After the Brexit referendum more and more people started to realize how little we know and care about the political activity of the youth. The results made it clear: the youth have significantly different views on certain issues, but their absence from voting resulted in the victory for Brexit.
There are two parallel debates going on in Europe: an ideological one about the role of Europe, and a technocratic one, about policy solutions proposed based on the first debate. And while many of the member states and their political parties try to win the first, the EU only seems to care about the second one.
April 20, 2016, marked the beginning of a brand new chapter in the history of the Hungarian radical right-wing party, Jobbik. The party’s leader, Gábor Vona, declared emblematic party leaders Előd Novák, István Szávay, and István Apáti shall not run for the office of the party’s vice president.
The actions of the Fidesz-KDNP government are pushing the public towards dangerous sentiments. According to the latest public polls, a significant number of Hungarians considers the migrants repulsive. The government campaigns are not the sole reason for this situation but they did contribute to this problem.
It’s delightful in spirit, neutral in foreign affairs, and has one of the most stable political systems in all of Europe. But if one is to receive their news from the Anglo-American establishment, it would seem that Austria is just one step away from its horrid past of the 1930s and 40s.
Just a single year has passed since the introduction of the infamous shop closure law in Hungary, but the Fidesz-led right-wing government had already withdrew the regulation that forbade most retail outlets to open and serve customers on Sundays.
The Republikon Institute has recently conducted its monthly public opinion poll for the second time. The survey was conducted in days both preceding and succeeding the Brussels attacks, on a sample representative from the aspects of gender, age, level of education and type of settlement.
The democratic backlash and the illiberal tendencies in countries like Hungary, Poland and Slovakia are often characterized with the label of populism. This “new politics” in Central Eastern Europe has introduced a majoritarian model of democracy, where the elected leaders are empowered to fulfill their political agenda.
The present day Hungarian radicalism is a topic worth investigating as it is often featured in the media, it frequently enters everyday conversations as well as expert debates. However, we do not even have a clear definition of the word “radicals” as it carries different connotations for different individuals.
After 12 years after the abolishment of compulsory military service in Hungary, the debate over the matter was brought back to the political agenda on January 16, 2016, when László Kövér, Speaker of the National Assembly expressed his regret over the abolishment of the compulsory military service and described it as a “disastrous mistake”.
