Jobbik

Jobbik accuses Fidesz of exercising ‘monopoly’ over German minority Budapest school

grassalkovich german school

A lawmaker of the opposition Jobbik party on Thursday accused ruling Fidesz of exercising a “monopoly” over the ownership and operation of a bilingual Hungarian-German primary school in Budapest.

Speaking at a press conference in front of the Grassalkovich Antal Primary School, Koloman Brenner called it an “outrageous” and “unacceptable” decision by the human resources minister to “disallow” the German national self-government to take over the school’s operation.

He said Miklós Kásler had not supported the school’s headmaster in keeping her post either.

“It is apparent that Fidesz’s one-party supremacy has reached the circles of Hungary’s national minorities,” said Brenner, who also serves as a deputy speaker of parliament.

He called on the minister to revisit his decisions, underlining the German national minority’s contributions “to the common Hungarian homeland” through their loyalty, diligence and talent.

Brenner expressed regret that Imre Ritter, the speaker representing the German minority in the Hungarian parliament, had remained silent over the matter. He said Ritter “in the wider public is no longer representing the German community in Hungary, but has become a guardian of Fidesz’s two-thirds majority”.

Read alsoGovernment accuses German news agency DPA of spreading fake news on Hungary

Jobbik MEP Gyöngyösi: How could Hungary and Europe actually get rid of Orbán?

pm orbán

Remarks from Jobbik MEP Márton Gyöngyösi:

Viktor Orbán’s policies have sparked yet another heated debate recently. We have heard many thunderous statements on how we should get rid of Orbán eventually. The growing outrage caused by

Europe’s most corrupt prime minister

is clearly shown by the progressive warnings: a few years ago, his colleagues just wanted to chat with him, then they drew red lines for him and nowadays they are openly talking about Hungary having no place in the European Union. Meanwhile we, Hungarians just keep sighing: will it ever end? How could Hungary and Europe actually get rid of Orbán?

Sorry if I am raining on your parade, but if you thought it’s going to happen the way it went with the Brits, you are about to be bitterly disappointed. Don’t get me wrong, I am not downplaying the complications caused by the Brexit. However, there are a few differences that I should like to point out to anyone who is sick and tired of Viktor Orbán and his party for one reason or another.

Although Europe would certainly have been better off without the Brexit (and as it later turned out, the UK would, too), but even if the ties between London and the continent weakened,

the United Kingdom still remains a democratic country and our close partner both politically and economically.

While our relations will inevitably weaken due to the UK’s departure from the European Union, we don’t need to worry about the present and future British governments acting as the vanguard of counter-interested powers, trolling international politics or trying to convince others to follow their example and leave the EU, too.

Viktor Orbán, on the other hand, is a horse of a different colour. That’s why the pleas, demands and even “red line” warnings aimed at him from European capitals have remained ineffective over the years. As a matter of fact, we only wish they had remained ineffective, but the bad news is that Orbán have used every criticism to his advantage in domestic politics, thus driving his fans into the illusion of a permanent “freedom fight” in which the enemy is the whole of Europe. He was able to do so because Hungary has hardly any independent media outlets left, while the supposedly independent bodies of the Hungarian state are openly serving the now authoritarian Fidesz, just like they served the Communist regime before 1990.

So let me use this opportunity to inform my European colleagues how useless this approach is.

They will never force Orbán to back down by any warnings or ideological issues, because he has had no real ideology for a long-long time.

Neither will they stop him by withholding the EU funds from Hungary, because Orbán would not suffer from that. On the contrary, it would only cause suffering to the Hungarian people who would be told by Fidesz’ propaganda machine that the EU wants to harm Hungary.

Europe won’t get rid of Orbán even if they perhaps show him the door sooner or later (although he likely pulls Hungary out of the EU before letting them kick him out), because Hungary is a part of Europe both geographically and economically. If they push Hungary out of the EU, all they can achieve is that Moscow’s and Beijing’s sphere of interest expands that much closer to Europe, since Orbán will obviously run to those powers for help.

So what’s the solution then? Orbán must be ousted from the government.

That’s the only way, and that’s where Hungarian people expect help from Europe, for example, in the form of establishing a European public media that is accessible for everyone and provides objective information.

At present, Fidesz’ propaganda channel is the only accessible media outlet in a significant part of Hungary…

Hungarian people are no fools, and neither do they like being tyrannized over by crazy dictators. It’s just that many of them don’t even know that things could be done differently. So let’s bring the news to them! It would be worth more than a hundred tough communiqués and warnings.

Opposition urges affordable rental housing for workers

Hungary worker

The opposition LMP and Jobbik parties on Wednesday vowed to implement an affordable rental housing scheme for working people if the opposition wins the 2022 general election.

