz party scheduled a vote at the start of the parliament’s spring session in Budapest next week. Fidesz, which commands a supermajority in the chamber, …

Reuters reports: Tens of thousands of Hungarians protested in Budapest on Friday at the biggest rally against Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s government for years, after a sex-abuse case pardon by President Katalin Novak caused public uproar and led to her resignation. Conservative Orban, who has been in power since 2010, has sought to defuse the week-old scandal that brought down …

Reuters reports: Hungary’s new law on “protecting national sovereignty”, which the ruling Fidesz party said was necessary to protect against foreign political interference, violates European Union law, the European Commission said on Wednesday. The Commission said it had sent Hungary a formal notice that it would open an infringement procedure over the law, passed in December, which it said violated …

The Associated Press reports: A bipartisan group of U.S. lawmakers are urging Hungary to immediately ratify Sweden’s application to join NATO, saying patience with the Central European country is “wearing thin” as it continues to delay its approval for the Nordic nation. Hungary is the only country in the 31-nation military alliance that hasn’t yet backed Sweden’s membership bid, and …

The Associated Press reports: The leaders of the 27 European Union countries sealed a deal Thursday to provide Ukraine with a new 50-billion-euro ($54 billion) support package for its war-ravaged economy despite weeks of threats from Hungary to veto the move. That Hungary lifted its veto, and so quickly, came as a surprise. On the eve of the summit, Hungarian …

Politico Europe reports: There’s a Hungarian saying for when things are not going well: “It is under the frog’s ass.” And things sure won’t go well for Hungary if it attempts to thwart European leaders when they meet next week to approve a vital €50 billion lifeline to Ukraine as it enters a third year of war with Russia. After …

Politico Europe reports: Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán said Thursday the European Commission is blackmailing Hungary by withholding billions in frozen funds over rule-of-law concerns. Orbán said the blackmail is “a fact,” even admitted by the blackmailers themselves — members of the European Parliament. “In our view, Hungary fulfills all the qualities of the rule of law, and when the …

The New York Times reports: Hungary on Friday blocked the European Union from approving a financial aid package for Ukraine, though E.U. leaders agreed to officially open accession negotiations for Ukraine to join the bloc, an important breakthrough for Kyiv as it tries to bolster support from its allies. Charles Michel, the president of the European Council, said that all …

Reuters reports: Hungary’s ruling party unveiled billboards vilifying European Commission President Ursula Von der Leyen on Monday, the first time it has made her a personal target in a campaign similar to one against her predecessor that angered Brussels. The billboards, erected overnight to launch a campaign for next June’s European parliamentary election, depict Von der Leyen alongside Alex Soros, …

The Associated Press reports: Hungary’s cultural minister on Monday fired the director of the Hungarian National Museum in Budapest, accusing him of failing to comply with a contentious law that bans the display of LGBTQ+ content to minors. The dismissal of Laszlo L. Simon, who became director of the museum for a five-year term in 2021, came after Hungary’s government …

The Associated Press reports: People younger than 18 have been barred from visiting this year’s World Press Photo exhibition in Budapest, after Hungary’s right-wing populist government determined that some of its photos violate a contentious law restricting LGBTQ content. The prestigious global photo exhibition, on display in Hungary’s National Museum in Budapest, receives more than 4 million visitors from around …

Politico Europe reports: The United States on Tuesday sharply limited Hungary’s participation in its visa waiver program over security concerns regarding new passports issued between 2011 and 2020. After coming to power in 2010, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s government implemented a major policy change that granted citizenship to ethnic Hungarians abroad — including in Romania, Slovakia and Ukraine. Domestic …

Reuters reports: Hungary’s Prime Minister Viktor Orban on Saturday renewed an attack on the European Union for conducting what he called an “LGBTQ offensive”, saying his nationalist government would protect the country’s Christian roots. In a speech in Romania, Orban – a long-standing critic of Brussels – also said he hoped next year’s European parliament elections would strengthen governments within …

ABC News reports: A government office in Hungary on Thursday levied a hefty fine against a national bookseller over a LGBTQ+ graphic novel, saying it violated a contentious law that prohibits the depiction of homosexuality to minors. The bookseller, Lira Konyv, is Hungary’s second-largest bookstore chain. It was fined 12 million forints ($35,930) for placing the popular “Heartstopper” by British …

Bloomberg News reports: Hungary’s president rejected a bill that would enable citizens to report anonymously same-sex families to authorities, a rare rebuke from an otherwise loyal ally of Prime Minister Viktor Orban. The draft law approved by parliament earlier this month would allow people to report those who contest the “constitutionally recognized role of marriage and the family” and those …