Free press and freedom of speech are among democracy’s essential prerequisites; however, they should not be taken for granted. Published by the Republikon Institute, with the support of the Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Freedom, The State of the Media in the Visegrád Countries provides a detailed insight into the media status in Central Europe.
Some respected economists identified the issue of consolidation in public budget already in 2022 as a third-order problem. From an analytical point of view, he is, of course, right. A one-year deficit of 10% of GDP is nothing compared to a permanent two to five per cent deficit in the pension system with a declining workforce.
The existence of a need for such an agreement does not mean that it will arise. As I wrote earlier, it requires broad social agreement, and there is no reason for the privileged majority to give up anything. Because why would they? And there will be no new deal without the consent of the majority.
The COVID-19 pandemic has further complicated and strained the Georgian politics. The opposition thought it could easily defeat the ruling party in the face of a pandemic crisis. On the other hand, due to the successes achieved in the early spring, the government hoped to retain power easily.
The Republikon Institute, supported by the Friedrich Naumann Stiftung für die Freiheit, is organizing a conference to discuss the state of liberal voters in the CEE region. In the first panel discussion, experts from the V4 countries will present the results of their latest research on the state of liberalism and liberal voters in their countries. We are curious to see what people think of liberalism and how parties could address liberal voters more effectively…
On the occasion of the International Women’s Day, I asked four MEPs from Central-Eastern Europe what they think where we stand now on the issue of female political leadership in Europe. I was interested in what they consider the biggest obstacles for women pursuing a career in politics.
Political forces that extensively use hate speech in Latvia are not sizable, nor they receive the amount of support that their ideological counterparts in Western Europe do. Nevertheless, in recent years, those fringe ideas got a bit of momentum, with the creation of internet-based political movements.
Democracy is undoubtedly a greatly fragile regime. As history has taught us, it can defend itself as long as the people and politicians will actively participate in this uninterrupted and ongoing war of freedom – although it may sound a bit overdramatic, it is not.
After the resignation of Jüri Ratas (Estonian Center Party) on January 13th, due to an inquiry entailing alleged corruption charges against his party, Kaja Kallas, the center-right Reform Party’s leader, has become the first female Estonian Prime Minister.
Hungary is the black sheep of the European Union. Its contrarian agenda offends the common opinion of other member states. Just recently, the Hungarian government not only threatened to veto the EU recovery budget but also voiced its opposition to the Gender Action Plan, a foreign policy initiative to buttress the rights of women, girls and LGBTQI worldwide. But don’t be fooled: behind this maverick political performance of the Orban government lies a shrewd and…