LMP lawmaker Márta Demeter told a press conference that she would initiate a pilot project in Budapest’s 8th and 9th districts to provide affordable housing for low-income workers if she was re-elected.

The opposition also wants to enable employers to contribute to their employees’ housing costs through in-kind benefits, she added.

Demeter said it was “unacceptable” that young people were often forced to spend their income on rent.

The opposition’s rental housing scheme would make life easier for them while protecting both tenants and landlords and keeping prices affordable, she added.

Dániel Z Kárpát of Jobbik told the same press conference that unlike the current government, his party and LMP were concerned about the future of young people, “because everyone deserves a chance to prosper”. Ruling Fidesz, however, “is outsourcing our national wealth to asset management foundations”, Z Kárpát insisted.

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Read alsoSocialists: Many Hungarian health workers earning less in new employee status

Opposition prime ministerial candidates: Hungary’s future with EU

pm candidates

The prime ministerial candidates of the opposition parties on Tuesday sent a letter to the heads of European Union member states, saying Hungary should stay a member of the European Union after the general election in 2022.

In their joint statement Klára Dobrev of the Democratic Coalition and the Liberals, Andras Fekete-Győr (Momentum), Péter Jakab (Jobbik), Gergely Karácsony (Parbeszed, Socialists, LMP) and József Pálinkás (Új Világ Néppárt) said that

“At last week’s meeting of the Council of Europe, [Prime Minister] Viktor Orbán made it clear that he intends to lead Hungary out of the European Union”.

Opposition parties, on the other hand, understand clearly that Hungary has a future only as a member of the EU, they said in the statement.

The letter aims to show the signatories’ “strong determination” to keep Hungary in the European family of nations, they said. The country’s EU membership is also supported by the vast majority of its citizens, they said.

“Viktor Orbán has no mandate to drive a wedge between our country and the European Union, and he cannot make senseless proposals to dismantle or paralyse our common European institutions in the name of our people,” they said in the statement.

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Read alsoOrbán cabinet: EU is insensitive as regards the national minorities issue

Here is the opposition PM candidates’ letter to Xi Jinping attacking the Chinese university in Budapest

opposition coalition

Below you can read the full letter of the candidates’:

The Hungarian opposition’s PM candidates want nothing to do with the Chinese loan that would impose an enormous burden of hundreds of billions of HUF on Hungarian taxpayers, and all opposition PM candidates commit to immediately terminating the Fudan University project as well as the Budapest-Belgrade railway construction.

Acting on the initiative of the Mayor of Budapest, Klára Dobrev, András Fekete-Győr, Péter Jakab, Gergely Karácsony, Péter Márki-Zay and József Pálinkás wrote a joint letter to the President of the People’s Republic of China to inform Xi Jinping of their intentions.

Despite the difference between the political systems of the People’s Republic of China and Hungary, the Prime Ministerial candidates strive to continue the mutually beneficial cooperation between the two countries.

‘However, the recent events have unfortunately cast a shadow on the development of the multi-layered relations between the People’s Republic of China and Hungary.

European competitive multi-party parliamentary democracies require a broad political consensus to support large projects before the incumbent government could legitimately commit to any liability that is carried over to the next term.

We must state that the implementation of the Belgrade-Budapest railway and Fudan University’s Budapest campus projects under the present terms lack both the consensus of the Hungarian political forces and the support of the majority of the Hungarian public.

The rejection is largely due to the lack of transparency

in terms of the preparations for the two projects that are kept under a cloak of secrecy by the Hungarian government, while the representatives of the incumbent Hungarian government’s business circle have already shown up around the railway project which is at a more advanced stage of development’, the letter says.

The PM candidates state that no matter who is elected as the next Prime Minister of Hungary, they will act according to the obvious will of the majority of the voters and

immediately put a halt to the implementation of the Belgrade-Budapest railway and Fudan University’s Budapest campus

under the present conditions and therefore do not wish to use the loan that the current government requested for Hungary in the framework of these projects.

‘Nevertheless, we sincerely hope that the incumbent Hungarian government’s missteps in regards to the two projects and the unfortunate consequences thereof will not stop the further development of the multi-layered and traditionally good relations of our countries’, concludes the joint letter signed by Klára Dobrev, András Fekete-Győr, Péter Jakab, Gergely Karácsony, Péter Márki-Zay and József Pálinkás.

Opposition launches primary election website

budapest parliament pixabay

Hungary’s opposition parties on Tuesday launched a website for their autumn primary elections.

The Democratic Coalition, Jobbik, LMP, Momentum, the Socialists and Párbeszéd have agreed to cooperate in the 2022 general election, the parties said in a statement, noting that they will determine their candidates through a series of primary elections.

The first round of the primaries will be held between Sept 18 and 26 and the second round between Oct 4 and 10.

