PM’s Office urges ethnic Hungarians to participate in Romania elections
Gergely Gulyás, the prime minister’s chief of staff, on Sunday urged ethnic Hungarians living in Romania to vote in the country’s general election next week.
Addressing a joint press conference with Botond Csoma, an MP candidate of Romania’s ethnic Hungarian RMDSZ party, in Cluj-Napoca (Kolozsvar), Gulyás emphasised the importance of securing the strongest possible representation for the ethnic Hungarian community in the Romanian parliament.
“If RMDSZ will have many parliamentary seats it will be able to represent the interests of the Hungarian national minority in the issues that concern them,” Gulyás said. “That’s why it’s important to have a high turnout and that every Hungarian considers this election their own.”
Gulyás noted that the Hungarian community fell short of a second parliamentary seat by just over 100 votes four years ago. “This example illustrates just how much every vote counts,” he said.
Gulyás said it was up to Transylvania’s Hungarian community to make decisions for itself, which the Hungarian government would then support. He said RMDSZ had a clear vision for the next four years as well as the ability to represent the interests of the Hungarian community.
In response to a question, Gulyás said the reason why the Hungarian government wanted RMDSZ to be a part of the next Romanian government was because this would be beneficial to Transylvania’s Hungarian community.
Concerning Romania’s declaration of June 4, the day the treaty was signed, as a national holiday, the PM’s chief of staff said Hungary’s interests lay in having strong and successful neighbours. Gulyás said only “weak countries” declared anniversaries that are painful to a section of their citizens holidays.
“To us this is not only an unfriendly gesture but it also proves that Romania’s current leadership considers the Hungarian community living here second class citizens,” Gulyás said. “Our interests lie in a strong and confident Romania; one that respects the national minority, the individual and community rights of Hungarians living here and sees them the way we see minorities living in our country: as assets to the country’s economy and cultural diversity.”
Csoma said all the conditions were in place for RMDSZ and the Hungarian community to secure strong representation in parliament in the election.
Read alsoPM’s Office urges ethnic Hungarians to participate in Romania elections
Trump vows to leave White House if Electoral College votes for Biden
U.S. President Donald Trump said Thursday he will leave the White House if the Electoral College votes for President-elect Joe Biden in December.
The president gave the remarks to reporters after concluding a teleconference with U.S. troops to mark the Thanksgiving holiday.
He said if the Electoral College confirms Biden’s victory when it meets on Dec. 14, he “certainly” will relinquish presidential power.
“It’s going to be a very hard thing to concede … If they (the electors) do (vote for Biden) they made a mistake,” he said.
Trump doubled down on the claim that there was voter fraud in the Nov. 3 election.
“No one wants to see the kind of fraud this election has come to represent,” he said. “I know one thing, Joe Biden didn’t get 80 million votes.”
Biden has won 80,218,808 popular votes to date, compared to Trump’s 73,947,962 votes, according to The Cook Political Report, an influential analytical site focused on U.S. presidential, congressional and gubernatorial elections.
U.S. media have projected that Biden has won 306 electoral votes, surpassing the 270-vote threshold for clinching the presidency.
Biden has declared victory and announced the first tranche of his Cabinet nominees, including national security and foreign policy officials.
The General Services Administration has initiated Biden’s formal transition into the White House, but Trump, despite having directed his administration to facilitate the process, has vowed to continue the legal fight to challenge the election results.
Read alsoThe US will be a stronger presence in EU politics after the Biden presidency
The Orbán cabinet to drastically change electoral laws again?
In the next parliamentary elections, at least 71 independent deputies in 14 separate counties will be needed for a party to set up a national list of deputies. All this was proposed in the Committee on Justice by independent MP János Volner and supported by the Fidesz-KDNP coalition.
Today independent deputy János Volner has proposed a new modification of election laws that is supported by the governing coalition. The proposition would further limit the possibilities of setting up a national list – writes telex.hu who was informed by László Sebián-Petrovszki, a parliamentary deputy of the party DK and member of the Committee on Justice. He said that the deputies of the coalition unilaterally voted to accept the proposition, meaning that 8 of them voted yes and the four opposition deputies present at the session voted no.
The proposition of János Volner would limit future elections as only those parties would be able to set up a national party list who had managed to give an independent deputy in at least 14 counties plus the capital and in 71 independent electoral districts.
All this basically means that in case the 2/3 of the parliament votes for accepting this package that modifies the electoral laws, opposition parties will have neither the chance nor the possibility to set up their own separate party list during the next elections in 2022. Moreover, several small but existing parties will be unable to set up a list without naming at least one candidate in districts where oppositional candidates have a higher chance to win.
