In a recent interview, beloved Hungarian supermodel Barbara Palvin talked about life in quarantine and how her American boyfriend loves Hungarian dishes and had great fun at a traditional Hungarian pig slaughter.
Nemzeti Sport conducted an interview with the gorgeous model. Among others, she mentions how she took her boyfriend to a traditional Hungarian pig slaughter, and how much Dylan Sprouse enjoys her cooking of Hungarian dishes.
It turns out that her boyfriend Dylan loves Hungarian cuisine. Barbara often cooks Hungarian dishes for him in the U.S., and he eats just about anything, including the traditional chicken paprikash or a good grease spread on bread. Barbara mentioned that just recently she took Dylan to his first traditional pig slaughter, and he had a wonderful time. Who would have thought?
If you would give Hungarian cuisine a try, give these popular recipes a try:
The model also said that what she misses the most from Hungary are her friends and family. She maintains close contact with them and tries to talk to them every day. Even though the couple intends to live in the U.S. for the foreseeable future, Barbi visits Hungary at every chance she gets.
She has always found it important that people know where she comes from, and those familiar with her work know about her Hungarian roots.
Hosting the MTV European Music Awards ceremony in Budapest was a challenge for her, as she has never done a project like it before. She was honoured and had a great time doing it. However, she will not switch modelling to television anytime soon. She plans to continue working as a model for the upcoming years and travel a lot more.
She did her best to adjust to the global epidemic. She spent months isolated from her parents and friends. She spent most of the quarantine with Dylan in New York; then they flew to Los Angeles. They only left home to run necessary errands. Work stopped entirely, which was weird. She could not travel, but she needed to be ready to go at any time in case they needed her.
She hopes 2021 will be a much easier year for everyone. Nowadays, she just tries to focus on the present and spend as much time with her loved ones as she can.
Hungary’s last ten years were the country’s most successful decade in the last 100 years, “and the next ten years could be even better”, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán said in a radio interview on Sunday.
“We are at the gate of great times,” the prime minister told public broadcaster Kossuth Radio, adding that 2021 could already be a “fantastic year” even if its first months still seem “miserable” due to the restrictions in place because of the coronavirus pandemic.
“We will transition to an upward trajectory incredibly quickly,”
Orban said about the Hungarian economy. The global economy, too, could embark on a previously unforeseen level of growth, which Hungary will have to outpace, he added. Orbán said the Hungarian economy was on the verge of a paradigm shift “that right now only a few understand”.
Hungary is poised to become a digitalised circular economy that will be capable of processing its own waste,
he said. The country will reduce its carbon emissions “to radically low levels”, it will have full employment and “a growth rate noticeably higher than the western half of the European Union”, he added. The people will prosper as well; they will live in larger homes and have more children, Orbán said.
He said that by the end of the decade, the repatriated profits of Hungarian businesses investing abroad would have to equal the profits foreign businesses take out of the country. Orbán said that unlike the political left, he did not believe in raising taxes during an economic crisis period.
Governments and local councils should cut taxes in a time of crisis and banks, too, should get involved by extending the moratorium on loan repayments, Orbán said. He said not all local councils understood the importance of cutting taxes, but added that businesses would only be capable of hiring more people if their public burdens are reduced. Businesses should be put in a position in which they can hire as many people as possible, the prime minister said.
Orbán said
his government had been successful in saving jobs
during the first and also the second wave of the pandemic, noting that there were only 60,000 fewer employed than a year ago prior to the outbreak of the pandemic. Hungary trails only the Czech Republic and Germany when it comes to unemployment, he added.
The prime minister said it was also important that Hungary had been able to carry on with its family support and home creation programmes and the reintroduction of the 13th month pension.
Prime Minister Viktor Orbán said Manfred Weber, the head of the European People’s Party (EPP), “insulted the Hungarian people” in an interview published in the conservative German newspaper Welt am Sonntag on Sunday.
Orbán noted that he had agreed to back Weber’s bid to become president of the European Commission at a meeting in Budapest two years earlier, but two days later the German politician had publicly declared that he did not want to win the office with Hungarian votes.
“Here, everybody asked: what kind of person is this? Does he think we are second-class Europeans? This affair was not about me, but about insulting the Hungarian people. We lost confidence in him,” Orbán said. He said the
problem is rather with the EPP,
as Weber wants the same kind of coalition in Brussels as that between the Christian Democrats (CDU) and the Social Democratic Party (SPD) in Berlin.
“Soon one will notbe able to tell the difference between conservatives and socialists,” Orbán said, adding that the
EPP must preserve its “Christian-conservative character”.
Orbán said the European Parliament, which intervened in the process of advancing the EU budget and recovery, “vastly overestimates its role”. He said the EP “thinks it has greater legitimacy than national parliaments”, which is “a big mistake”.
“We want to be part of a strong union of nation states that complies with the Treaties,” Orbán said. He said Brussels was “not far” from becoming Moscow, drawing a comparison between the rule of law mechanism, “without objective criteria”, that European Commissioner for Values and Transparency Vera Jourova wanted to introduce and the ideological directives issued by the central committee in Moscow under communism.
Orbán said the
“real debate” is about family policy, migration policy and cultural issues.
To read the interview in full, in German, visit: https://www.welt.de/politik/ausland/article222863908/Viktor-Orban-Haelt-uns-Manfred-Weber-fuer-Europaeer-zweiter-Klasse.html?cid=onsite.onsitesearch
Nagorno-Karabakh is a peculiar area, as it has been the site of smaller and larger armed clashes for decades. It also evokes heavy emotions in Azerbaijani and Armenian people. After the current war, which ended with a peace treaty on November 10, it is worth talking a little about the past, a lot about the present, and even more about the future of the region. Here is an interview with Ambassador of the Republic of Azerbaijan in Hungary, Prof. Vilayat Guliyev:
Daily News Hungary (DNH): First of all, thank you very much for the opportunity to be received by the Embassy. Surely, the last weeks and months must have been very hectic for you, but before we turn specifically to the topic of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, can you tell us where the conflict actually comes from? What is the origin of the bad blood between Azerbaijani and Armenian people?