With nomination contests being a new concept in Hungary it is important for voters and the media to have access to all the relevant information concerning the primary process, they said. The website, elovalasztas2021.hu, will be regularly updated by the National Primary Election Committee, they added.

The website will contain all the technical details concerning the primary process such as the primary schedule, the rules of the candidate nomination process as well as the election platforms of the six parties.

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Read alsoOpposition blasts Fejér County special economic zone plans

Hungarian opposition’s primary debates will be held from July to October

Daily News Hungary

The candidates of Hungarian opposition parties vying to become the opposition alliance’s prime ministerial nominee will hold primary debates from July 26 to Oct. 10.

The six parties involved have pledged to adhere to a common set of rules ahead of the 2022 general election, according to a statement issued jointly on Saturday by the Democratic Coalition, Jobbik, LMP, Momentum, the Socialists and Párbeszéd.

The statement said that holding open and transparent debates may serve as a prime guarantee of the feasibility of democracy in Hungary.

The statement emphasised the importance of holding fair primaries as this would set the standard by which the country was expected to be governed from the spring of 2022.

Meanwhile, the Democratic Coalition (DK) and the Hungarian Liberal Party formed an election pact to support each other’s candidates in the primaries in several constituencies,

Klára Dobrev, DK’s prime ministerial candidate, and Anett Bősz, the Liberal leader, said on Facebook on Saturday.

Bősz said the parties had a “joint mission” to run for election with the best possible candidates in their bid to replace the Fidesz government.

“We can’t put up with the government further undermining freedom and the rule of law,” she said,

vowing to back Dobrev as “the fittest candidate to lead the Democratic Alliance” and defeat Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s “corrupt regime”.

Hungary Council of Europe
Read alsoHungary leads the Council of Europe – here are the plans

Opposition blasts Fejér County special economic zone plans

dunaújváros

Hungary’s opposition parties have slammed a proposal by county and municipal county leaders in Fejer County to establish a special economic zone in the settlements of Iváncsa, Rácalmás, Adony and Kulcs, south of the capital, saying such a move would be disadvantageous to the area’s residents.

Addressing a joint opposition press conference on Tuesday, conservative Jobbik’s Tamás Pintér, the mayor of Dunaújváros, speculated that

ruling Fidesz intended to “rob” the city of its business tax revenues and “give it to the Fidesz-led county assembly”.

Pintér said such a move would deprive each of the economic zone’s residents of one million forints a year.

Gergely Kállo, the Jobbik MP representing the region, said nearby localities would “lose out on the deal just as much as Dunaújváros”, arguing that they would be affected by the negative aspects of the economic zone’s construction, “but they would only get as much of the revenues as Fidesz lets them”.

Democratic Coalition leader Ferenc Gyurcsány said Dunaújváros “is one of those that have been destroyed and robbed” and therefore the opposition “decided to stand in its support”.

He promised “justice for the region” if the opposition wins next year’s general election.

In response to a question,

Gyurcsány said his party will back Jobbik’s Kálló in 2022, arguing that he had the support of the majority of the electorate and was doing a good job as an MP.

Jobbik leader Péter Jakab said Prime Minister Viktor Orbán was “cleaning out the attic” because he feared a loss in 2022. “They won’t get away with the stolen wealth,” he said, adding that the new government would “return everything that was taken from the localities”.

Gergely Karácsony, the co-leader of Párbeszéd, said Hungary had a government that was “incapable of serving” and only knew how to “reign”. He said everyone who had chosen “a different path from the one offered by Viktor Orbán” in the 2019 local elections would be compensated in 2022.

LMP co-leader László Lóránt Keresztes expressed his shock at “the damage that will be done to the region”.

He said every other region would eventually “have its turn” if the government was not stopped next year.

Péter Márki-Zay, head of the Everyone’s Hungary Movement, said the establishment of the special economic zone was another step in the “hollowing out” of the local council system.

Momentum co-leader Anna Orosz said Fidesz was “taking Dunaujvaros and the surrounding area under its guardianship the same way as it had done to the city of God”. She said this meant that the city would only see a maximum of 50 percent of the business tax revenues it generates.

Bertalan Tóth, co-leader of the Socialist Party, said Fidesz was “failing” and resorting to theft.

Parliament approved legislation last summer allowing the designation of special economic zones with the aim of expediting big corporate investments and related infrastructure developments.

The law allows local business tax revenue in such zones to be rechannelled from municipal councils to the county level, a measure legislators argued allows a more proportionate allocation of resources among all communities impacted by such investments.

