Orbán: “I have always been for Trump, he is a friend of Hungary”
The situation regarding the coronavirus epidemic is severely difficult in some parts of Hungary, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán said on Friday in an interview to public radio. “But our chances are good,” he said.
“We’ll manage the situation and together we’ll succeed once more,” he told Kossuth Radio.
Fully 2,240 intensive-care beds will be needed on Nov. 21 and 4,480 on 10 Dec, according to the latest official assessment, he said.
“That’s pretty much the limit of our capacities,” he said, noting that an estimated 4,480 patients in intensive care units would mean around 32,000 coronavirus patients are hospitalised.
If the infection reaches beyond this threshold, the authorities have designated locations where adequate medical care can be provided, even outside hospitals if needed, he said.
Orbán said that within days or even hours, a decision may be made to reschedule certain low-risk operations and to release more hospital beds. Also, efforts are being made to ensure schools stay open for as long as possible, he said, adding that when students are in school, they are in a controlled environment.
So far, 98 kindergartens have had to be closed, seven schools are under suspension, 23 have introduced online study and 78 schools operate hybrid learning, he said.
Orbán noted that the average age of Covid deceased was 76.1, adding that young people should “think not only of yourselves, but also of your parents and grandparents”. Out of 3,230 localities, only 700 are now free of the epidemic, he said.
The prime minister said the government was constantly assessing whether to tighten restrictions. “But the world has changed a lot since Monday,” he said, adding that the vast majority was complying with mask-wearing rules. If shop and restaurant owners do not follow the rules, they will be closed down, he noted.
Commenting on the US presidential election, the prime minister said that unlike his Democratic predecessors, Donald Trump had not berated Hungary.
He called Trump “a friend of Hungary”, adding that US-Hungary relations had been on top form during his presidency. This is why, Orbán added, that he had “always been for Trump”.
“The outcome will be what it will be; it’s the right of the American people to decide who governs America,” he said, adding that it was up to Hungarians “to decide who governs Hungary and how”.
Referring to the resumption of the “special legal order”, Orbán said lawmakers had debated mask-wearing rules for two weeks before the opposition refused to vote in favour of tightening restrictions. “This doesn’t make sense.”
He said parliament was “sacred”, but quick decisions were called for at times, adding that there could be serious consequences whenever the opposition hindered measures.
Orbán said lawmakers convened on a regular basis. “Of course the liberals of the world will talk about dictatorship again,” he said. “But the government has the right to decide on issues that would normally be decided through legislation.” he said, adding that the government had not sought an extension to the special legal order beyond 90 days, not because the opposition had insisted on a deadline in the spring, but because “we now see the end of the tunnel” in light of reports that vaccines were becoming more reliable. “Ninety days will be enough,” he said.
Commenting on the plan to link EU funding to the rule of law, Orbán said the top priority was to handle the epidemic, and troubled southern countries must receive funds as soon as possible. He said Hungary was less affected since the country already had the resources needed to keep the economy functioning for the next two years.
Referring to financier George Soros, he said journalists and politicians were being “fed from the palm of George Soros’s hand”, adding that four years ago Soros had had called for budget support to be denied to countries that refused to admit migrants.
“Hungary cannot be blackmailed,” he said, adding that the country would have access to “the money it deserves”.
Trump says expecting “a lot of litigation” over election
U.S. President and Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump said on Thursday he expects “a lot of litigation” over the 2020 election.
Litigation may end up at the Supreme Court, Trump said at the White House briefing room. While making the remarks, he continued to cast doubt over mail-in ballots and vote counting in some states.
U.S. media outlets haven’t declared a winner for the presidential election as races in several battleground states, including Pennsylvania, Georgia, and Arizona, are neck and neck and remain too close to call.
Speaking from Wilmington, Delaware on Thursday afternoon, Biden said he continues to “feel very good about where things stand.”
“Each ballot must be counted,” the Democratic nominee said.