Ambassador Guliyev: That is a long story. After the collapse of the Russian Empire in 1917, three independent republics emerged in the South Caucasus – Azerbaijan, Armenia, and Georgia. Defining borders between these states turned out to be a very painful process. All three national communities – Georgians, Azerbaijanis, and Armenians – lived in Tbilisi (Tiflis). Armenians were the second most populous community living in Baku, and Azerbaijanis comprised 60% of the population of Yerevan, which was called Irevan at the time. The situation was similar in smaller cities and villages, and there were a lot of disputes between parties. Georgians and Azerbaijanis had a history of national statehood before they were incorporated into the Russian Empire, and hence it was relatively easier for them to define territories of their newly restored states. Armenians, on the other hand, did not have a state or a capital city before being relocated into the territory of the Russian Empire. So, in the process of the formation of its statehood, Armenia had territorial claims both towards Azerbaijan and Georgia. Due to these claims, there was a bloody war between these two neighbouring Christian countries in 1919. Armenian claims to Nagorno Karabakh where Azerbaijani and Armenian populations lived together also started during these times. However, during the First Azerbaijani Republic (1918-1920), Karabakh was part of Azerbaijan and was recognised as Azerbaijani territory at the Paris Peace Conference.
After Bolshevik Russia occupied South Caucasus in 1920-1921, the Armenian Soviet Socialist Republic (Armenian SSR) voiced its territorial claims once again. But the Caucasian Bureau of Bolshevik Party decided that Karabakh should remain within the territory of Azerbaijan.
At the same time, taking into account that Armenians constituted an ethnic majority in this area, the Autonomous Region was created. In other words, Armenian claims that Stalin granted Nagorno Karabakh to Azerbaijan, which are widely circulated in European media, are completely groundless. This region belonged to us before the Bolshevik rule and also remained within our territory after that. Armenian claims to Karabakh were rejected.
During the collapse of the Soviet Union, Armenians asserted their claims once again. With the silent consent of Moscow, they started a war against Azerbaijan. The Nagorno Karabakh Autonomous Region and seven adjacent districts of Azerbaijan were occupied, and hundreds of thousands of Azerbaijanis were expelled from the occupied territories due to ethnic cleansing. The so-called “Nagorno Karabakh Republic” was proclaimed. But Azerbaijan had never yielded to this situation. We tried to resolve the conflict peacefully, in accordance with the 4 accepted resolutions of the UN Security Council. But Armenian neglect of the international law and the continuous Armenian violations of ceasefire and military provocation on the 27th September forced us to resort to military action.
DNH: In 1994, you lost control of the area. Which were the most decisive events in the zone before September 2020?
Ambassador Guliyev: Although both parties agreed to a ceasefire in 1994, it was never truly fulfilled. Separatists in Nagorno Karabakh and their patrons in Yerevan did not intend to honour the agreement. In April 2016, we witnessed the most prominent escalation of the conflict.
During this so-called “Four Day War”, the Azerbaijani army crushed the Ohanian Line and liberated some strategic heights and villages.
But at the time, Moscow intervened, and war efforts were halted.
DNH: After 26 years, something happened on September 27th, 2020, that gave the initial impetus to the armed attack. What was that?
Ambassador Guliyev: The main reason was that Armenia never stopped its aggressive policy towards us. Our villages near the line of contact were always exposed to enemy fire. During these years, tens of our soldiers as well as civilians – women and children – were killed by the Armenian snipers. Not only Nagorno Karabakh but Armenia itself had become a threat to our people. The Armenian Defense Minister David Tonoyan, who resigned after the current war, in April of this year had openly stated that their purpose was “fighting a new war for the new territories.”
Armenia soon put these threats into action, and on July 12th started a large-scale military provocation on the Azerbaijani-Armenian border in Tovuz far – hundreds of kilometres away – from the line of contact in Nagorno-Karabakh.
They were trying to gain control of strategic heights which would, in turn, let them control an important energy and logistics corridor. Azerbaijan repelled the attack, although with numerous casualties. Later in August, an Armenian subversive group was neutralised, and its leader was captured. Finally, on September 27th, another Armenian provocation forced our military to take firm action, and a 44-day-long war began, resulting in our victory.
DNH: During the war, which was one and a half months long, Azerbaijan occupied a large area. What were the primary targets?
Ambassador Guliyev: I think we should use a different term here. Please look at the map, the war was conducted within internationally recognised borders of Azerbaijan.
How can we occupy our own territories?
On the contrary, we liberated territories occupied by the Armenian forces. Until 1991, there was a Nagorno Karabakh Autonomous Region within Azerbaijan. Its territory was 4,380 sq. km., and its population comprised 120,000 Armenians and 60,000 Azerbaijanis. As I noted earlier, at the time of the decline of the Soviet Union, Armenians demanded that Nagorno Karabakh be merged into Armenia. With the help of the former Soviet military units and the international terrorist organisation ASALA, they waged a large-scale war against Azerbaijan. Not only did they occupy the territory of Nagorno Karabakh, but of the adjacent 7 districts of Azerbaijan as well, their territory being more than 8,000 square kms. As you can see, Armenian separatists controlled more than 12,000 square kms of the territory of Azerbaijan. They had carried out a complete ethnic cleansing of this territory. They did not agree to the peaceful resolution of the conflict. Armenian Prime Minister Pashinyan declared that “Nagorno Karabakh is Armenia, full stop” and announced that he would not return a single sq km to Azerbaijan. Armenia actually withdrew from the OSCE Minsk Group conflict resolution format. As a matter of fact, these peace talks had become quite fruitless.
Despite continuing for 26 years, not a single village was returned to Azerbaijan. Not a single Azerbaijani was given a chance to return to his home. In fact, there was not a place to return to.
All the cities and villages where Azerbaijanis used to live were destroyed. Thus, we had only one option to address the aggressor using the language they would understand. Azerbaijan waged a just war to get rid of the occupational army and liberated seven districts which Armenians did not want to return peacefully.
DNH: Part of the international press stressed that the Azerbaijani army was trying to put pressure on the civilian population by attacking civilians. Other media outlets called attention to the rocket attacks in Azerbaijani cities by the Armenian military. Where is the truth? Somewhere in between?
Ambassador Guliyev: From the first day, Azerbaijan has conducted warfare only against the military units of the enemy and against legitimate military targets. Our army never targeted civilians. Our soldiers rescued sick and elderly Armenians who were left behind in the villages fled by the Armenians. These civilians were returned to the Armenian side afterwards. Some civilian objects in Nagorno Karabakh must have been harmed. Nor do I rule out that some civilians could have been killed or wounded during the conflict on the Armenian side. But the scale is completely different.