This news is extremely interesting since Gergely Gulyás, Minister of the PMs Office denied two weeks ago that the government tries to limit the chances of opposition parties to set up their own lists own their options to cooperate. In reality, however, the modification proposed two weeks ago, apart from some technical improvements, would indeed change a crucial point of the process, thus making it more challenging to set up a national list.
According to the modification, “a party list can be set up by a party that is able – at least in 9 counties and in the capital – to give one independent representative at least in 50 individual electoral districts” in the future.
Currently, parties have to choose a candidate in 27 districts; this number would have been increased to 50.
According to the government, the reason for this change is to make it more difficult for parties to acquire funds supporting their electoral campaign and to avoid fake parties to obtain these funds.
Telex already wrote about the possibilities given to opposition parties. Theoretically, the acceptance of the modification still would have meant that the cooperation among opposition parties would have been able to set up two independent lists: a list of MSZP – DK – Párbeszéd with 53-53 independent candidates, and another one of Jobbik – Momentum – LMP, however, the execution of this idea would have been much harder even in this situation. But the setting up of two separate lists in this system demanding 71 independent candidates seems absolutely impossible without the candidates of the same cooperation going up against each other.
Electoral expert, László Róbert of Political Capital wrote a quick summary on how the new changes can turn into something even more brutal: ”It is almost sure that recent and further changes will come to which we will pay even less attention. But those will probably be politically even more relevant. For instance, the redrawing of the electoral map. And we will not know who’s goals that will help to achieve.“
Read alsoGovernment: Election law changes needed to repress “fake parties”
Council of Europe: Govt bills would have detrimental effect on human rights if passed
The Council of Europe has called on Hungary’s parliament to postpone voting on bills the government submitted last Friday, predicting “far-reaching detrimental effects” on human rights if they are adopted, the Council of Europe’s Commissioner for Human Rights said on Friday.
Dunja Mijatovic said the government had submitted proposals contained in the legislative package that would affect the functioning of the judiciary, the electoral law, national human rights structures, public finance controls and sexual minorities, without prior consultation. Democracy, the rule of law and human rights in Hungary would be undermined as a result, she added.
EU member states, she said, have some leeway in forming the structures governing human rights but internationally agreed principles should be respected to ensure the independence and efficacy of the bodies concerned.
Some of the amendments could undermine the independence of the judiciary,
Mijatovic said, noting a provision which would expand the powers of the head of the Kúria, Hungary’s supreme court.
Also, the “increasing stigma” being attached to sexual minorities and the “manipulation of their rights for political gain” was also a cause for concern, she said.
Legislative proposals on the scale proposed by the government, involving constitutional changes, should not be adopted during a state of emergency because opportunities to discuss them democratically are constrained, she said, calling on the parliament to postpone the vote until after the special legal order has been lifted.
Read alsoOpposition parties turn to EU: Orbán and his government are not synonymous with Hungary
Pelosi nominated speaker by House Democrats for two more years
U.S. House Democrats on Wednesday nominated Speaker Nancy Pelosi to remain atop the party in the lower chamber of the U.S. Congress for two more years.
Pelosi, aged 80, was approved with a caucus voice vote conducted virtually.
The caucus on Wednesday also reelected Steny Hoyer as Majority Leader and Jim Clyburn as Majority Whip. All the three ran unopposed.
In a speech accepting the nomination, Pelosi vowed to work with Democrat Joe Biden, who was projected to have won 2020 presidential election, to tackle issues including health care, environmental protections and police reforms.
“As we go forward with liberty and justice for all, we must do so listening to the American people, listening to each other with respect, acting to unify,” she told the caucus.
Pelosi will still need to secure a simple majority of the full House in January to be sworn in again as speaker.
During the 2020 general elections, Republicans have flipped nearly a dozen seats with several GOP candidates leading in uncalled races, said a The Hill report, noting that
House Democrats are expected to hold the thinnest majority in the next session since World War II.
Read also5G-front: Hungary refuses to join the anti-China coalition
Opposition parties vow to settle on joint PM candidate by Oct 2021
Hungary’s opposition parties have promised to name a joint candidate for prime minister and joint individual candidates for each electoral district for the next general election by October 23, 2021.
The opposition Socialist, Jobbik, Democratic Coalition, LMP, Momentum and Párbeszéd parties said in a statement on Monday that each of their joint candidates would be chosen in primaries.
The parties said they had agreed at a meeting on Sunday that although they “reject the amendment proposals to the election system initiated by the Fidesz regime”, they were “preparing to win and take back the public funds being stolen under the guise of a constitutional amendment”.
The parties also slammed the government’s handling of the second wave of the coronavirus pandemic, saying its measures aimed at managing the crisis were “too little, too late” after “failing to prepare the health-care system” for the surge in cases.