Read alsoTrump campaign files lawsuits over mail-in ballots in multiple battleground states
Read alsoU.S. hits over 100,000 single-day COVID-19 cases after Election Day
U.S. hits over 100,000 single-day COVID-19 cases after Election Day
The United States added record-breaking 100,000 plus new COVID-19 cases in a single day on Wednesday, while people nationwide are waiting for the outcome of the presidential election.
A total of 106,537 new cases and 1,141 new deaths were recorded on Wednesday, according to data updated by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on Thursday.
The record-high case count sets a new milestone since the outbreak of the pandemic in the country, which had been predicted by experts months ago.
In June, with daily cases hovering around 40,000, Anthony Fauci, director of the U.S. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, warned the country was on track to hit 100,000 daily cases if the nation did not work harder to stop the spread of the coronavirus.
Daily new confirmed coronavirus cases in the U.S. have surged 45 percent over the past two weeks, to a record 7-day average of nearly 90,000, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University.
Wednesday’s death count also marked the highest since mid-September, CDC data showed.
In addition to sky-high daily infections, key metrics, including rising hospitalizations and testing positivity rates, indicate that the country’s outbreak is worsening, according to data from The COVID Tracking Project.
Hospitalization numbers peaked in 16 states on Wednesday. 20 states have over 1,000 people currently hospitalized with COVID-19.
Florida, for instance, recorded 6,257 coronavirus cases Thursday, the first time the state logged more than 6,000 cases since Aug. 15, according to the Florida Department of Health.
With the Thanksgiving holiday is just weeks away, experts are concerned Americans will let their guard down which may further fuel an already rampant spread of the virus.
The United States has recorded more than 9,537,000 confirmed COVID-19 cases and over 234,200 deaths as of Thursday afternoon, according to the real-time count kept by Johns Hopkins University.
Read alsoTrump campaign files lawsuits over mail-in ballots in multiple battleground states
Trump campaign files lawsuits over mail-in ballots in multiple battleground states
U.S. President Donald Trump’s campaign said on Wednesday that it had filed a lawsuit over parts of mail-in ballots in the southeastern state of Georgia, the third legal action launched in battleground states.
Trump’s campaign had also filed lawsuits in Michigan and Pennsylvania to halt vote counting and asked for a recount in Wisconsin.
President Trump and the Georgia Republican Party have filed suit “to ensure a free, fair election in which only legal, valid ballots count,” Deputy Campaign Manager Justin Clark said in a statement.
Georgia, which carries 16 electoral votes, is a crucial battleground, where Trump and his Democratic challenger and former U.S. Vice President Joe Biden are running neck and neck so far. Democrats have not taken Georgia in a presidential election since 1992.
The Trump campaign is also seeking to intervene in a Pennsylvania case at the Supreme Court that deals with whether ballots received up to three days after the election can be counted, Clark said.
Biden has been projected to flip Michigan and Wisconsin, two battleground states taken by Trump four years ago, which together carry 26 electoral votes.
Biden’s campaign spokesman Andrew Bates said legal challenges were not the behavior of a winning campaign, and described the efforts of demanding recounts or halt of vote counting as “pathetic” and “fruitless.”
CNN is projecting that Biden has so far garnered 253 electoral votes, leading Trump by 40. The Wall Street Journal has predicted higher number of electoral votes for Biden at 264 with Arizona’s 11 votes counted as the former U.S. vice president’s take.
To win the White House, a candidate needs at least 270 electoral votes of the 538 in total.
Jobbik MEP Gyöngyösi: Washington’s global role is at stake in the US elections
Remarks from Jobbik MEP Márton Gyöngyösi:
In just a few days, US citizens decide who will lead their country in the next four years.
The stakes have always been enormous for each and every presidential election as the US’ fate has been closely intertwined with that of its allies as well as its enemies or rivals ever since World War 2. It has been especially so since the end of the cold war and the bipolar world order, when the US remained in the arena as the sole economic, military and geopolitical superpower. This status comes with a special responsibility.
At a superficial glance, this presidential election might look similar to all previous votes where the Republican and the Democratic candidates of the traditional bipolar political culture duelled for public support. However, this election is about something else, something significantly more than just the programme-based debate and competition of two candidates.