To force the Azerbaijani army to stop the military operations, the Armenian side deliberately attacked Ganja, Barda, Tartar, Naftalan, Agjabedi, Beylagan, Mingachevir, as well as many other villages using cluster munitions as well.
As a result, 91 civilians, including 16 children, were murdered, and 405 people were wounded. 2,488 houses, 461 civilian objects, and 97 high-rise buildings were damaged and destroyed. Affected cities are tens of kilometres away from the line of conflict. There has not been any military infrastructure around. Civilian areas were targeted during night time. The Armenian side repeatedly attacked the Mingachevir water reservoir. Destruction of this reservoir could lead to humanitarian catastrophe for 2 million people in Azerbaijan and Georgia. At the same time, we can all witness barbaric methods used by Armenians in the districts which are currently being handed over to Azerbaijan according to the November 9th peace accord, namely, Aghdam, Kalbajar, and Lachin – they destroy civilian infrastructure, burn down forests, and lay mines. As soon as they agreed to surrender, the Armenian side started discussing revenge plans.
DNH: The peace treaty was signed on November 10, and since then the Azerbaijani have actually regained much of the lost territory. Do you think there will be peace in Nagorno-Karabakh? Or can we expect another war?
Ambassador Guliyev: Of course, we want the establishment of peace and mutual understanding in the region. Despite the overwhelming dominance of our military and economic potential over Armenia’s, for many years we have preferred the peaceful, negotiated solution to the conflict. We have wanted Azerbaijani and Armenian people to live in an atmosphere of peace and security. If Armenia would not insist on pursuing its unjust territorial claims towards Azerbaijan, the South Caucasus region, with its economic resources and human capital, could have become one of the blossoming regions of Eurasia. But the peace process does not happen with unilateral wishes of one side. Azerbaijan has already put its position forward.
Now everything depends on the path that neighbouring Armenia would choose, the steps it would take.
Armenia is the country which needs peace the most. Due to its policy of occupation, for many years this small country has been living in complete isolation, kept away from global projects, without any prospects of economic development and a rapidly declining population. From an independent nation, it is turning into a Russian outpost in the region. I want peace for every part of my country, as well as Karabakh.
But knowing Armenian policy all too well, I do not exclude the risk of a new war.
DNH: The Armenian side repeatedly raised the issue of the fear of revenge in the area occupied by the Azerbaijanis. Azerbaijan stressed that they wish for peaceful coexistence. What is expected?
Ambassador Guliyev: Look, even as we speak, 30,000 Armenians live safely in Baku and other parts of Azerbaijan. Armenia accuses Turkey of genocide. But several hundreds of thousands of Armenians live in Turkey. There are Armenian MPs in the Turkish parliament.
But is there a single Azerbaijani or a Turk living in Armenia? No. Because Armenians would never allow this.
They raise their children in the spirit of hate towards Azerbaijanis and Turks. Armenia may be one of the world’s few monoethnic nations. 99% of its population is ethnically Armenian. In 1988, when the Nagorno Karabakh conflict started, more than 300,000 Azerbaijanis were expelled from Armenia, the historical lands they had lived in for centuries. Armenians, on the other hand, had lived in our country for decades as citizens endowed with all rights. Azerbaijan is a multi-ethnic, multi-confessional, and multi-cultural country. Here, Russians, Jews, Talyshs, Lezgis, Tatars, and representatives of other ethnicities and confessions have lived peacefully and have never faced any difficulties in developing their cultures and languages. During this last war, they fought for Azerbaijan – a land they consider their common homeland.
Azerbaijani leadership does not see any problem for the Armenian population to continue living in our common homeland while obeying Azerbaijani laws. Our society has always been very far from chauvinist and revanchist feelings.
DNH: Also in recent weeks, Armenians have accused Azeris that they are carrying out a religious war, that Islamic countries want to destroy Christian Armenia. Is that true?
Ambassador Guliyev: This is completely false. Azerbaijan is famous for its tolerance not only in the region but also in the world. Representatives of different confessions live here in peace. In Baku, apart from mosques, there are Orthodox and Catholic churches, synagogues, and even a Zoroastrian fire temple. The Armenian church is still standing intact in the centre of the city. No one has ever had an idea of destroying or damaging it.
I could ask a counter-question – if this is a religious war, why do several Arab countries support Armenia, while Israel supports Azerbaijan?
During the first Karabakh war, Muslim and Shi’a Iran helped Armenia tremendously. This help still continues. Armenia presenting itself as the last Christian outpost in the entire Near East is a pure myth, complete fiction. We respect the religious feelings of all people, including our neighbours. These are not the Middle Ages for religious wars to take place. During its history, Azerbaijan has never had any affiliation with radical Islam, we have always preferred liberal and humanist values. In other words, there is nothing related to religion here. The truth is very simple: Armenia has occupied Azerbaijan’s lands, does not want to return them, and to mask its policy of occupation, it fabricates false narratives.
As a matter of fact, it is Armenia which is carrying out a religious war. Let me tell you a fact. In the territories occupied by Armenia, 35 out of 67 mosques have been completely destroyed, and the remaining mosques were transformed into pig pens or cattle barns to insult the religious feelings of Muslims.
For us, this has been – first and foremost – the war for the liberation of our homeland, in which Azerbaijanis of all ethnicities and confessions participated. Religion never played a role and never could do so.
Mosque in Agdam, Nagarno-Karabakh. Photo: Embassy of the Republic of Azerbaijan in Hungary
DNH: Azerbaijan is expected to make improvements in the recovered area. What is the condition of the former warzone? What will be the first improvements? Will it be the development of infrastructure or rectifying the system of institutions? Do you build a line of defence?
Ambassador Guliyev: During almost 30 years of occupation, Armenia has caused damages to our country’s economy, culture, and ecology in tens of billions of dollars. In the occupied territories, all infrastructure has been destroyed. The names of places have been changed; cultural heritage sites, even gravesites have been demolished. Imagine: prior to 1993, 40,000 people lived in Agdam, it was one of the prosperous, beautiful cities of our country. Now, there is not a single complete building standing. The same can be said about the cities of Fuzuli, Djabrail, Zangilan, Gubadly, Kalbajar, and Lacyn, and tens of villages and settlements. What steps are we going to take in liberated territories?