“The Fidesz regime should only be concerned with protecting the Hungarian people and strengthening the economy and the health-care system during the second wave of the coronavirus pandemic, instead of matters concerning its powers,” the statement said.
The parties said they were preparing to replace the Fidesz-led government and usher in the “start of a new era” in 2022.
They added that their joint election manifesto would lay down the fundamental principles “that will serve as a compass for the cooperation between the democratic parties”. The consultations between the parties will also involve professional and civil organisations as well as labour unions, the statement added.
Read alsoOpposition calls on Orbán to withdraw recent amendment proposals
Biden widens lead in electoral votes, pro-Trump rallies spark concerns of disorder
Multiple U.S. media projected Friday that Democrat Joe Biden has taken the traditionally Republican-leaning state of Georgia, solidifying his lead in the electoral votes. Meanwhile, supporters of U.S. president Donald Trump are planning to stage rallies here amid growing tensions.
According to U.S. media projection, Biden narrowly defeated Trump in Georgia, widening his Electoral College majority by 306 to 232, while Trump was projected to have picked 15 electoral votes from North Carolina.
Biden declared victory for the U.S. presidential race about a week ago, hours after he was projected to have won Pennsylvania’s 20 electoral votes and thus passed the required 270-vote threshold.
In response to the projected Biden victory, Trump said then “this election is far from over” and his campaign vowed to take legal actions against alleged voter fraud and ballot counting misconduct.
A Michigan state judge on Friday rejected an attempt by two pro-Trump poll challengers to block the certification of a Biden win in Detroit, which helped carry Biden’s victory in the midwestern state, said a CNN report, adding that the judge also rejected a request for an audit of the election.
In another development on Friday, lawyers for the Trump campaign dropped a lawsuit seeking a review of all ballots cast in Arizona on Election Day after finding that the margin of victory for the presidential contest in the state could not be overcome, said a U.S. media report.
Meanwhile, Trump supporters are planning to hold rallies over the election results here on Saturday, according to online organizers.
They are expected to meet with counterprotesters, sparking fears that the events could turn violent, according to local media, which noted that among the organizers are a number of far-right activists.
A spokesperson for the Metropolitan Police Department said authorities will be monitoring the situation, noting that D.C. laws prohibit open carry near rallies and that “if anyone is found to be in violation of these laws, they would be subject to arrest.”
According to U.S. TV networks, over 74 million Americans casted their ballots for Biden, while over 70 million voted for Trump, an indication of a deep division in the country.
Read alsoBiden declares victory after divided election as Trump refuses to concede
How will Biden treat Hungary?
Joe Biden has been an inevitable figure in US internal affairs for 48 years now, due to his compromises. As we reported earlier, he also has some previous ties to Hungary; he knows the country pretty well – the question is, will he leave the Hungarian government in peace?
Biden – as opposed to the republican doctrine before Trump – has never believed in direct intervention, says Napi.hu. During the eight years of his vice presidency, it happened only once, when he called upon the attorney general to resign when in 2014 the public revolted against Viktor Janukovic. This case was now used against him during the presidential election campaign. In the time of the American banning scandal in Hungary – when among others, Ildikó Vida, president of Hungarian tax authority was denied to enter the US –, Biden remained silent, the US foreign affairs considered the case to belong to Hungary’s interior affairs.
Therefore, it is not so likely for Biden to make aggressive moves against Hungary. Although he could have revenge on Eastern-Europe, if he wanted to: Janez Jansa Slovenian Prime Minister congratulated Trump first and was late to congratulate Biden. Viktor Orbán Hungarian Prime Minister was not among the first ones to congratulate either; moreover, it was well-known that he roots for Trump.
When Péter Szijjártó Hungarian Foreign Minister was expecting answers on Biden and his son’s Ukrainian cases, he did not react. In fact, it would have been unusual to do so, as the American presidential election is considered a taboo in foreign affairs due to its unpredictability. The defeat of Hillary Clinton in 2016 was a good example to show how quick the balance in forces can change, so it is very risky to choose sides in advance.
Although during the election campaigns Biden referred to the Hungarian and Polish governments as authoritarian regimes, he is not expected to initiate conflicts based on the rule of law in the region. During the abovementioned scandal in 2014, the democratic government handled the case privately; if Hungarian leaders do not bring it up, Washington would not have said a word.
Will the White House welcome Hungary?
On the other hand, it is expected that similarly as during the Obama-administration, the Hungarian government will not be welcomed in the White House. Back then, Péter Szijjártó could only have a debate with Assistant Secretary of State Victoria Nuland. The question is whether the Democrats will choose to isolate or maintain intensive dialogues despite the disagreements. The energy policy of the region could play a crucial role in this: Democrats want to prioritise American liquefied gas instead of Russian natural gas.