Krisztian Molnár, who heads the Fejér County council, said at a press conference in Ivancsa on Tuesday that a number of big investments in the region justify its designation as a special economic zone.

budapest mayor Karácsony
Read alsoKarácsony calls for major changes to restore Hungary after successful regime change

Jobbik MEP Gyöngyösi: Has Hungary become China’s puppet?

orbán in china

Remarks from Jobbik MEP Márton Gyöngyösi:

Hungary-China relations have traditionally been good for decades, and it is a well-known fact that Hungary has long been considered as a key partner for China in Central Europe. None of that has ever posed a threat to Budapest’s Euro-Atlantic relations. Until now.

Today the situation is quite different due to a combination of China’s rise and Orbán’s efforts to build of an authoritarian regime.

Perhaps the latest and quite probably the most profitable era of Hungary-China relations began around the time of the communist collapse in Eastern Europe. In the late 1980s and early 1990s, Hungary has seen the influx of the Chinese traders who laid the foundations of the populous Chinese community in Budapest. Due to their local knowledge and relations to their motherland, they played a major role in Hungary becoming a key partner for China in the region. By the 2000s, this connection resulted in such significant and widely publicized acts as the opening of the bilingual Hungarian-Chinese school in Budapest.

On the other hand, the genuinely important and favourable Chinese trade and cultural relations were never expected to override Hungary’s political commitment to the West. Neither the former Hungarian governments, nor the Chinese side has ever forced it, but the trend appears to have been changing recently.

The process is driven, at least partly, by China’s changing foreign policy.

Having realized its economic and political power, China has become an increasingly active factor in shaping world politics and wants to assume a growing role in the international arena.

No matter how often we disapprove of China’s methods, we cannot deny Beijing’s right to follow its own interest, just like every other country does. The onus is on China’s partners who should, knowing and understanding all that, conduct such a foreign policy that is in line with their own interests and benefits both parties.

That is why we are increasingly concerned about the process unfolding around the Orbán government. What we see is the formation of a highly unilateral dependence on China, and it has gone beyond the business and cultural sphere. Uniquely among all EU Member States, this dependence has already appeared in the political field, which poses an enormous risk to Hungary as well as the EU.

The first high-profile case was the planned Budapest-Belgrade railway. Funded through Chinese loans, implemented with Chinese technology and mostly carried out by Chinese enterprises, the contracting terms of the supposed project are classified for many years. Every study shows that the Hungarian side would not benefit from this project at all. But China would, and very much, too. The next sign was the Orbán government’s increasingly frequent and friendly statements to side with China in political issues as well. Interestingly enough, the Orbán regime, after having driven the US-founded Central European University out of Hungary by way of administrative measures combined with political accusations against the internationally renowned institution, is now offering hugely preferential treatment to China’s Fudan University, so it could establish a campus in Budapest.

Of course, we must also mention how Orbán has been rejecting the EU’s financial help due to the potentially attached rule of law requirements, while he has no problem taking eastern (likely Chinese) loans to fund the recovery from the pandemic depression.

The list of tell-tale signs goes on with the acquisition of the Chinese Sinopharm vaccines amidst the government’s intensive communication campaign, despite the fact that the Chinese vaccine has not been approved by the European Medicines Agency (EMA). It is common knowledge in Europe that Orbán’s diplomacy regularly blocks the EU from issuing a common statement if it is inconvenient for Beijing. According to the latest reports received the other day, Orbán actually called Chinese president Xi Jinping during the break between two EU meetings to “consult” him before the Hungarian government, as the only Member State to do so, vetoed the EU’s statement to condemn China for cracking down on democracy in Hong Kong.

You might ask how Orbán benefits from a China connection in which he can never become an equal partner. Well, the answer is simple: power. Albeit slowly, the European Union began to give an increasingly firm response to Orbán’s blatantly corrupt and anti-democratic regime. China, on the other hand, sets no requirements in terms of democracy and the rule of law.

Having lost all his European allies for good, Orbán is now looking at the seemingly realistic scenario of shifting his loyalty from Europe to China so he could continue governing Hungary under Beijing’s protection.

When it comes to the European Union however, such a move is far more than just a mistaken foreign policy idea of a medium-sized country. It is an increasingly visible and palpable threat to Europe, too. Beijing is not interested in the EU becoming a united and strong community. As far as sabotaging the EU is concerned, such politicians as Orbán are an excellent fit for the job. Their modus operandi has already been demonstrated when they sabotaged the EU’s foreign policy, but I’m afraid that’s just the beginning. Orbán no longer has any moral reservations in terms of keeping his power at all costs, especially now when he is more likely to lose than ever, since his opposition has united its forces for the 2022 national elections.

The people of Hungary still trust Europe.

The question is: what is Europe going to do about the growing Chinese influence and politicians acting as Beijing’s agents, like Orbán?

European Union Flage
Read alsoJobbik MEP Gyöngyösi: Could this be the end of the European Union?