First, we want to involve independent experts and calculate the damage done to our country.
We will assure that these damages are paid, with the intermediation of international workers. In the second stage, we will clear the liberated lands from mines, as the enemy has planted tens of thousands of mines. Only after the territories are cleared will we start the building and reconstruction works. The projects to rebuild the liberated territories are already in the design stage. We will build new and modern cities and villages in the place of current ruins. Even before the end of the war, we started putting gas and electric lines, building new roads, and bringing mobile connection to liberated territories.
Azerbaijan plans to allocate 10 billion USD for the initial phase of reconstruction projects.
People who had to leave their houses want to return as soon as possible and start a new chapter in their lives.
As the war has ended with our decisive victory, there is no need for building any fortification line. As the President of Azerbaijan has mentioned many times, the previously existing status quo is no longer relevant. There is no such entity as the “Nagorno Karabakh Republic”. Nagorno Karabakh is Azerbaijani territory.
For the next five years, there will be Russian peacekeepers in the region.
All doors are open to Armenians who want to continue living in the territory as Azerbaijani citizens. But under no circumstances would Azerbaijan allow the occupation of its lands again by separatists or the building of the second Armenian state. Of course, no self-respecting state would allow this.
DNH: The current war has also shown that both Azerbaijani and Armenian people love this area passionately. What does Nagorno-Karabakh mean to you personally? If you visit the area, where will you go first?
Ambassador Guliyev:
Actually, I am from Karabakh as well.
The bigger Karabakh consists of two parts – the Lower Karabakh (otherwise called Aran, meaning “plains” in Azerbaijani) and Mountainous (“Nagorno”, in Russian) Karabakh. Karabakh khanate – an Azerbaijani state which has played an important role in our history – was established in these territories. Panah Ali khan (1693-1763), who was the founder of Karabakh khanate, put a foundation of the city of Shusha, an important cultural centre of the South Caucasus, in 1752. In 1806, Karabakh khanate entered into an agreement with the Russian Empire, by which the empire was responsible for protecting the khanate. After the Russian-Persian wars of 1812-1813 and 1826-1828, the Armenians started to be relocated to Nagorno-Karabakh and later claiming these lands.
Kalbajar, Nagorno-Karabakh. Photo: Embassy of the Republic of Azerbaijan in Hungary
For me, Karabakh is an inseparable part of the homeland. It is a cradle of Azerbaijani culture. It is a homeland to the great sons and daughters of Azerbaijan, to our culture and science prodigies. It is a sacred land where our national spirit has been formed.
At the first possible opportunity, I want to go to the historic city of Shusha, which our army has liberated in a feat of exceptional heroism.
For the past thirty years, this has been the biggest desire of my heart.
Kalbajar, Nagorno-Karabakh. Photo: Embassy of the Republic of Azerbaijan in Hungary
Szalmababi, the 25-year-old Brazilian-Hungarian ex-model, is becoming more and more popular on TikTok, with almost 46K followers and 1.4 million likes. In this interview, among others, she talks about her favourite Hungarian foods and the difficulty of learning the Hungarian language.
Barbara Szalma was born in São Paulo, Brazil. She moved to Hungary in 2017. She is currently living in Pécs, where she studies architecture. She started making TikTok videos in quarantine as a hobby. She got popular on the app in Hungary after she started making videos of herself trying famous Hungarian snacks and food.
Hungarian origins
Barbara’s grandparents on her mother’s side were born in Hungary and moved to Brazil during the Second World War. Her parents met in Brazil, but she grew up learning a lot about Hungarian culture through food and children’s songs.
“I remember my grandfather singing to me: Elfogyott a túróstészta, ott maradt a tál, gólya gólya hosszúlábú gólyamadár. I do not know if this is a real song, but these words remind me of my grandparents cooking on Sundays.”
Photo: Barbara Szalma
Not many Hungarians know foreign languages. Is it hard to communicate, and did it cause you any inconveniences?
It depends on the place. At the supermarket, it is always hard to find someone who speaks English, but in banks or hospitals, there is always a person who can help me.
I always start the conversation with Jó napot, bocsánat, hogy nem beszélek magyarul, egy kicsit magyar.
Older people normally do not speak English, but younger ones try to speak in English with me, even kids, which I find impressive. TikTok allows me to translate all the comments to English, so I know what my followers are trying to say to me. I always try to answer all of them, but sometimes I just say köszönöm or szeretlek.
I speak Portuguese, English, French, Spanish, and a bit of Hungarian, German, and Italian. Hungarian is a really hard language, but a really beautiful one. I have classes twice a week.
What do you think makes Hungarian such a hard language to learn?
I read somewhere that the Hungarian language is the second hardest language in the world, and I agree with that. The languages that I speak come from Latin, so it makes it easy to learn and pronounce. I think the punctuation of vowels makes Hungarian hard to pronounce, also the [grammatical] endings, finding the correct ending for a word is the hardest thing for me. I am dedicated to learning the language, and I hope you will see me speak Hungarian in my TikTok videos soon.
I learnt a lot [of Hungarian] from TikTok. Especially from my “trying to speak Hungarian” videos, which I make often. My followers always help me to understand and speak the correct way.
Photo: Barbara Szalma
You have tried many Hungarian foods. Which is your favourite(s), and why?
I love Hungarian food, that is why I started this series of videos. I was in quarantine eating a BALATON chocolate, and I looked at my mother and said “nagyon finon” and after that, I decided to make the videos “trying Hungarian fooood”, and this became my brand. When I was a kid, I used to go to my grandparents’ house on Sundays to eat, and every Sunday there was a different type of Hungarian food.
My favourites are krumplis tészta (pasta with potatoes) and pörkölt (stew). But honestly, it is kind of impossible to say which one is my favourite, because all are so good. I love chimney cake, Dobos cake, and Hungarian pancakes too. Stuffed cabbage is not my favourite one; I eat it once a year because I do not like cabbage much.
Which Hungarian cities have you visited? Which is your favourite and why?