NATO could be a buffer zone between the two parties: while Trump dramatically neglected it, Biden in his campaign promised to strengthen it. Hungary belongs to one of the few countries that have been continuously increasing its military expenses – this could open the door for reconciliation.
Many expect for Biden to bring back “soft” politics towards Eastern-Europe. The region might not be in the limelight, but the Hungarian rule of law could expect some criticism.
Opposition calls on Orbán to withdraw recent amendment proposals
Hungary’s opposition parties have called on Prime Minister Viktor Orbán to withdraw a set of amendment proposals to the country’s constitution and election laws the government submitted to parliament on Tuesday.
The constitutional amendment proposal seeks to strengthen protections of families and children, ensuring that all children are brought up according to Christian values appropriate to their gender of birth, the justice minister, who submitted the bill, has said. Meanwhile, the election-related bills would amend the rules on putting together national party lists.
In a statement, the opposition Socialists, Jobbik, Democratic Coalition, LMP, Parbeszed and Momentum parties said the government’s amendment proposals indicated that
“Viktor Orbán is terrified of losing the 2022 general election.”
“The prime minister and his gang are handing over billions of forints in taxpayer money to oligarchs already basking in castles, boats and private jets, setting themselves up for a loss in 2022,” the parties said.
“They are doing all of this in the middle of the coronavirus epidemic when they should be concentrating on resolving the crisis and saving and protecting as many people as possible,” they added.
They said the government’s decision to submit an amendment proposal to the election law “a year and a half out from the parliamentary elections and without consulting anyone else” was a sign that the prime minister was getting “desperate”.
“This just goes to show that Orbán does not even feel safe in an election system he designed for himself,”
the statement said, adding that the prime minister had become unfit for office.
Read alsoDuring emergency powers: Orbán cabinet submits bill on upbringing according to ‘Christian values’
Orbán cabinet changed the election law during the state of emergency?
Yesterday evening Semjén Zsolt, Deputy Prime Minister of Hungary issued a proposal to modify the electoral law. As a consequence, it will be harder for political parties to set up an independent national list of deputies.
This new, 38-page long proposal would modify several laws concerning the elections. The most significant is the changing of the election process, making it more complicated to set up a national list of independent deputies – reports portfolio.hu.
The modification of the law of the year 2001.CCIII concerning the election of parliamentary deputies says
“A party list can be set up by a party that is able – at least in 9 counties and in the capital – to give one independent representative at least in 50 individual electoral districts.”
If a party hasn’t managed to give a candidate in at least 50 districts, it can’t set up a national list, or if it does provide 50 candidates, but some of them resign, and thus the total number drops under 50, its national list will be deleted.
Another law will be modified as well, the law on transparency of campaign costs of parliamentary deputies of the year 2013 LXXXVII. Its 3rd paragraph will be changed by the following.
“In the general election of the parliamentary deputies each party that sets up a list of party deputies will get the following amount as financial support from the central budget:
- 30% of the central budget stated in paragraph 5, in case of giving a candidate in at least 50 independent electoral districts
- 45% of the central budget stated in paragraph 5, in case of giving a candidate in at least 80 independent electoral districts
- 60% of the central budget stated in paragraph 5, in case of giving a candidate in all of the independent districts.”
Based on this modification, the financial support will also be lower for those parties who are only able to present fewer candidates. If this number is under 50, they will not be provided with any resource.
According to the justification,
“the 2011 CCIII law on the election of parliamentary deputies will be modified in order to limit the misusage concerning the financial support of the campaign system – taking into consideration the feedback of the parliamentary parties as well. Thus the minimum number to set up a national list increases from 27 to 50.”
The State Audit Office found that several small parties used the funds allocated to them outside of the campaign period – ads the justification.
The proposition also contains other modifications of the National Election Office concerning the remuneration of delegates, mayors and the county election. The Parliament is expected to decide on the proposition next week.
Read alsoDuring emergency powers: Orbán cabinet submits bill on upbringing according to ‘Christian values’
Read alsoHere are the details of Hungary’s new Covid measures
These are the most important ties of Joe Biden to Hungary: Lake Balaton, Lantos, former PM
Those who follow the work of Joe Biden, already know that the newly elected US President knows some parts of Hungary quite well thanks to his visits taken in the past. In this article, we collected the most important ties of Joe Biden to Hungary.
In 1977, Biden spent his honeymoon at Lake Balaton in Hungary with his second wife, Jill Biden, the next First Lady – reported by the news portal 444. The Hungarian Sea was chosen on the proposal of MP Tom Lantos from Hungary, who began his political career at Biden’s office.
MP Tom Lantos was the one who suggested Biden spend his honeymoon near Lake Balaton.