This is how the opposition wants to defeat PM Orbán

orbán eu summit

Hungary’s opposition will hold the country’s first ever primary elections this year to pick joint candidates to contest the 2022 national election, six parties said on Wednesday, a move that could threaten Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s grip on power.

Hardline nationalist Orbán and his Fidesz party have scored three successive landslides since 2010 largely due to an election system that favours large parties as the opposition has been fragmented and unable to cooperate until now. But a patchwork of parties that includes the former far-right Jobbik, which has redefined itself as a centre-right grouping, as well as the Socialists, liberals and greens, upset Fidesz in municipal elections in 2019.

Budapest Mayor Gergely Karácsony, who as the candidate of a small green liberal party unseated the Fidesz incumbent in the biggest upset of those local polls, said the opposition cooperation may serve as a blueprint to unseat Orbán.

A first primary round on September 18-26 will select a single opposition candidate in each of Hungary’s 106 electoral districts.

Each district will also pick its preferred candidate for prime minister from a small selection of joint candidates.

There will be a runoff in the vote for the prime ministerial candidate on Oct. 4-10.

Opinion polls put Fidesz and the opposition coalition neck-and-neck and show Orbán’s party losing ground especially in large cities, foreshadowing the tightest election race since 2006. Orbán put the economy back on track after the 2008 financial crisis but has also curbed the judiciary, media and cultural freedoms, drawing criticism from the European Union. He has also

built cordial relations with Russia and China.

The election campaign is likely to be centred around the economic recovery from the coronavirus pandemic. Hungary has

suffered the highest COVID-19 death toll per capita in the world,

Worldometer data shows, but it now also boasts one of the EU’s fastest vaccination campaigns that has allowed it to reopen the economy quickly.

Opposition Jobbik: Hungary 2022 budget ‘Europe’s cruelest’

JAKAB Péter

A Jobbik official has blasted Hungary’s 2022 draft budget recently submitted to parliament as “Europe’s cruelest”.

“It is unparalleled on the continent for a government to fail to earmark compensation for lost wages due to the economic crisis caused by the pandemic,” Dániel Kárpát Z, the deputy leader of the opposition Jobbik party, told an online briefing on Thursday.

The government, he added, had also neglected to support troubled households while extending “no substantial form of support other than preferential credit schemes” to small and medium-sized firms.

The Jobbik politician insisted that surveys indicated the income of at least 40 percent of Hungarians had dropped during the past 12 months of the coronavirus pandemic.

He said amendments that Jobbik has submitted to the draft budget were geared towards protecting employees, with wage compensation and the reinstatement of social support schemes.

Jobbik’s amendments also include granting every company tax and contribution refunds, two-thirds of which would be used to increase wages to bring them closer to western wages, Kárpát Z said.

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Read alsoHungarian government presents the 2022 budget bill to parliament

Ruling parties had sabotaged the meeting, says national security committee head

national security committee hungary parliament

A closed meeting of the national security committee, which would have heard government office representatives on the planned campus of the Chinese Fudan university and on the cyber attack against government vaccine registration sites, among other issues, lacked quorum on Tuesday as government party lawmakers failed to attend.

Committee head János Stummer of Jobbik said ruling party lawmakers had “sabotaged” the meeting, and pledged to “not leave them or the government in peace” until the committee can table the issues in question.

Regarding the government’s vaccine registration site, which crashed on Friday during a surge in registration attempts, LMP’s committee member Péter Ungár said the site was either subject to “cynically timed” cyber attacks or “just of very poor quality”. If the “six crashes in the past six months” were cyber attacks, the National Cyber Security Centre should report on the measures taken so far, he said.

Ungár said

the committee had also wanted to hear László Palkovics, the minister of innovation and technology, on the planned campus of China’s Fudan University in Budapest.

The committee wanted to know whether the loan contract between Hungary and China for the construction of the campus contained a so-called stability clause, barring the government from introducing changes to work and environmental regulation pertaining to the university, he said.

Zsolt Molnár of the Socialist party said

the “procedural and technical tricks hampering the committee’s work are a fool-proof sign of upcoming elections”.

The ruling party lawmakers “have exposed their own cowardice and kept the public from knowing the truth” about the issues raised, he said.

Fudan-Corvinus Double Degree MBA
Read alsoNew details revealed about the Fudan University to be built in Budapest

Jobbik MEP Gyöngyösi: How politically relevant is the EU in the world?

European Union Flag

Remarks from Jobbik MEP Márton Gyöngyösi:

Many things have gone through a fundamental change over the past centuries but Europe’s economic and cultural weight, apart from a few downturns, has never been questioned in the world. In spite of that, our continent has never been able to become a united dominant political force. And if you look at the foreign policy fiascos of the past months, what you see is, unfortunately, that the European Union is still far from being able to step up as a real actor on the stage of international diplomacy. If that’s the real goal, that is…

Three leading European politicians had to endure weeks of embarrassment after travelling outside the community’s borders to conduct negotiations.