I have been to Budapest, Pécs, Harkány, Orfű, Mohács, and Kaposvár. I love Budapest because it has a magical atmosphere. Walking along the Danube at night is really peaceful.
Photo: Barbara Szalma
Pécs is one of my favourite cities. I started my life in Hungary there, and I will always be grateful for everything I experienced here. People start to recognise me from TikTok, and they try to speak to me, and this is so magical. When I moved to Hungary, I never imagined that this could happen to me, and TikTok made this real. I would like to thank all my followers for making all of this possible.
I also want to visit all the Hungarian cities one day. My parents and I have a plan to buy a trailer and travel around Hungary to learn about the country that my grandparents always talked about a lot.
What places would you recommend foreigners to visit if they travel to Hungary?
Budapest, for sure. It is my favourite place. I love the thermal baths because each one has an amazing atmosphere and unique architecture. I would also recommend the parliament; I never get tired of going there and sitting in front of the Danube, taking a lot of pictures.
George Clooney seems to draw inspiration for his films from political news, at least that is what he alluded to in an interview when he talked about his latest film. In an interview with GQ magazine’s YouTube channel, the actor and director talks about the most memorable roles of his career, and at the end, he mentions the film The Midnight Sky, of which he is also the director and the protagonist. This is where Viktor Orbán and Bolsonaro came into the picture.
The video was discovered by 444 in the Hungarian press. The film, which will in principle be released on Netflix in late December, is a somewhat post-apocalyptic sci-fi starring George Clooney, a scientist alone in the North Pole, who has to warn a team of astronauts about something very catastrophic. All of this will take place in the not-so-distant future, in the year 2049. Towards the end of the 35-minute interview (after 30 minutes), Clooney talks about how
the mood of the film was determined by how much anger and hatred everyone experienced around the world. “We weren’t in the middle of a pandemic when it happened, but there were still all these other elements, these elements of how much hate and anger were sort of all of us experiencing at this moment in our history, all over the world. Go to Bolsonaro in Brazil, or Orban in Hungary, or look around, lots of anger and hate…”
According to him, if this characterises our world now, in 30 years, it could easily lead to a world in which the film takes place (this world is not so much known because the film has not yet been released, but it is not good, for sure).
Clooney and his wife, human rights lawyer Amal Clooney, often express themselves in political matters and speak out for what can be said to be liberal. The actor had previously launched a campaign to find out who was getting rich from armed conflicts in Africa. With his wife, they welcomed refugees from Iraq to their house and provided more support for 2018 United State protests demanding tightening arms control.
In addition to George Clooney, his wife Amal Clooney also has a negative opinion about Hungary. Two years ago, when she criticised Donald Trump for his harmful rhetoric, she likened the President of the United States to autocratic regimes like North Korea or Hungary.
In this video, he also talks about his previous famous, successful films, and the iconic characters he brought to life in the films. He talks about Out of Sight;O Brother, Where Art Thou?; the Ocean’s Trilogy; Good Night, and Good Luck;Michael Clayton;The Descendants; and finally, The Midnight Sky. The interview was about GQ magazine nominating him as the 2020 Icon of the Year.
One of the biggest surprises of the 2019 local elections was that Gergely Karácsony, the joint candidate of the Hungarian opposition parties, became the Lord Mayor of Budapest, our favourite city. Most of our readers are foreigners living in Budapest, foreigners who have already been in Budapest, and foreigners who plan to travel to Budapest. Last year was difficult not only because of the coronavirus epidemic but also because of the conflict with the government. Daily News Hungary asked the Lord Mayor about the successes and failures of the previous year, and we could get answers on some personal questions, as well as the Lord Mayor’s standpoint on the Airbnb issue.
Let us start with a typical question: what are the three issues you are the proudest of from the past year?
I think the agreement we signed with the government about developing the healthcare system of Budapest is very important. Thanks to that, there are no waiting lists for CT and MRI diagnostics in the case somebody is suspected to have cancer. More and more people are adopting the idea of
creating a green and sustainable city.
Furthermore, the number of those commuting with bicycles rose significantly after we created new lanes and started to organise the already existing segments into a coherent system.
Photo: facebook.com/varosliget.budapest/
I also think that involving all citizens of the capital, civil organisations, and local communities in the decision-making process is another important step forward. Thanks to that, we could preserve more green areas in the Tabán, and we could reach a compromise in the case of the traffic on the Grand Boulevard.
Besides the successes, there were probably setbacks as well. What were the biggest ones and what were the lessons?
Because of the coronavirus epidemic, we had trash plans, and due to the economic crisis, it meant we had to postpone a lot of development projects. Furthermore, the government chose not to help but to take away further financial resources from the capital.
Gergely Karácsony.
I am very sorry that I could not make the government understand that their cooperation with the local governments had no alternative.
If we do not fight side by side, there can only be losers.
What gigantic projects affecting tourists and tourism were inaugurated in the past one year?
Nobody can complete such projects in only one year, especially if we spend most of it fighting against the greatest epidemic of the last 100 years, and we still cannot see the end of that struggle. However, there are important developments we can inaugurate in the next couple of years. Even though it started to be a money consuming project, we could correct it and will finish the city zoo’s biodome which, together with the zoo, will be an attractive target for all tourists visiting the capital. We might finish that project before 2024 together with the building of the new Gellért Hill funicular which can help us get rid of the buses polluting the area. Meanwhile,
tourists can enjoy one of the most excellent views of our capital while they travel to the top of the hill.
The Gellért Hill in Budapest. Photo: www.facebook.com/BarnaArchitects
I think that the renovation of the M3 metro line is also important. We will inaugurate its southern segment on October 22. Afterwards, we will start to renew the downtown section of the line, and soon we will be able to start the renovation of the Chain Bridge, one of the iconic symbols of our city.
Airbnb revolutionised tourism and offered perfect opportunities for a lot of people planning to travel abroad since they could rent an apartment or a room much cheaper than in a hotel. Thanks to that, not only the wealthy but also the poor could travel. However, many metropolises already banned it while in Hungary, the Parliament allowed local governments to decide. What is your standpoint on the issue?
I agree that it is good if somebody can travel for less money, but I remember that before the outbreak of the epidemic, an Airbnb flat was more expensive than a hotel room. However,
what tourists see as a good opportunity is a difficulty for locals.