According to the American foreign policy expert, Charles Gati, they are like-minded people, and it is crucial for both of them to enforce human rights and liberal democracy.
In 2009, Vice President Biden welcomed the former Hungarian Prime Minister, Gordon Bajnai. Within the framework of the meeting, energy security, the global economic situation and Hungary’s military commitment in the Afghanistan war were discussed. The meeting was reported by c-span.org.
According to Népszava, Biden also spoke with great respect about Zbigniew Brzezinski, with whom he had a close relationship for decades. There has been a lot of talk about Central Europe, where Brzezinski supported a modern, democratic, Western-valued and oriented Poland – apparently, Biden does the same. Blinken’s father was an ambassador in Budapest in the 1990s, and his foster mother is of Hungarian descent. They both still follow Hungarian political life day by day.
According to Charles Gati, the new focus of the American foreign policy will be directed towards China, the Middle East and, above all, Iran.
As he says, human rights and democracy will be given more emphasis than before, but it is difficult to predict when and to what extent they will return to this. Biden will undoubtedly be an influential supporter of NATO and the European Union and even the United Nations. America will once again support multilateral institutions.
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The reactions of Hungarian politicians to Joe Biden’s victory
It has now become certain that the 2020 U.S. election was won by Democratic candidate Joe Biden against Republican President Donald Trump.
Upon hearing the news, sooner or later many Hungarian politicians congratulated Joe Biden, the 46th president of the USA. These are presented by Telex.
On Saturday night, all authoritative U.S. news agencies reported that the result of this year’s election had come in. Hungarian leading opposition politicians and the head of communications at Fidesz also reacted to the result.
According to Gergely Karácsony, Trump was good for Orbán, but Biden will be good for Hungary.
“Regardless of party affiliation, it can reassure all of us that Biden does not paralyse dictators and does not view foreign policy as a value-neutral business transaction,” writes the mayor of Budapest. According to Karácsony, Biden values the rule of law, human rights, and human dignity. “With Joe Biden, normalcy returns to the White House, and even if the serious troubles of our world don’t go away in one fell swoop, they will at least once again have the opportunity to address them on a value-based, collaborative basis,” he added.
András Fekete-Győr wrote on Facebook that the American nightmare was over, and then he turned to the domestic aspect of the result: “We are past a serious four years: under Trump, the USA – to Viktor Orbán’s greatest pleasure – watched almost in silence as Hungary became a nest for agents of Eastern dictators, with a Russian spy bank and a Chinese spy factory. That’s the end of it: the Biden administration will be Momentum’s natural ally for the next four years,” he reported. According to the president of Momentum, the lesson of the U.S. presidential election is that
“Trump and Orbán’s false populism can indeed be defeated without extremist politics or demonising opposing voters, with respect for the facts”.
The leading man of the Democratic Coalition, Ferenc Gyurcsány, was short and marrowy: “Well then, that’s fine. Congratulation! It is a real hope that the world will be a little better.”
Biden’s victory was also welcomed in a statement by Jobbik. According to them, with Trump’s defeat, “populist lie-making, misleading, and ignorant mass manipulation that has become a daily political practice has been defeated”. The party also underlined that normalcy and people’s sobriety have prevailed. “The fact that a record-high number of American voters went to the polls also means that there is nothing that can be done with people in the United States or elsewhere. Biden’s victory is very bad news for the populists and very bad news for Viktor Orbán.” According to Jobbik, Hungarian-American relations could reach a new chapter, “finally there will be an opportunity to break the power of populist, illiberal despots together with the United States.”
Ágnes Kunhalmi, the co-chair of MSZP, also congratulated Biden. According to her, democracy has proven to be the only device capable of self-correction. The politician wrote on Facebook that the American people fought to “not bring out the populist right-wing Trump card’s exclusionary, deceptive, and selfish responses to the new challenges, but to reconsider the most fundamental values of our civilization, such as human dignity, respect for each other, and equality. According to Kunhalmi, in the spirit of this, the time will soon come to Hungary as well.
LMP also congratulated Biden, “whose election gives the world hope that the United Stated will rejoin the Paris Climate Agreement, will actively fight to curb climate change that threatens our world, and preserve biodiversity,” wrote Erzsébet Schmuck on her social media page.
From the pro-government side, Fidesz’s communications director, István Hollik, shared a post on Facebook. He did not congratulate the newly elected American president, but he thanked Trump for the past four years. According to Hollik, thanks to Trump, Hungarian-American relations had become as excellent as ever. “We hope that Joe Biden’s administration will not undermine the common results for ideological reasons,” added Hollik, who had previously been a government spokesman.
Tamás Deutsch, a Fidesz member of EP, evaluated the American elections from the perspective of Hungarian domestic politics. “Previously, we won twice with two-thirds under Biden’s vice presidency. Now we will repeat under Biden’s presidency.”
