Mate Hajba

Director of the Free Market Foundation, which advocates economic freedom, civil rights and tolerance. He is also the Vice President of Civic Platform, which runs anti-racist campaigns and promotes democratic values. He is interested in the relationship between the state and the individual and in the concept and history of liberty. He writes for international press on issues such as intolerance in Hungary and international relations. To promote the concept of individualism, liberty, tolerance and free market, he co-founded a youth organization named Eötvös Club.

Think Tank News

Poems of Liberty

BY Mate Hajba AND Free Market Foundation / November 23, 2022

Europe. It is an area. It is an idea. It is a culture. It is a collection of diverse people and countries. It is a work in progress. It is ever-changing, ever-twisting, shaped by its people. Europe is a complex idea. The latest edition of Poems of Liberty, a publication by The Friedrich Naumann Foundation, European Dialogue and the Free Market Foundation aims to encapsulate it through poems.

Review #17

REVIEW #17: Deal or No Deal: Possible Hurdles for European Green Deal

BY Mate Hajba AND 4liberty.eu / October 24, 2022

The European Green Deal is a dramatic challenge for an unhealthy European economy. Let us hope we will remember the EU and the Green Deal as a torchbearer in many fields – such as sustainability,

Society

Bad Leaders, Worse Opposition

BY Mate Hajba AND Free Market Foundation / August 31, 2022

Bad leaders beget even worse successors. That is why it is important to safeguard democratic values from bad leaders in the first place.

Economy

Public Versus Private: No Choice

BY Mate Hajba AND Free Market Foundation / August 31, 2022

There are private solutions, for healthcare, schools, and transport. They are popular or at least coveted. Yet, there is a catch. The state always lurks beneath the surface. Many taxi companies are owned by cronies and have a huge lobbying power. There is a fixed rate and no competition in Budapest.

Politics

New State of Danger in Hungary

BY Mate Hajba, Free Market Foundation AND Liberal Voices Syndicated / June 3, 2022

As far as power goes, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán cannot complain. His party, Fidesz recently won its 4th consecutive elections, with a supermajority no less.

Society

Five Recommendations for Liberals

BY Mate Hajba AND Free Market Foundation / May 11, 2022

The war in Ukraine disrupted the illusory peace in Europe. Illusory, because Russia has always been a looming threat to the integrity of the continent, albeit in a less tangible way than a full-on war.

Think Tank News

War and Peace in Europe

BY Mate Hajba AND Free Market Foundation / May 10, 2022

War is once again ravaging Europe, again in Ukraine, again instigated by Putin. The war in Ukraine has been leading news in the media, and rightly so. Never must we forget the horrors of the ongoing war, or in fact any war.

Politics

Orbán’s Victory Raises Concerns about State of Rule of Law in Hungary

BY Mate Hajba, Free Market Foundation AND Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Freedom / April 8, 2022

Though Fidesz supported sanctions against Russia, the government is not allowing the transfer of lethal weapons through Hungarian territory to Ukraine. The narrative that Fidesz supports peace while the opposition supports war was completely false, nevertheless it worked.

Publications, Think Tank News

Poems of Liberty and Human Rights

BY Mate Hajba AND Free Market Foundation / February 1, 2022

Poems. Not the coolest word to start an article with. Too often does the word conjure up images of harrowing moments in school when we had to anxiously recite some poetry not understanding why the tacky lines matter at all. Yet, trust me, they do.

Society

Propaganda Before Hungarian Elections

BY Mate Hajba AND Free Market Foundation / February 1, 2022

Reading news in Hungary is an arduous task. If you speak the language and open your browser to learn about current affairs, you’d be hit by a dystopian reality. Only a handful of independent online outlets exist, and the situation is worse in the print media or in places outside of the capital, Budapest.