This time US citizens will also express with their votes how they view their own nation, their values achieved and retained over the centuries as well as how they relate to the rest of the world.
At the threshold of a new era, voters need to do much more than just elect the leader most aligned with their ideological preferences. This time their priorities lie somewhere else: they need to choose between different systems, regimes and worlds now. This election is about whether Washington remains the leader of the very same free world the creation of which was largely due to the US and the direction of which was determined by the rule of law, the achievements of liberal democracy, value-driven foreign policy and the international institutions of cooperative multilateralism.
Back during the 2016 US presidential election, you could already feel the wave of international populism which involved more and more politicians defining themselves as opposed to liberal democracy and which can consequently be described as “illiberal”. At that time, Europe had already gone six months after such events as the UK’s Brexit referendum to leave the EU and Viktor Orbán forming another two-thirds majority government following a constitutional coup d’état unprecedented in the western world since Germany of the 1930s. The Hungarian prime minister’s acts laid the foundations for his “hybrid regime” which, while maintaining the façade of existing but dysfunctional democratic institutions, serves as the new measure of “illiberalism”. This means that the values of the western civilization are no longer questioned by just such external regimes as Turkey, Russia, China or Iran. Now the cracks appear within the alliance, carrying the risk of blowing up the “status quo”.
Four years ago, an average Trump voter could say in their defence that they voted for a genuine novelty candidate to express their discontent with the representatives of the truly irritating in-bred political dynasties often seen in both the Democratic and the Republican Party.
In addition, Trump voters could also believe that such factors as the US Constitution, the perfectly honed mechanism of checks and balances and the American media’s unparalleled pluralism would provide an impenetrable defence from any abuse of power or the threat of “illiberalism”.
After Trump’s first four years however, there’s no place for such naiveté. The first four years have clearly shown what to expect in the second term. Under Trump’s leadership, the US has unilaterally withdrawn from several of its international commitments, including the Paris climate agreement or many free trade agreements while its dedication to NATO has been questioned by some of its allies. US-China relations are typically marked by permanent tensions in trade and economic issues, while the relations with Russia are characterized by a complete and utter ambivalence.
As far as foreign affairs are concerned, Washington is apparently less and less inclined to conduct a value-based policy or play a leading role as the defender of freedom, human rights and democratic values across the world.
The current isolationist and self-serving “America First” doctrine of Trumpism goes against the US’ traditional global commitment which the country has, for better or worse, represented consistently ever since its foundation.
On 3 November, the stakes of the elections will be high: beside America’s future, the fate of the post-war liberal world order hangs in the balance, too.
Read alsoJobbik MEP Gyöngyösi: The message of 1956 is still valid
Trump vs Biden! Check out what Hungarians think
The Lounge Group conducted a unique research parallel in the US and Hungary. The topic was the U.S. presidential election that takes place on 3 November.
The world press is increasingly concerned about the upcoming U.S. presidential election, where Republican President Donald Trump and Democratic candidate Joe Biden are vying for votes. Hungary’s largest marketing communications company group, the Lounge Group, also considers the topic important. Therefore, it conducted a representative poll in both the USA and Hungary. The results are presented by novekedes.hu.
40 per cent of Hungarian and American voters alike think Republican Donald Trump will win the election in early November.
The research also states that American (48%) and Hungarian (60%) respondents typically make decisions based on the candidate’s ideology during voting. In America, however, the proportion of those who make decisions based on the candidate’s identity is twice as high as in Hungary. In Hungary, 14 per cent of the population thinks that the candidate’s party is more important than the person or their ideology, while in the United States, only 9 per cent of voters think similarly.
The research also looked at how well-informed people in Hungary are about the US presidential election. Based on this, almost everyone knows that Trump, who spoke to Viktor Orbán recently, is the current president; however, only one-third of respondents could name Joe Biden as Trump’s challenger. One-tenth of the Hungarian population is uncertain who the current president of America is.
A few of the Hungarian respondents still think of Barack Obama as the current leader of the United States.