How will the Biden presidency affect Hungary?
During the Trump presidency, an open and flexible approach characterised the US policy towards Central and Eastern Europe. However, under Biden’s presidency, the thinking typical of the Obama administration may return. This can have a serious impact on Hungary as well, as the next ambassador will be appointed by Biden.
The presidential administration of Joe Biden is expected to continue Barack Obama’s foreign policy. This focuses more on global issues as a whole, unlike the flexible, region-specific approach of the Trump administration, Gábor Csizmadia of the University of Public Service told Index.
Trump’s administration treated Central and Eastern Europe within the framework of its so-called “fight for hearts and minds” idea, and its foreign policy was openly a geopolitical power competition. Washington’s goal was to entice their partners on their side politically. This is what required the flexibility already mentioned, the researcher said.
According to Gábor Csizmadia, if Biden continues Obama’s foreign policy, the US could treat Europe as a whole, therefore Hungary and its region might receive less attention.
Of course, this is not necessarily true, as it depends on what domestic and foreign policy advisers Biden surrounds himself with and who the Secretary of State for European Affairs will be.
A Democratic presidency is best received in Western Europe, especially in Berlin, which generally has better relations with Democrats.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel did not get on well with Donald Trump. Trump, who will leave office in January, has ordered the withdrawal of thousands of US troops from Germany without checking with Berlin.
One possibility is that small countries in the region will receive less attention, and ideological expectations over practical cooperation will be imposed. The other possibility is that Biden will pay special attention to Central and Eastern Europe.
“We see what is happening from Belarus through Poland to Hungary,” Biden, who spent his holiday in Balaton in 2009 with his wife during his vice presidency under the Obama administration, indicated in an interview that he does not intend to leave the processes in Hungary and the region unnoticed. In the political journal Foreign Affairs, he also signalled that he would place ideological expectations for America’s allies and those in its sphere of interest.
Gábor Csizmadia points out that under Trump’s presidency, the US Department of State more or less worked independently, and its activities were counterbalanced by the White House. With Biden, this may change.
Presumably, the White House would give way to the US Department of State’s stricter actions against Hungary. Biden would not only not counterbalance but even support that openly. For example, he would openly criticise Budapest in speeches, interviews, announcements, or a high-ranking official would write a critical article in an international newspaper.
This strategy might apply not only to Hungary but the entire region as well. The question remains: what will be the priority of a Biden government in Europe? David Cornstein,
Trump’s appointed ambassador to Budapest, left a week ago. His successor will be appointed by Biden sometime in the first half of next year.
In the last quarter of a century, the US has sent only politically appointed mission leaders to the Hungarian capital.
Featured image: facebook.com/joebiden
Read alsoTrump vs Biden! Check out what Hungarians think
Read alsoThe end of the Orbán-Putin friendship?
Hungarian president and PM Orbán congratulate Biden
Hungarian President János Áder has sent a letter of congratulations to Joe Biden, president-elect of the United States, his office told MTI on Sunday.
Historic Hungarian-American relations are built on common values that include their quest for freedom and commitment to democracy, Áder said in his letter.
Hungary will seek to further strengthen the two countries’ friendly relations in future, the president said. He said the United States, similarly to other countries, faces challenges with the coronavirus.
“While fighting the pandemic, we must not forget to tackle the unfavourable effects of climate change,” Áder said, highlighting the importance of effective international cooperation in resolving global issues.
The transatlantic community of nations that share common values is instrumental in maintaining stability in the world. Hungary, as an ally of the United States, will continue to contribute to efforts towards maintaining peace and stability while fighting terrorism, he said.
The Hungarian president wished Biden much success in fulfilling his responsibilities.
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has also congratulated Joe Biden:
“Let me congratulate you on your successful presidential campaign. I wish you good health and continued success in fulfilling your responsibilities,” Bertalan Havasi quoted Orbán as saying in his letter.
Read alsoBiden declares victory after divided election as Trump refuses to concede
Hungarian People’s Party Jobbik welcomes Joe Biden’s victory
Donald Trump’s election loss means that populist fake news, misinformation and factually ignorant mass manipulation, which have become part of daily political practice, has also been defeated. Normality and common sense prevailed.
This is a warning sign for Trump’s fervent political friends across the world and it may give strength to the people fighting for their freedom in Belarus, Poland and here in Hungary, too.
Trump appears to have been using the Republican Party as a rented tuxedo and now he is returning it stained and torn. The Republicans will need to work hard to restore their party’s credibility and make it a real Conservative political force again.
The record high voter turnout is a clear indication that politicians must never go too far and take popular support for granted, no matter if they are in the US or anywhere else in the world. Biden’s victory is very bad news for populists and very bad news for Viktor Orbán.