Foreign Affairs and Security Policy High Representative Josep Borrell received very serious criticism after his February visit to Moscow. In fact, it was suggested that he should perhaps resign from his office because, contrary to his earlier promise, he failed to represent the EU’s opinion with the necessary assertiveness regarding the Russia-related issues that our community is concerned about at the moment. In fact, you can safely say that the negotiations were dominated by Moscow, and then Borrell was even humiliated in the international press conference.

Hardly had the Borrell scandal died down, when the next affair, commonly referred to as “sofagate” broke out in April: EC President Ursula von der Leyen and European Council President Charles Michel got into an embarrassing situation during their visit to Ankara. The hosts simply left von der Leyen without a chair, so she had no choice but to sit on a sofa, thus being quasi ranked the same as the Turkish foreign affairs minister who has a lower standing (or in this case sitting) than her according to the protocol. As a result, she got into a subordinated position compared to Michel and Turkish president Erdoğan. Of course, you can argue how Charles Michel (or perhaps the Turkish president) could have softened the edge of this embarrassing diplomatic faux pas by offering their seat to von der Leyen at least until the protocol department finds a third armchair, but the case clearly demonstrates that neither the world, nor the EU itself is ready for the European Union’s presence as a political actor.

Although it’s easy to criticize Josep Borrell for his laxity, Charles Michel for his discourtesy or even Ursula von der Leyen for her resigned silence, the underlying problem is much more serious: it’s a systemic one, because the European Union, as a community, still lacks unity.

It has confusingly many leaders who tend to struggle with a grave legitimacy crisis, too.

European position?

While European values and European positions are often cited by many, these issues raise serious questions even within Europe, unfortunately, as the European Union is still somewhere halfway between an international organization and an alliance of states. As a result, even though it has bodies typical of a close alliance (such as the European Parliament), the final say is always expressed in agreement with the Member State governments in nearly all major issues. However, these Member State governments have several disputes and differences of opinion today, perhaps the most spectacular of which is the confrontation of the “illiberals” and the western liberals, but there are many other divisive issues, too. While Orbán’s and his friends’ spectacularly anti-EU position indeed weakens the community (e.g. in the Russia relation) significantly, the fact of the matter is that even the most fervently pro-EU governments are still fighting tooth and nail to keep their national jurisdiction and control over EU matters, which leads us to the other big problem, i.e., that not only are we sorely missing united European positions, but real European leaders as well.

Leaders without legitimacy

No matter how often democracy is cited as the European Union’s fundamental value, most EU leaders are elected in a way that is not democratic at all.

The greatest promise of the latest EP elections in 2019 was the so-called Spitzenkandidat system, which would have enabled the party family gaining the highest number of seats to delegate its pre-nominated candidate to the presidential seat of the European Commission. This arrangement would have allowed the candidate to run a real election campaign, too. This idea would have already been a major step forward, but the nation states conducted a political bargaining process behind closed doors, which led to Ursula von der Leyen being given the seat as a result of the deal between French president Emmanuel Macron and German chancellor Angela Merkel, instead of Manfred Weber who had seriously prepared for the position. However, von der Leyen got her seat without any votes other than those of Merkel and Macron, and so did the other members of her Commission. The true nature of the bargaining process is clearly revealed by the case of Hungarian commissioner Olivér Várhelyi, a former career diplomat with no political weight whatsoever, who was delegated to the body by Viktor Orbán out of revenge and to openly express his opinion about the matter.

The lack of democratic legitimacy, the indebtedness and in fact, vulnerability to the delegating states or national leaders are all excellent “guarantees” to prevent these politicians from having any freedom of action in the international arena in their own right. Consequently, the system is bound to have inherently embarrassing situations when the EU leaders are too afraid to take a clear stance or are dominated in international meetings by such politicians who gained their power through their own political performance (regardless how it measures to our moral values), and not as a result of a compromise.

Europe cannot be strong without unity

It is clear for everyone that if the EU stays as it is and fails to undergo a political evolution, it will be dominated by other powers in a long-term political competition.

No matter how strong Europe’s economy is, it will not be invited to the negotiating table where the fate of the world is decided, or even if it is, Europe’s role will be reduced to merely acknowledging the decisions. None of the European nations is interested in such an outcome in the long run.

The solution clearly lies in reinforcing Europe’s democratic nature, which would involve eliminating the subversive elements, since it’s hard to demonstrate your power to the outside world while your community is being destroyed by Trojan horses. It would also involve making each Member State understand that they will ultimately lose if their alliance is led by weak, unassertive politicians. Last but not least, it would also involve gradually replacing closed-door deals with the true representation of the people, by reinforcing the EP’s role and introduce the concept of real political competition into the election of the European Commission. This is the only way for Europe to have a future.