There is an issue in which Hungary is on the American side, but there are also differences. Americans currently consider the coronavirus epidemic to be the most important problem, followed by job creation and the restoration of order. Respondents across the pond consider ensuring the country’s economic stability even more important than maintaining their health for resolving the epidemic. This is a significant difference compared to the data of the Hungarian survey, according to which the Hungarian population is most concerned about their family’s and their own health.
Zsófia Szabó, the head of Lounge Group’s research division, added that “in a globalised world, we are affected in many cases the same way, but due to different cultural traditions and state operations, the most pressing problem of this year is given differently by the American and the European society. In our country, as in most European states, healthcare is a subjective right. In the U.S., care and insurance are a big expense that many are only able to recoup from their earnings, that is, from keeping their jobs. This justifies the fact that the American population is worried about economic performance, while Europeans are more concerned about maintaining the functioning of the social welfare system.”
US Ambassador: Relations with Hungary ‘could not be better’
Relations between Hungary and the United States could not be better, outgoing US Ambassador David B. Cornstein said in an interview published in daily Magyar Nemzet’s Wednesday issue.
The ambassador told the paper that US-Hungary relations had been “rather poor” when he came to serve in Hungary in June 2018.
He highly regarded efforts made towards strengthening mutual security, noting the Defence Cooperation Agreement signed by the two countries last year. Their troops work together in several missions around the world as both sides are committed to defending freedom and democracy, he said.
Asked whether press freedom is “in grave danger” in Hungary, Ambassador Cornstein said that the general opinion was that the media in the country was more conservative than liberal. He, however, said that he was reading every morning several articles criticising the Hungarian government and its measures. He said
there was press freedom in Hungary,
but the various media outlets are biased from the one side or the other and this way the press was not serving its real purpose.
In connection with the upcoming US elections,
the ambassador called Donald Trump “a fabulous, fantastic and wonderful” president.
He said if Trump remains in office after the presidential election on November 3, bilateral relations could be further boosted to the benefit of both countries.
“What I have experienced is clearly that Hungary’s government is not totalitarian. Hungary is a democracy where there are democratic elections, therefore I did not find such remarks justified at all”, the ambassador said.
As we wrote yesterday, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has expressed hope that US President Donald Trump will be re-elected to his post in the upcoming elections.
Read alsoGeorge Bush monument inaugurated in Budapest – VIDEO, Photos – UPDATE
Tensions between Hungary and Ukraine – Ukraine’s move is pathetic and a nonsense, says FM Szijjártó
Issues around minorities cannot be considered domestic affairs “under any European or international law”, the Hungarian foreign minister said on Tuesday.
In a video posted on Facebook, Péter Szijjártó noted the Ukraine foreign ministry’s recent summoning of the Hungarian ambassador and banning the entry of two Hungarian officials saying that they had interfered with Ukraine’s domestic affairs.
Szijjártó insisted that Ukraine’s interpretation of “interference” was not clear, whether it referred to “the Hungarian government’s sending 50 ventilators to Ukraine…, Hungary being the only country allowing Ukrainian nationals transit to Western Europe, or the Hungarian central budget financing the revitalisation of one of the most polluted rivers in Ukraine”.
Ukraine’s move is “pathetic and a nonsense”, while it sends the message that the country has “given up its endeavours towards European and Euro-Atlantic integration, and waived its need for Hungary’s support in the process”,
Szijjártó said, adding that aspirants for integration needed unanimous member support both in the EU and in NATO.
The Hungarian government continues to be ready to build good neighbourly relations and conduct a dialogue “but the recent period has demonstrated that this readiness is unilateral”, Szijjártó said.
The minister assured Transcarpathian Hungarians of his government’s full support and congratulated ethnic Hungarian party KMKSZ on its “historic, landslide” victory in Ukraine’s recent municipal elections.
Minister Szijjártó blasts Ukraine’s summoning of Hungarian ambassador
Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó has slammed the Ukrainian foreign ministry’s summoning of Hungary’s ambassador to Kiev, calling the move “nonsensical”.
Ukraine’s foreign ministry on Sunday accused Hungary of interfering in its electoral process. The ministry reacted to Szijjártó’s call on ethnic Hungarians in Transcarpathia (Kárpátalja) to vote for ethnic Hungarian candidates in the country’s local elections.