Joe Biden is a calm and circumspect centrist politician with a lot of experience in finding the balance in domestic political issues and he was able to gain the support of the majority of Americans looking for a peaceful resolution of societal conflicts. He will work to fill the trenches left behind by his predecessor and, after an extremely intense and highly emotional campaign, serve the entire country and not just his own supporters.
The 46th president-elect is also experienced in foreign affairs. One of his priorities will likely be to normalize US-EU relations, which became tense during Trump’s presidency. Unfortunately, Joe Biden’s campaign has referred to Hungary several times as a negative example where democracy is under threat.
The Hungarian government responded by launching dishonourable attacks on Biden’s family and attempting to interfere with the US elections.
This kind of loose cannon foreign policy, which fails to meet even the most basic requirements of diplomacy, does not reflect the opinion of the majority in Hungary. The Euro-Atlantic alliance is of utmost importance for Jobbik, the Hungarian people’s party. We will do our best to establish good relations with the new president, his administration and the future US ambassador in Budapest.
Today, US-Hungary bilateral relations have also arrived at a new chapter. We will finally have the opportunity to cooperate with the US in breaking the power of populist, illiberal despots. Hungary must show that we do not belong on the dunce’s seat. On the contrary, we can learn from the American example and, when it comes to the 2022 national elections, choose a government that is democratic, free and committed to the western values.
Read alsoBiden declares victory after divided election as Trump refuses to concede
Biden declares victory after divided election as Trump refuses to concede
Democrat Joe Biden declared victory for the U.S. presidential election on Saturday night, days after Election Day, since races in several battleground states were too close to call with a record number of mail-in ballots to be counted.
President Donald Trump hasn’t conceded defeat but vowed to take what he believes are election misconduct to the court, thrusting more uncertainty upon an already exhausted and divided country.
URGING UNITY AMID DEEPENING DIVISION
Speaking from Wilmington, Delaware, Biden touted a “clear” and “convincing” victory while repeating a message of unity after a politically polarized election.
“I ran as a proud Democrat. I will now be an American president. I will work as hard for those who didn’t vote for me – as those who did,” he said.
Trump signaled on Saturday that he would not accept Biden’s victory and vowed to mount legal challenges in court.
Biden’s remarks came multiple hours after major U.S. media networks called the presidential race in favor of him after he was projected to take Pennsylvania, a key “battleground state” carrying 20 electoral votes.
In addition to Pennsylvania, Biden was forecast to win back Midwestern states of Wisconsin and Michigan, which have 26 electoral votes together. These three states, once dubbed as the “blue wall,” all went to Trump’s column in 2016.
For Trump, he held onto Florida and Ohio. The races in Georgia and North Carolina have not been called.
Meanwhile, Democrats are expected to keep control of the House but their majority is expected to be narrower. In the Senate races, Republicans and Democrats are deadlocked at 48 seats each for now.
Crowds of people gathered in Washington, D.C., Austin and other cities to celebrate Biden’s projected victory.
Speaking to Xinhua near the White House, local resident Charlie Passut said he doesn’t know how much Biden will be able to get done if Congress is divided, adding that the Democrat will “have a lot of work to do.”
As of Saturday evening, Biden has received nearly 75 million votes nationwide, while Trump has garnered more than 70 million, according to Fox News. Both have broken Barack Obama’s record for popular vote set in 2008.
“The election revealed the U.S. is now one country but two nations,” tweeted Richard Haass, president of the Council on Foreign Relations, a U.S. think tank. “We have sorted ourselves into communities & regions with those of similar views. They will have to coexist; whether they can work together remains to be seen.”
LEGAL CHALLENGES
“This election is far from over,” Trump said in a statement earlier in the day, adding that starting Monday, “our campaign will start prosecuting our cases in court.”
The Trump campaign has already launched multiple lawsuits in several battleground states, including Pennsylvania, Michigan, and Georgia.
The campaign has also called for a recount in Wisconsin, while a state official in Georgia has said there would be a recount in the “Peach State” due to a small margin.
Supporters of the president gathered in places across the United States on Saturday, insisting that the election hasn’t finished.
Hundreds of Trump’s supporters gathered at the Arizona Capitol on Saturday afternoon, protesting that the presidential race was called for Biden.
Trump has previously suggested that he may take the cases to the U.S. Supreme Court, where conservatives have a solid 6-3 majority, including three justices nominated by him.
In 2000, the country’s highest federal court decided in a disputed recount of votes in Florida with a 5-4 ruling, effectively handing that year’s presidential election to the Republican presidential candidate and then-governor of Texas George W. Bush, who won 271 electoral votes, one more than a majority.