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Read alsoJobbik MEP Gyöngyösi: Is there a chance of Palestine – Israel peace?

Opposition pledges to put universities under state control in 2022

The opposition parties have pledged that once in power after the 2022 elections, they would put Hungary’s universities under state control again.

In a press conference held in front of the Parliament building on Tuesday, Párbeszéd, Jobbik, the Socialists, the Democratic Coalition (DK), LMP and Momentum unanimously declared that the “stolen assets” would be returned to the nation.

Earlier today, parliament approved the transfer of several universities from the state to private foundations. The universities transferred represent 70 percent of Hungary’s students. Details HERE.

Sándor Burány, deputy group leader of Parbeszed, said that

ruling Fidesz “seems to be fearing failure” in next year’s elections and tries to gain control over as much public assets as possible.

Jobbik deputy leader György Szilágyi accused pro-government lawmakers of squandering public assets.

He warned the board members of the foundations in question to take due care of the properties put under their control as “those causing damage to the nation and stealing our money” would be prosecuted after 2022.

Socialist lawmaker László Szakács said that

while the country is focussing on fighting the pandemic, Viktor Orbán’s government transfers about one thousand billion forints worth of public assets to foundations led by “Fidesz soldiers”.

He noted that the foundations’ board members could not be replaced or recalled.

DK deputy group leader Gergely Arató said universities would be privatised with a view to giving the private foundations access to the huge EU funds earmarked for developing higher education, and then enabling them to “distribute the money among cronies”.

LMP group leader László Lóránt Keresztes said the law would put the universities’ assets under political control. He noted that

Europe’s best universities are generally controlled by the state.

He added that the opposition parties, once in power, would restore the autonomy of universities.

Momentum board member Miklós Hajnal said

“Orbán is preparing for a defeat but he is a bad loser because he would like to finance his defeat from taxpayer money.”

He accused the prime minister of seeking to build “an alternative state” and retain control over higher education, “landed property, castles and stocks”, he said.

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Read alsoSwiss television’s report on how the Hungarian national wealth disappears by the government

Jobbik MEP Gyöngyösi: Is there a chance of Palestine – Israel peace?

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Remarks from Jobbik MEP Márton Gyöngyösi:

Next to the ongoing pandemic and the many other crisis areas of the world, the international political discourse seems to have been less focused on Palestine lately. The reason is perhaps that the world has gotten tired of the decades-long and never-ending Palestinian issue which, though still unsolved, has not escalated much further. Nevertheless, I am convinced that any settlement of the major Middle East conflicts is inconceivable without a reconciliation that would guarantee both nations their own states. No matter how small an area the Israeli-Palestinian conflict affects, the symbolic significance reaches far beyond.

There are substantial obstacles on both sides in the way of a long-term settlement, as it is demonstrated by the issue of the Palestinian general elections scheduled for next month.

As it is known, Palestine has not been able to hold elections for fifteen years due to the recurring internal conflicts among the Palestinian political forces, while the mandate of the last elected representatives expired over a decade ago. Furthermore, the Israeli leadership, rather short-sightedly, prefers the Palestinian political crisis to remain unsolved, presumably on the assumption that it weakens the Palestinian positions.

There are several other obstacles in the way of the parliamentary elections scheduled for May and the presidential election to be held in the summer, too. The first obstacle is still posed by the conflicts among the Palestinian political stakeholders, since both the timely implementation or the postponement of the election may affect the outcome. Each force with a realistic chance to win wants the election to be held at the time and under the circumstances that are best for them. In such a climate of mistrust, no matter when the elections are held, the authorities will likely have a very hard time guaranteeing the fairness of the vote and resisting the pressure of the locally strong political organizations.

In addition, the Israeli side apparently shows no willingness whatsoever to allow European Union observers to work in the Palestinian areas, despite the EU’s repeated pleas to the Israeli authorities.

On the other hand, the Israeli concerns are somewhat understandable as the heated election climate may inevitably entail increasing tensions or unwanted international attention for Israel. Furthermore, many people still vividly remember Hamas’ landslide victory in 2006, and the extremist forces have a chance to do well in this election too, but you don’t need a crystal ball to realize that the current situation just expands the radicals’ voter base, which will further aggravate Israeli-Palestinian relations.

The list of obstacles to the election also includes the unsettled status of the occupied territories and especially that of East Jerusalem, where Israel strives to prevent the activity and campaigns of the Palestinian political forces and even the election itself. Without the Palestinian inhabitants of East Jerusalem however, it is inconceivable for Palestine to hold the election at all.