Speaking to public media on Monday, Szijjártó said
the Ukrainian foreign ministry had summoned István Ijgyártó, Hungary’s ambassador to the country, to ask him why Budapest had urged ethnic Hungarians to support Hungarian candidates.
He added that if Ukraine was serious about wanting closer cooperation with the European Union and wanted to embark on the path to European integration “then it needs to forget about these kinds of summonings once and for all”.
Concerning the outcome of Sunday’s elections, the minister congratulated the Transcarpathian Hungarian Cultural Association (KMKSZ) and Transcarpathia Hungarians for securing representation in the Transcarpathian county council.
The Hungarian government is committed to helping Transcarpathian Hungarians and is ready to continue its cooperation with KMKSZ, he said.
The government will carry on with its economic development programme geared towards the region and with supporting local institutions, he added.
Szijjártó welcomed Berehove (Beregszász) Mayor Zoltán Babják’s re-election and also congratulated other Hungarian candidates who won their mayoral races.
The Hungarian government is prepared to boost cooperation with Ukraine so that Transcarpathia becomes “a shared success story”, he said, adding that hopefully, Ukraine, too, was “open to making this happen”.
Ukraine objects, they claim the Hungarian government interferes with their local elections
The Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign Affairs is outraged by the actions of Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó. The minister was accused of directly interfering with Ukrainian municipal elections, and therefore undermining the relationship of the two countries.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine criticised the Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó for encouraging his followers on social media to vote for the Transcarpathian Hungarian Cultural Association’s candidate Zoltán Babják, running for major in the municipal elections of Beregszász, hvg reports.
The ministry accused Budapest of interfering in their municipal electoral process and expressed their deep disappointment in Szijjártó’s earlier statements. They believe that the minister’s actions undermine all Hungarian-Ukrainian negotiations. They find Szijjártó’s comments unacceptable, which require a “strong reaction.”
Read alsoForeign minister: Ethnic Hungarians in Slovakia can rely on Hungary’s continued support
“Budapest confirmed its direct interference in Ukraine’s internal affairs and stroked an insidious blow on Ukraine’s efforts toward finding a constructive solution to the problems of the country’s relationship with Hungary.”
The Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign Affairs finds it unacceptable that Budapest tries to whisper in the ears of Ukrainian voters. Moreover, it is not only unacceptable, but it goes against Ukrainian laws.
“Budapest disregarded Kyiv’s repeated calls to end its disregard for the rule of law and good neighbourly relations and to respect Ukraine’s laws.” Therefore, Budapest encourages people to disregard Ukraine’s constitution and laws. This kind of provocation and manipulation of Ukrainian citizens is doomed.
This is not the first incident. In a previous statement issued on 20 October, the Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign Affairs had warned Hungarian officials to refrain from political agitation and interference in Ukrainian municipal elections during their visits to Transcarpathia.
PM Viktor Orbán: “I was in the kitchen when Trump called me”
David Cornstein, former US Ambassador to Hungary, was handing in his resignation letter to Trump when the President suddenly said, “Let’s call Viktor” – and they did.
The other day, when David Cornstein, former United States Ambassador to Hungary, gave an interview to Népszava, he mentioned that a few weeks back, when he was handing in his resignation letter to Trump,
the President said, out of the blue: “Let’s call Viktor!”
And if it was not unexpected enough, Cornstein added that the call had reached Orbán right in his home, while he was in the kitchen – so, shortly after the interview, Blikk too decided to get in touch with the Hungarian prime minister to learn about the details of this extraordinary situation.
“I was puttering around,” said the prime minister to Blikk, “warming up some food”. Then he adds proudly that the food in question was lecsó based on his wife’s recipe (named ‘European champion’), which is also published in her recipe book A konyhaablakból (From the Kitchen Window).
Orbán said that during the call “on his old Nokia”, they briefly talked about the presidential elections – “neck and neck, but I’m going to win,” said Trump –, and how the two governments are handling the pandemic.
Orbán also asked the President about the current status of vaccine research in the US and whether vaccines would also be available in countries outside the States.