Airbnb flats significantly reduced offer on the long-term real estate rental market, causing a great increase in prices. Now, tourism broke down because of the virus and Airbnb flats are back in the rental market, so prices decreased. As the Lord Mayor of Budapest, I have to cope with the effects of the housing crisis. For example, there are many young people whose parents cannot buy a flat and they cannot pay rental prices because their salaries are not enough.
It would be better to return to a sharing economy during which we share the spare capacities of our homes instead of running a hotel in the grey zone. It harms more people, and only a few benefit from it.
The party district of Budapest attracts many Hungarians and foreign tourists alike but disturbs the everyday life of the locals. How can this problem be solved?
Tourism, which hopefully returns to Budapest next year, is important for Budapest, and its lack causes significant problems for our budget. However, locals entrusted me to represent their interests, just like Péter Niedermüller, the mayor of District 7, where the party district is. The downtown of the city became almost unlivable because of the pollution, the traffic, and the “bachelor party tourism” built on the low cost of alcohol in Hungary. District 7 started to
harmonise the different interests,
but it is not an easy task. It would be better if a new kind of tourism returned to Budapest after the epidemic. One that is not concentrated exclusively on the inner districts but spreads out everywhere in the city. Budapest has many treasures that are not on the postcards.
When you welcome a foreign guest, what do you show them in Budapest?
I never leave out the Danube embankment. The river is a unique opportunity for our city, but we do not take advantage of it. I hope that shortly we will use the riverbanks differently.
The capitals of the Visegrad 4 (Bratislava, Prague, Warsaw, Budapest) have a strong relationship. What successes can you name regarding this cooperation and what plans do you have?
My colleagues in Warsaw, Bratislava, or Prague and me are in the same boat. We are all progressive leaders of our community, but our governments are mostly right-wing populists. We have similar problems with similar solution proposals. For example, we turned together to the European Union, asking them to provide direct financial resources for the cities. As a result, we could skip the government’s approval, and
it would not depend on their goodwill to start developments.
Furthermore, we took a huge step ahead in the case of the EU’s financial support helping to ease the effects of the economic and social crisis caused by the epidemic since the rescue package already has a majority in the European Parliament.
We took a look: Budapest currently has 18 twin cities which is a respectable number. How can a citizen living in Budapest benefit from this?
A friend in need is a friend indeed. This proverb is true about our twin city relationships as well. When the virus hit us and neither our social nor our healthcare institutions were prepared, our Chinese twin cities, Beijing and Shanghai, helped a lot and sent protective equipment for us.
Photo: www.facebook.com/ZoltanGaborPhotography
We forwarded them immediately to our social institutions, retirement homes, and homeless shelters, so these probably
saved human lives.
We regularly speak with my Lord Mayor colleagues, for example, recently I talked with my counterpart in Berlin, Vienna, and Ankara.
Budapest is a metropolis where a lot of people live. The number of foreigners who have chosen to live here exceed 100 thousand. How would you like to address them?
For example, with this interview. ? Budapest is an open, inclusive city, and we are very proud that so many foreigners have chosen to live here. It meant a lot that during the first wave of the epidemic, many societies like the Chinese and the Vietnamese offered their help to the city and provided thousands of masks, food, and helped social care.
If you lived abroad, which city would you choose?
I like to live in Hungary, in Budapest. I would never live anywhere else, I feel at home here. There are many cities from which it is good to learn because leaders there pay attention to what locals say, and they understand the challenges brought by climate change. For example, Paris and Vienna.
Turning to politics, let us look forward a bit. The cooperation of the opposition parties will probably define 2021, but there are still some debatable issues. Which one do you support: one opposition list or two lists? One or more candidates in the constituencies?
There is an agreement about one opposition candidate against the candidate of the government parties in the constituencies. That is an important baseline. Furthermore, the opposition parties started to write their program, which will enable us to present our offer to the citizens.
Together with the V4 mayors. Photo: facebook.com/karacsonygergely/
It is not enough to say we are not the Fidesz. We have to show the people what we would do differently in Hungary. We have to show how we would build a fairer, more liveable, and trustworthy country where not the people of the power but the power of the people govern.
Who do you think will be your government-backed opponent in 2024? Fidesz probably has a well-designed strategy in this respect since the importance of the capital cannot be doubted. We think about four possible choices in this case: Balázs Fürjes, the Secretary of State responsible for the development of Budapest and its agglomeration, Zsolt Láng, the leader of Fidesz in the Budapest City Council, István Tarlós, the former Lord Mayor, and Dávid Vitézy, the director of the Budapest Development Centre. Which one do you think will be your challenger?
Those should make a decision in this matter whose task is to determine such things, I would not like to make guesses. But I can recommend primaries which were useful in our case.
Finally, if you allow a personal question. Do you have a secret place in Budapest where you can hide to find inspiration or to relax?
It is hard to “hide” in the city because people recognise me everywhere, address me, and we talk. Provided I would like to relax, we go to the Balaton Uplands with my family where there are some secret places. We were there in the summer, I needed that.
Gergely Karácsony: born on 11 June 1975, he is a Hungarian political scientist, politician, and a member of the Hungarian National Assembly (MP) from 2010 to 2014. In 2014, he was elected the Mayor of Zugló (District 14). From October 13, 2019, he has been serving as the Lord Mayor of Budapest.
Prime Minister Viktor Orban told Reuters on Friday he was convinced that Donald Trump would win the US presidential election set for November 3.
“We have an exceptionally good relationship with Trump,” Orban said in his interview. Answering a question, he added that “probably the level of openness and kindness and helping each other will be lower should Joe Biden win”.
“He (Trump) will win,” Orban said. Once that happens, the European Union “will need to normalise its trade relationship with the United States and also establish clarity about the long-term presence of US troops on European soil”, he said.
Britain’s decision to exit the European Union was a brave one
but Hungary will not follow that path, Prime Minister Viktor Orban said in an interview with Reuters on Friday.
Orban said the EU only had itself to blame for the British referendum vote to leave the bloc because of the way it had treated the country. “Brexit is a brave decision of the British people about their own lives…we consider it as evidence of the greatness of the British,” he said.
“We can’t afford to follow that track,”
the prime minister added.
He said that the Hungarian economy has been too closely integrated into the EU to follow Britain out. Orban said that there was a high level of support for the EU in Hungary despite the country’s many disputes with other member states over issues such as migration and the rule of law.