Despite the many risks and difficulties however, postponing the election even further would hardly help, since the Israeli-Palestinian peace process requires both sides to have stability and strong leaders – which are sorely missing on the Palestinian side at the moment, and you can hardly have meaningful negotiations with a leadership that has lost its legitimacy. On the other hand, an extremist breakthrough would be unfortunate, too. Paradoxically enough, regardless how low the chances are for such an outcome in an election, hopelessness and the lack of prospects tend to play into the hands of uncompromising actors who favour violent methods and hinder the peace process, just like it would happen in any other part of the world.

No solution is possible without providing Palestinians with the prospect of a settlement that would consider their aspects as well.

The international community’s recommendations for such a solution are already available: despite the failures, several key principles have been laid out over the past decades, including, first of all, the two-state solution that could provide the necessary guarantees for both the Israeli and the Palestinian side. The question is: are the parties willing to accept a compromise like that? Such a solution would inevitably mean that the Palestinian radicals would have to recognize the State of Israel, while Israel would have to abandon its policy involving military occupation, stop ignoring the UN resolutions, stop supporting the establishment of illegal settlements on the West Bank or lift the Gaza blockade.

However, any reconciliation is impossible without politicians able to grow up to this task and make responsible decisions instead of riding the populist wave.

Unfortunately, the last months have brought a series of political crises in Israel, where the political discourse, which used to be dominated by such leaders as Yitzhak Rabin, is now increasingly polarized with more and more radical voices. If the situation stays like that on the Palestinian side too, it will be very hard to move the peace process forward. Even though the world needs it more than ever.

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Read alsoJobbik MEP Gyöngyösi: Redrawing the borders of Balkan underway?

Opposition to submit bill on postal voting for Hungarians abroad

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Opposition LMP on Thursday said it will submit to parliament a bill that would allow Hungarians living abroad to vote by mail in elections.

László Lóránt Keresztes, the party’s group leader, told an online press conference that Hungarians who had been “forced to move abroad to find work because of the government’s flawed policies” over the past decade but still have a permanent address in the country should be given an opportunity to participate in elections.

Gábor Vona, the former head of conservative Jobbik, told the same press conference that his foundation had recently organised an “online referendum” asking people whether they agreed that Hungarians who have a permanent address in Hungary but are abroad on election day should have the chance to vote by mail.

Altogether 92.9 percent of the referendum’s 22,396 participants voted in favour of postal voting, while 4.8 percent voted against it, he said.

Vona said that besides resolving the issue of mail voting, another aim of the referendum had also been to introduce the concept of an online referendum into Hungarian public life.

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Read alsoOpposition to submit bill on postal voting for Hungarians abroad

Hotbed of a fourth wave? Opposition wants schools to remain closed

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Six opposition parties issued a joint statement calling on the government to withdraw a decision to reopen schools and kindergarten next Monday.

The Democratic Coalition (DK), Jobbik, LMP, Momentum, the Socialists and Párbeszéd said on Friday that the cabinet decision on reopening would threaten several hundred thousand children attending kindergarten and school, as well as parents and teachers during the third and most dangerous wave of the coronavirus epidemic. Reopening kindergartens and schools before teachers are fully protected will

greatly increase the risk of the virus spreading

and parents who have not been vaccinated yet will be in increased danger, the statement added.

They criticised a proposal by state secretary for education Zoltán Maruzsa who said that

concerned parents could ask for a permission from their children’s headmasters to continue home schooling.

The opposition parties said this way Prime Minister Viktor Orbán was transferring responsibility to teachers and parents. Considering the high number of infections and deaths, the government should make a decision to maintain online education, the parties said.

Chinese campus in Budapest poses serious security risks for Hungary, the EU, and NATO, says opposition

oppisition

Opposition members of parliament’s national security committee on Tuesday raised concerns over plans to set up a Fudan University campus in Budapest.

János Stummer of the conservative Jobbik party said the government had failed to answer questions such as who represents the Hungarian state in negotiations with the Chinese university and whether they had undergone national security vetting.

He noted

the opposition’s earlier suggestion that the talks should be transparent “so that residents can decide if it is worth making that huge investment.”

Socialist lawmaker Zsolt Molnár said the responses provided in the meeting had “raised more questions than were answered”. He insisted that

setting up the campus posed “serious security risks” for Hungary, the EU, and NATO.

Péter Ungár of LMP accused the government of “turning a blind eye” to national security risks associated with the Fudan plans, arguing that “higher education often provides cover for covert operations”. Courses to train diplomats, he added, were “especially sensitive from a national security point of view”.

Fudan-Corvinus Double Degree MBA
Read alsoWill Fudan University’s Budapest campus be constructed by a Chinese company involved in spying scandals?