Trump gave a reassuring answer: “You can count on me.”
The above conversation, albeit peculiar, would correspond to what Péter Szijjártó, Foreign Minister of Hungary, said about American-Hungarian relations a few weeks ago, from the similar views shared by the two politicians to how there is a “real friendship” between them.
Read alsoHungary-US relations at all-time high, says foreign minister
Hungarian FM calls on Biden to address suspected Ukraine corruption
Joe Biden should address corruption allegations in connection with Ukraine before resuming dealings with Hungary, Péter Szijjártó, the foreign minister, said on Facebook on Saturday.
Szijjártó noted that the Democratic US election candidate had worked on central European issues for eight years during Barack Obama’s presidency. He added that the US had “attacked constantly and lectured” central Europe.
Also, the US had attacked Hungary when it adopted its new constitution and US embassy leaders had taken part in anti-government protests in Budapest, he said.
The minister also referred to “extremely politically biased opinions” expressed in support of the opposition.
Biden, he said, had been preoccupied with Ukraine. “It wouldn’t be too much of an exaggeration to say that there was a time during in his vice-presidency when he visited Ukraine more that he visited America beyond Washington.”
The minister said these visits coincided with his son’s term on the board of directors of a Ukrainian energy company. This period, he added, was marked by endemic corruption in the Ukrainian energy sector.
Biden, he said, should make clear how he had used his political influence to bring about profits for the energy company and his son. He should declare, he added, what pressure he put on the Ukrainian government to dismiss the Ukrainian Attorney General, and how this dismissal was connected to the cessation of investigations into energy deals made by Biden’s son.
Szijjártó slammed Biden for recently making “totally unjust and unworthy” accusations against Hungary and Poland at a campaign event.
Read alsoPresident Trump illustrated the dire future to be expected if Biden is elected with a photo of the Hungarian Railways
Hungary-US relations at all-time high, says foreign minister
Relations between Hungary and the United States are the best they have ever been, Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó said on Facebook on Friday.
The minister reacted to comments by US Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden, who recently categorised Poland and Hungary as “totalitarian regimes”, comparing them to Belarus.
Speaking at a town hall on Thursday, the former vice-president said NATO was at risk of “beginning to crack” because of “what’s happened in everything from Belarus to Poland to Hungary and the rise of totalitarian regimes in the world.”
Szijjártó said US President Donald Trump and Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán shared similar views on illegal immigration, border protection, security and the need to support families and protect Christian communities.
The minister insisted that it was because of these policies that Biden had “involved Hungary in the presidential election campaign”, adding that his comments “have nothing to do with reality”.
Read alsoPresident Trump illustrated the dire future to be expected if Biden is elected with a photo of the Hungarian Railways
Fidesz candidate wins NE Hungary by-election
The candidate of ruling Fidesz, Zsófia Koncz, won the by-elections in Szerencs, northeast Hungary, late on Sunday.
Prime Minister Viktor Orbán congratulated Koncz on Facebook, who secured her parliamentary seat against László Bíró, a conservative Jobbik politician fielded jointly by the opposition parties.
Jobbik said after the election that
Bíró had “achieved much with an honest and fair campaign while the lies and defamatory agitation of the government propaganda machine kept [the voters] under constant pressure.”
Fidesz lawmaker Lajos Kósa said the campaign had shown that “the joint left-wing … would do anything for money and power,” and that voters “do not want the mixed platter offered by [Democratic Coalition head Ferenc] Gyurcsány.”
Read alsoFidesz candidate wins NE Hungary by-election
Trump makes first public appearance as he is “no longer” a transmission risk
U.S. President Donald Trump, who tested positive for COVID-19 on Oct. 1, is “no longer considered a transmission risk to others,” his doctor said on Saturday as the president prepared to resume campaign rallies.
In a new memo on the president’s status, White House physician Sean Conley wrote that he made the assessment following a COVID PCR sample this morning by “currently recognized standards,” but did not disclose when Trump last had a negative test result.