Hungary does not support the new migration and refugee package presented by the European Commission on Wednesday, Prime Minister Viktor Orban told Reuters newswire on Friday. Under the package, Hungary’s commitment to send people back from the southern EU states like Italy or Greece, where they first arrived, could turn into an obligation to accommodate them in Hungary, he said.
Budapest will not agree to anything
that could lead to Hungary being under obligation to take in people coming from the Middle East or Africa, Orban said. “That is a very problematic point… It’s nothing else but just renamed relocation. And we always reject relocation. This point is not acceptable for the Hungarian people,” he said.
The government is working to ensure that Hungary is able to function, Prime Minister Viktor Orban told public broadcaster M1 on Saturday evening, asking the public to observe coronavirus-related measures.
Referring to the government’s “National Consultation” survey, Orban said that respondents indicated a common wish that the government, the prime minister, the health-care system and economic policymakers should ensure that Hungary stays a viable country and that they should prevent the epidemic from paralysing the country.
Orban said he was not as worried as during the first wave of the epidemic, because “we now know exactly what we are facing” and the country has all the equipment needed to defend against the virus.
“I am not alone in this fight, but together with 1.8 million people,”
Orban said, and thanked those who had returned the government’s questionnaires and “helped set directions for preventive efforts”.
The prime minister said that the number of new infections had been record high for the previous two days, adding that that number was expected to further increase. He noted, however, that during the second wave it was the number of deaths rather than new infections that should be in the focus.
“The success of prevention could now be measured by the number of lives saved as opposed to deaths,”
he said. He said that the second wave called for a different strategy, but added that the country has gained experiences from the first wave and hospitals, as well as health equipment producers were prepared for the next wave.
Based on the survey, the government knows “what people expect us to do and that gives us calm,” Orban said. The government has a strategy to save lives and keep the country going at the same time, he said, adding that “flexibility, an ability to take action and rapid reactions” were crucial.
The government wants to avoid curfews or re-introducing digital education,
Orban said, insisting that “everything should go on in its own order, whether it is jobs, schools, and even sports, culture, and art”. Tourism and catering should be continued, too, he said, but added that “not as if nothing had happened, but their operations must be maintained”.
“Where one must wear a mask, everybody should wear them and keep a distance, and if they feel ill, they should avoid others.”
Under Saturday’s decisions if a customer is found without a mask in a shop, both the customer and the shop will be fined, Orban said, adding that on the third such instance the shop could be closed.
“The state is not flexing its muscles … but if the rules are not observed they will be enforced,” he said.
Through their answers in the survey parents indicated a clear wish that schools should open in September in the traditional way, Orban said.
“If there is trouble”, classes will be reorganised and if isolation is needed, classes, rather than the whole school, will be sent home, he added, noting that schools had been closed down in spring to ease the pressure on the health-care system.
“As long as fatalities are not rising, and it seems we are able to save the elderly, school closures will not be on the agenda,”
the prime minister said.
UPDATE
Orban said the government was
prepared to introduce certain restrictive measures,
adding, however, that these would not be about “restricting everyday life” but rather rules such as potentially mandating bars and clubs to close at 11pm and enforcing mask-wearing in shops and on public transport.
He noted that the chief medical officer has issued a visiting ban for hospitals and retirement homes across the country and parents are not allowed to enter schools. From Oct. 1, all students will have their temperatures checked upon entering the school, he said.
The
government’s measures saved the lives of tens of thousands of elderly citizens in the spring
and “we will not risk a single life this time, either, but the country must function,” Orban said.
Concerning Hungary’s health-care system, Orban said hospitals have more than 10,000 beds available to treat coronavirus patients and there is a sufficient number of doctors and nurses and capacity is also sufficient in terms of protective gear and ventilators. The Hungarian health-care sector is capable of protecting “all Hungarian lives”, he said.
The prime minister also announced that
Katalin Novak, the state secretary for family and youth affairs, will be appointed minister
without portfolio for family affairs. The government is creating the position in order to devote close attention to and to improve the living standards of families, Orban said, adding that Novak will take up the post on Oct. 1.
Orban noted that his government had made a commitment to create as many jobs as were lost to the virus. The indicators show that the government has been true to its word, he said, adding that employment figures were projected to grow for the remainder of the year. The government has spent a lot of money and energy on launching new investments, Orban said.
“Hungarian businesses haven’t weakened, but have been strengthened.”
He said the one sector that was “facing serious problems” was the tourism industry. The industry in Budapest had relied almost entirely on foreign visitors “and now tourism has come to a halt,” he said. The business model that Budapest hotels and restaurants had relied on, namely that foreign tourists had accounted for more than 90 percent of guest nights, will not be sustainable this year or the next, the prime minister said. Budapest needs to transition to a new business model and taxi drivers, hotels and the catering and tourism sectors need separate government aid, he said.
“The government helps everyone,”
Orban said, noting that it has reduced contributions, “but a special scheme is needed”. He said it was “good news” that the metropolitan council had more than 100 billion forints (EUR 279.6m) to spend on these schemes.
Orban also said that the government is in daily contact with the other three Visegrad Group countries. The V4 have set up an epidemiological consultation office during Poland’s presidency to strengthen cooperation, he said, adding that he believed that the governments of Hungary, the Czech Republic, Poland and Slovakia would all be able to protect their citizens.
“We’ll protect the elderly,” he said.
“We acknowledge that we’ll have to deal with higher infection rates while ensuring that the economy and the country are able to function, and we’ll help everyone recover. If there’s trouble, the hospitals are available to everyone.”
The prime minister said that if everyone does their job in a calm manner and observes the rules, the elderly would be protected and families would not see their living standards fall.
“This isn’t about speed now, but rather a calm and predictable government policy,” Orban said. On another subject, Orban said that the government was also dealing with long-term matters. He said that unlike central Europe and the V4, western Europe had “committed itself to an open society in which borders don’t matter”.
“They allow in and even invite migrants and envision a mixed world and want to live together with people from foreign cultures,” he said.
“We don’t want this in central Europe; we,
Hungarians want to remain a Christian Hungarian civilisation.”
