Media
EP elections
Julia Lakatos spoke about the causes of the high voter turnout at the EP and municipal elections in Telex‘s live election coverage.
New Kids on the Block
Andras Jenei spoke about the risks and opportunities in the Western Balkans at the 2024 Budapest Balkans Forum organized by the Hungarian Institute of International Affairs.
Interpreting Orbán
Gergely Rajnai analyzed Viktor Orbán’s foreign policy approach on Al Jazeera’s Newshour.
Loyalty, populism and football
The Unpopulist magazine published Magyar Hang’s compilation of Fidesz fanatics, in which Ádám Paár explained that for many voters, belonging to the party is like a sports club: identity matters.
Between two worlds
Talking to Al Jazeera, Gergely Rajnai described the foreign policy of Viktor Orbán as attempting to bridge the gap between East and West, but noted that the war in Ukraine makes this approach less and less tenable.
Tough sailing ahead
Zoltán Novák spoke to Reuters about the expectations of Fidesz following their fourth consecutive supermajority.
Pre-election analysis
How will the war and the state of the economy influence the elections? Gergely Rajnai spoke to Canadian news source about these issues.
Campaign narratives
Julia Lakatos spoke to L’Echo about the innovations and the challenges of the oppositions as well as why the government is popular among many.
War and elections
Gergely Rajnai spoke to ARD about the effects of the Ukraine conflict on Hungarian elections.
An electoral challenge?
Julia Lakatos spoke to Radio Free Europe about the reasons why the opposition parties rallied behind a conservative major to run against Viktor Orbán.
How to carry out a primary election?
Gergely Rajnai spoke to Le Figaro, emphasizing that primaries are a novelty in Hungarian political culture, therefore all the actors involved have to learn how to take part in the process.
Learning curve
Opposition primaries
Financial Times quoted Zoltán Novák concerning the chances for the opposition during the upcoming campaign. While everything suggests a Fidesz advantage, the challenge has never been greater, he said.
Advantages and Drawbacks
Zoltán Novák spoke to the Slovakian newspaper Dennik N about the characteristics of the participants of the opposition primary.
Realignment on the right
Zoltán Novák spoke to Reuters about the possible new Italian, Polish, Hungarian alliance within the EU, highlighting that despite their differences such an alliance could be a force to be reckoned with.
Vaccine passports are coming?
Zoltán Novák spoke to Reuters about possible COVID-19 waivers for those who have already contracted the virus or have been vaccinated.
Hammering out a deal
Who’s Victory?
Ádám Vermes spoke to Balkan Insight concerning lex-CEU, highlighting that while the EU court’s decision is a legal victory for the university, the political victory was reaped by the government.
Rule of Law Report
Harsh words for Hungary in the EUs new Rule of Law Report, nevertheless the aim doesn’t seem to be to escalate the conflict, said Júlia Lakatos to Balkan Insight regional news portal.
Strategic negotiations
Júlia Lakatos spoke about the EU recovery fund talks emphasizing that the V4 countries have learned the rules of the EU negotiating game, leveraging their collective bargaining power.
After EU summit
Is Fidesz in Crisis?
“The local elections in Hungary meant symbolic loss for Fidesz”, said Attila Tibor Nagy to German paper Spiegel. The election has shown that people are partially tired of Fidesz and that it is possible to replace the Orbán-system in the elections to come.
How to win?
Attila Tibor Nagy analyzed the upcoming elections for Bloomberg stating: “the main question is whether Fidesz will win with a simple or constitutional majority”.
Soros as Influencer?
“For Orbán, but more importantly, for a lot of Hungarian voters, Soros represents external influence on domestic issues.” Gergely Rajnai explained the current campaign in Hungary for Vice News.
The Hungarian Ruse
There are many stereotypes and oversimplified statements about Hungary nowadays. One of these is that the authoritarian government is faced by an opposition that has a western mentality. Ervin Csizmadia gives a more nuanced explanation of this approach on Social Europe.
The future of the prime minister
The struggle to find a new prime minister has overshadowed the question of what the future holds for Ferenc Gyurcsány, who unexpectedly resigned/was pressured to resign as prime minister and party chairman. Many people seem to have written off Gyurcsány in a split second, including those who in recent months did nothing other than try to prove that he was maniacally clinging onto power. Our analysis in the Budapest Times.
Understandable demands at the wrong time
Two weeks ago on Saturday, public sector employees demonstrated against the government’s planned austerity measures as a result of the global financial crisis. Our thoughts about the ongoing global and local trends in German at Budapester Zeitung.
Slovak-hungarian conflict
It was almost a sensation among both the Hungarian and Slovak public that the Prime Ministers of Slovakia and Hungary, Robert Fico and Ferenc Gyurcsány, were willing to hold official talks. This alone proves that the differences between Slovakia and Hungary are great. Our analysis in Budapester Zeitung in German.