“Now at day 10 from symptom onset, fever-free for well over 24 hours and all symptoms improved, the assortment of advanced diagnostic tests obtained revealed there is no longer evidence of actively replicating virus,” Conley said of the president, promising to continue to monitor the president clinically “as he returns to an active schedule.”
The 74-year-old tested positive for the virus on Oct. 1 and was later hospitalized for three days before returning to the White House with continued treatment.
In the wake of Trump’s infection, a number of White House staff have also confirmed positive for the virus.
Top U.S. expert Anthony Fauci on Friday identified a White House ceremony unveiling president’s Supreme Court nominee on Sept. 26, as “a super-spreader event” for COVID-19.
After completing a therapy and being medically cleared by Conley, Trump made his first public appearance since infection at the White House on Saturday afternoon by addressing hundreds of supporters from the Truman Balcony.
“I’m feeling great,” the president said, while declaring COVID-19 is “disappearing” in the Untied States despite that dozens of states are reporting rising numbers of cases.
Over the past week, there have been an average of 47,782 cases per day in the United States, an increase of 12 percent from the average two weeks ago, according to a tally by The New York Times.
The virus has infected more than 7.7 million people and killed 214,370 in the country, showed a dashboard run by Johns Hopkins University.
Trump will hit the presidential campaign trail on Monday with a rally in Sanford, Florida.
Read alsoPresident Trump illustrated the dire future to be expected if Biden is elected with a photo of the Hungarian Railways
Hungarian foreign minister: Trump deserves the Nobel Peace Prize
In an interview with pro-Trump channel One America Network, Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó spoke about Hungarian-American relations, the upcoming elections in the United States, and the President’s chances of winning the Nobel Peace Prize, reports Index.
Szijjártó said that Hungarian-American relations have never been as good as now, and he expressed his gratitude to the entire Trump administration. He added that there was a “real friendship” between President Trump and the Hungarian prime minister, as “both are honest and straightforward politicians”.
He added that both leaders say no to hypocrisy and share very similar views when it comes to migration, the protection of families and Christian communities, and putting national interests first.
He also talked about how the Obama administration had tried to interfere in Hungarian domestic affairs. The relations between the two countries have since changed drastically, which is also shown by how the Hungarian government “has asked the European Union to refrain from negatively [commenting] on the US”.
When asked about the chances of the American President winning the Nobel Prize he has been nominated for, Szijjártó (who is the only foreign minister from the EU who got invited to the signing ceremony of the Israel-UAE-Bahrain peace deal), is quite confident that Trump deserves the acknowledgement as it would be a “realistic reflection” on what he has done.
“For what else a Nobel Prize could be given if not for a peace accord?”
As for the upcoming presidential election, Szijjártó expressed his hope that Trump would do well in the elections, and on behalf of the Hungarian government, he wished good luck to the President.
You can watch the entire interview here:
Read alsoHungary to send a new ambassador to Washington?
Jobbik MEP Gyöngyösi: Orbán in Lukashenko’s footsteps
This summer’s most memorable political event was perhaps the uprising and street protests against the results of the Belarus elections as well as the regime devised by Lukashenko and upheld by a series of election frauds. Although the outcome of the Minsk protests is still in question, we can already see that the regime widely considered as the last stronghold of authoritarian Socialism and Europe’s last dictatorship has been shaken to the core, and it cannot survive without major concessions, if at all.
Remarks from Jobbik MEP Márton Gyöngyösi
Before the supporters of the free world started their victory dance to celebrate democracy’s latest eastward expansion however, we had better take a closer look at the status of those democratic values within the European Union.
We should be cautious because there is a infectious disease, hallmarked by Viktor Orbán’s name, spreading within the very same community that was constructed as the polar opposite of totalitarian regimes and built on the ideas of freedom and the rule of law. The disease is a political system that is currently in its advanced experimental phase in Hungary. It is often called a “hybrid system”, suggesting that even though it still has democratic institutions and separated powers, they do not actually control the executive power and ensure the smooth operation of checks and balances. Instead, they function as unscrupulous servants of the executive power.
This process has been going on in the public eye ever since Viktor Orbán’s getting into power in 2010.
