In recent months, the University of Theater and Film Arts in Budapest (SZFE) became the new target of the Hungarian government’s culture war. The experiences of the institution’s response may change the nature of future demonstrations.
Viktor Orbán’s national conservative Fidesz party is famous for its method of relentlessly searching the ideal topic for their next populist campaign. They need topics that allow them to dominate public life in the long term, and can be used to generate intense anger.
Hungary is loth to leave its past behind, with radicals reemerging annually to celebrate the historic bloodshed of WW2. Athough the news was awash with the marching boots of neo-Nazis in Hungary, there is another story behind the black uniforms parading through the streets of Budapest.
For the upcoming Mayor’s election in the Hungarian capital, two out of four candidates have made the green, liveable city the centerpiece of their campaign. The election on October 13, 2019, will therefore show, among others, how well this topic can move voters in Budapest.
In order to understand it, let us take a tour through time and space, to examine the key aspects of this part of the Hungarian history – including foreign policy, democratic institutions, education, business, economy, freedom of the press, religion, and tolerance.
The rather listless race for the position of the mayor of Budapest has been disrupted by the sudden announcement of a new candidate. Democratic Coalition (DK) started backing a new player in the campaign, a well-known TV personality and journalist, Olga Kálmán.
When the speaker of the National Assembly can call homosexual people secondary citizens without any kind of regret, what message does that deliver? There are people who are afraid to take the hand of their beloved in public because of the fear of being harassed.
Recently Budapest, the capital of Hungary, has also become popular with tourists thanks to its sparkling nightlife besides its historical and cultural sights. The centre of nightlife, in downtown Budapest, District VII, is the so-called Ezsébetváros.
On April 24, 2015, Hungarian Europe Democracy (HED) convened a workshop about “Illiberal democracies, what can the European Union do in case a member state regularly and systematically breaches European values and regulations?”.
‘Hungary and the European Union after the European parliamentary elections’, a conference organized by Republikon Foundation with the support of Friedrich Naumann Foundation, was held on June 11, 2014 in Budapest. The event was part of the Foundation’s project ‘Lessons learned from EP elections 2014’.