Christopher Galdieri, a political science professor at Saint Anselm College in northeastern state of New Hampshire, told Xinhua that unlike the 2000 Florida case “there are no clearly litigable questions” this year.
“The Trump strategy seems to be to file lots of lawsuits,” Galdieri said. “This is very much a long-shot strategy and I am skeptical that it will work for them.”
Besides, election disputes would have to go through lower courts before they could reach the high court, according to other U.S. election and legal experts.
A federal law sets what is called the “Safe Harbor” deadline, falling on Dec. 8 this year, the day by which states must submit the winner of the presidential election if they are to be insulated from legal disputes.
Electoral College representatives will meet six days later, on Dec. 14, to formally select the next U.S. president. The U.S. Congress will meet in joint session to count the electoral votes on Jan. 6 next year. The Inauguration Day is Jan. 20.
DAUNTING CHALLENGES
Biden has made the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic a central issue of his presidential bid and put Trump on the defense in their debates over the public health crisis, which has infected more than 9.8 million people in the United States, with nearly 237,000 deaths.
The country set a new record on Friday when the number of its daily cases reached more than 125,000.
Biden said Saturday night that he will name a group of scientists and experts as “transition advisors” to convert his plan to respond to the pandemic into an action blueprint.
“We cannot repair the economy, restore our vitality, or relish life’s most precious moments … until we get this virus under control,” he said.
“Everything hinges on his administration’s efforts to control the pandemic,” Clay Ramsay, a researcher at the Center for International and Security Studies at the University of Maryland, told Xinhua.
According to The Washington Post, Biden is also planning to quickly sign a series of executive orders after taking office to rejoin the Paris Climate Accord, return to the World Health Organization, revoke a ban on immigration from some Muslim-majority countries, and allow “Dreamers,” brought to the United States illegally as children, to remain in the country.
Read alsoJoe Biden projected to be winner of 2020 U.S. election
Joe Biden projected to be winner of 2020 U.S. election
Joe Biden was projected to be the winner of the 2020 election, according to multiple U.S. media outlets on Saturday.
Biden has won more than 270 electoral votes, U.S. media projected.
The projections came after major outlets, including AP, CNN, Fox News, and NBC News, called the key battleground state of Pennsylvania for the former U.S. vice president.
Biden has taken at least 273 electoral votes against sitting president Donald Trump, according to the projections.
Joe Biden called for unity after being projected to be the winner of the fiercely contested 2020 election.
Trump says election “far from over,” vows legal moves
Sitting U.S. President Donald Trump said on Saturday that the 2020 election is “far from over,” vowing to take legal actions as early as next week.
The statement came after multiple U.S. media outlets projected Joe Biden to be the winner of the 2020 election.
“Joe Biden has not been certified as the winner of any states, let alone any of the highly contested states headed for mandatory recounts, or states where our campaign has valid and legitimate legal challenges that could determine the ultimate victor,” Trump said in a statement issued by his campaign.
He also said the campaign will “start prosecuting” the cases in court beginning on Monday.
Read alsoBiden says no final declaration of victory, but “going to win this race”
Biden says no final declaration of victory, but “going to win this race”
U.S. Democratic nominee Joe Biden said Friday that he has no final declaration of victory, but he is “going to win” the presidential campaign.
“We don’t have a final declaration of victory yet, but the numbers tell us it is a clear and convincing story: We’re going to win this race,” Biden said in a late night speech in his hometown Wilmington, Delaware.
Biden said he was given a “mandate” to act on issues including the COVID-19 pandemic, economy, climate change and systemic racism, and he, along with his running mate Kamala Harris, has met with experts on these challenges the United States is facing.
He noted that daily cases of COVID-19 are skyrocketing, pledging to immediately implement a plan to get the virus under control if elected.
In his speech, Biden also urged calmness and patience as vote counting continues.
“We have to remain calm, patient, let the process work out as we count all the votes,” Biden said as the tight races in key battleground states such as Pennsylvania, Georgia, Nevada and North Carolina are yet to be called three days after Election Day.
Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger said earlier in the day that there will be a recount in the southeastern state due to a small margin.
“Your vote will be counted. I don’t care how hard people try to stop it; I will not let it happen,” said Biden, voicing confidence in carrying the states of Georgia, Pennsylvania, Nevada and Arizona.
In a tweet Friday afternoon, Republican incumbent Donald Trump said “Joe Biden should not wrongfully claim the office of the President. I could make that claim also,” adding that “legal proceedings are just now beginning!”
As of Friday night, Biden is leading the 2020 presidential election with 253 electoral votes, while Trump has taken 213, according to CNN.
Fox News and The Wall Street Journal have forecast a higher number of electoral votes for the Democratic nominee at 264, awarding him Arizona, which carries 11 votes.