Using the summer slack season however, Viktor Orbán’s regime entered the next level almost on the same day when the Belarus dictator was shaken, crossing over to the world of open dictatorships where elections are no longer manipulated by gerrymandering, vote buying or electoral frauds but by blocking the opposition candidate from entering the race at all. If smear campaigns and propaganda don’t work, this ignoble goal can be achieved by involving the court system.
That’s exactly what happened in Hungary, where a by-election is held in one of the eastern constituencies in Borsod-Abaúj-Zemplén County on 11th October as the region’s Fidesz-delegated MP passed away.
The election has a symbolic significance since if Fidesz loses this parliamentary seat, which appears to be likely according to the data of the previous elections, then it may lose its two-thirds majority in the National Assembly.
Learning from the lessons of last year’s municipal elections, the opposition parties, namely the Democratic Coalition, Jobbik, Politics Can Be Different, the Hungarian Socialist Party, Momentum, Everybody’s Hungary Movement and Dialogue decided to run a joint candidate: László Bíró, who is a member of Jobbik.
However, just a few minutes before the deadline to announce the candidacies, Fidesz appealed against László Bíró running as the joint opposition candidate in the by-elections, and the National Election Committee, which is filled with Fidesz delegates, granted the governing party’s appeal.
The decision was upheld by the High Court of Justice a few days later. So, even though the official campaign already started, László Bíró is currently not allowed to run as an all-opposition challenger against Fidesz’ candidate, who happens to be the daughter of the deceased MP.
The Fidesz regime found quite an absurd pretext to block the joint opposition candidate from running: László Bíró is a member of centre-right conservative Jobbik party, which elected a new board and a new president last January.
Although Jobbik’s new president Péter Jakab has received the court resolution of his registration into his office, the competent Budapest-Capital Regional Court (obviously under political pressure, as there is no reason to drag such a simple, legally uncontested administrative procedure for so long) has refused to enter the party’s resolutions and Péter Jakab’s presidency into the registry. Fidesz submitted an appeal on the grounds that Péter Jakab is not a party president and his party cannot run candidates.
This absurd reasoning was accepted by the National Election Committee that is supposedly independent but in fact serves the interests of Fidesz. And it has just been upheld by the High Court of Justice.
With this step, Viktor Orbán, who praised his host Lukashenko to the skies while harshly criticizing Europe just a few weeks ago on his Minsk visit, has finally arrived at the level of eastern dictators who use administrative measures to block the opposition from participating in the elections, thus reducing the ballot to a single candidate. That’s exactly what’s going on in Hungary. The only question is how long the European Union, after so many years of struggle for the rule of law and freedom, keeps lying idly by while its achievements are undermined within its own borders.
Read alsoV4 foreign ministers urge Borrell to act swiftly on Belarus sanctions
Read alsoPutin says country fully supports Belarus’ sovereignty, independence
Putin says country fully supports Belarus’ sovereignty, independence
Russia fully supports Belarus’ sovereignty and independence, Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin said here Thursday while meeting with Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko.
“While we are in hospitable Minsk, we would like to stress that Russia fully supports Belarus’ sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity,” Mishustin said.
Pointing out that Belarus shares a close relationship with Russia, Mishustin said, “This is also about hundreds, thousands, or millions of people who are practically one nation.”
Mishustin also said the governments of the two countries are in regular close contact.
For that matter, Moscow and Minsk are firmly against attempts to tear Belarus away from Russia, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Wednesday.
“We will respond to those who are trying to destabilize the situation in Belarus and who have been trying for many years to tear Belarus away from Russia,” Lavrov said at a news conference following talks with Belarusian Foreign Minister Vladimir Makei.
Russia condemns foreign countries that exert pressure on the legitimate authorities of Belarus and openly support the opposition, he said, adding that Moscow will categorically suppress foreign attempts to organize provocation against Belarus, especially via multilateral platforms.
Read alsoPutin says country fully supports Belarus’ sovereignty, independence
Russia sees the presidential elections in Belarus as valid and looks forward to the normalization of the situation through dialogue in the framework of the constitution and law, Lavrov said.