The CEO of the Hungarian Tesco gave an interview to napi.hu in which he talked about model change, changes in the tax system, future possibilities and downsizing. The British company sent away more than 1,000 of their employees in Hungary, and many are afraid that this is just the beginning of their departure from the Hungarian market like it happened in Poland before.
In 2019, the company’s income decreased by more than 100 billion HUF (338 million EUR). Still, Mr Zsolt Pártos, the Hungarian CEO of the company, said that the reason behind that was the downsizing of their stores and the withdrawal of those products which were not profitable enough. Tesco left Poland before, but Mr Pártos said that the Czech, Slovak and Hungarian market is different, for example, their market share is much more significant (in Hungary that is 16-17 pc). Furthermore, Tesco Polska was making a loss, but the opposite is true in the case of the other three countries of the region. Therefore, he said that by selling the Polish branch they acquired capital they can invest in the Czech Republic, Hungary and Slovakia.
According to Mr Pártos,
the Hungarian Tesco is going to remain.
Indeed, instead of leaving, they are going to invest in the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Hungary. For example, they are going to cooperate with Shell, and they already integrated new regions into their online purchase system.
Meanwhile, the Hungarian Tesco announced that they were to send away hundreds of their former employees. In the last year, Tesco sent away more than 1,000 people. Mr Pártos said that they closed non-profitable shops and ceased to sell products of the same category. However, they extended their online system and hired hundreds of people during the quarantine. He added that
they would like to have a satisfied workforce
so they train their employees at the Tesco Academy, they continuously raise their wages and offer family-friendly, flexible working hours to their colleagues.
He highlighted that they are committed to remaining in Hungary since they are expanding there. Furthermore, their services are reachable for 75pc of the Hungarians, and 80 pc of the people buy from them, which is unique in the sector, like their F&F clothes. Mr Pártos said that the months of the coronavirus epidemic were extremely difficult for them, but he is very proud of the Tesco employees.
George Soros, one of the most well-known Hungarians from the past years, turned 90 this week. The Hungarian-American billionaire who rarely gives interviews but is active regarding social and political questions now talked about the coronavirus, the threats on open society, Donald Trump, and the weakness of the European Continent to an Italian magazine called La Repubblica.
Forbes reported that the 90-year-old Soros still plays tennis three times a week and considers the coronavirus epidemic the greatest tragedy and most threatening phenomenon since World War II. According to Soros, people have become uncertain and scared, and they act without common sense but with the knowledge that what they are doing is wrong.
Soros also expressed his thoughts on the difference between Europe and the United States.
“I think Europe is very vulnerable, much more so than the United States. The United States is one of the longest-lasting democracies in history. But even in the United States, a confidence trickster like Trump can be elected president and undermine democracy from within. But in the US you have a great tradition of checks and balances and established rules. And above all, you have the Constitution. So I am confident that Trump will turn out to be a transitory phenomenon, hopefully ending in November but until then he remains to be very dangerous,” reported Soros’s official website.
Soros continued by saying that the EUR 750 billion EU recovery fund has been one of the greatest ideas of the union. Soros thinks that “the EU took a very important positive step forward by committing itself to borrow money from the market on a much larger scale. But then several states, the so-called Frugal Five – the Netherlands, Austria, Sweden and Denmark and Finland – managed to make the actual agreement less effective.”
The Hungarian-American billionaire is still active, although other news portals writing about his 90th birthday stated that he was already weak 11 years ago.
According to the American Forbes Magazine, Soros was the third person between 2014 and 2018 who donated the most amount of many to charities and other organisations, approximately $3.1 billion. Alongside his donations, he is also eager to fund a brand-new university after CEU.
Vénusz Projekt is a bi-weekly podcast which deals with social and gender issues, and studies literature, culture, music, social environment and human rights from a feminist perspective. It is hosted by two Hungarian girls, Lili Rutai and Hanna Solti.
A Budapest-based feminist website, Lazy Women, interviewed Lili and Hanna about their podcast and on being a leading platform in the Hungarian feminist sphere.
When asked about what feminism means to them and whether their understanding of it has changed since launching Vénusz Projekt, both Hanna and Lili agreed that to them, feminism means equal rights, opportunities, rewards and efforts. Their understanding of feminism has also largely broadened since starting the podcast, as the podcast is a way not only for their listeners, but for them to learn more about how each individual thinks of and experiences feminism and femininity. How the perception of feminism alters from not only person to person, but from environment to environment.
“Our main goal is to introduce as many people as we can to this diversity in feminism and femininity.”
The girls think it is vital to approach and represent feminism from different viewpoints. Despite being journalists, they still have opinions, which may reflect in the way they pose questions. However, they try to keep an open mind as their goal is to show many angles of feminism without any judgement.
The idea of the podcast came to Lili because she really wished there would be a Hungarian podcast about “social issues through a feminist lens.”
Around the time she and Hanna started the podcast, another one, Mi a femme, started; however, the two podcasts have very different concepts. Mi a femme is more of a “girl talk” approach with two girls discussing their own opinions, while Vénusz Projekt invites guests to highlight varying experiences and opinions.
Lili and Hanna feel they have a social responsibility in who they invite to the podcast, and thousands of people listen to it. They try to ask people who otherwise would not have a way to reach so many people about these topics. They think their podcast is not much different from regular journalism, as they have to keep themselves informed in order to make the responsible choices in topics and guests.
“I feel that our responsibility lies more in the choice and portrayal of the guests we invite, not necessarily in our personal opinions.”
There is a couple of “radical” feminist group in Hungary that the Vénusz Projekt is not really involved with, as they would not label themselves as radical feminists. They believe that there must be many, smaller and hidden feminist groups; they are just hard to find. There are Hungarian feminist platforms, though, with thousands and even tens of thousands of followers, like Pinazine and Ciklusmesék. The problem is that there is no unity or any organised movement, where girls, who are interested in feminism in any way, could go and socialise and meet people with similar views, opinions and interests.
A “Hungaro-feminist” group has also emerged recently; there they rework Hungarian folklore from a feminist angle; they choose which parts to keep and which to cut out.
“I think in Hungary we skipped the stage of popular feminism. We simply jumped into non-popular, class-based feminism and well, to some extent, intersectional feminism, which we are still trying to reach.”
Despite some feminist books, which reached great success abroad, having been translated to Hungarian, they did not quite have the same effect, impact or popularity here as they did elsewhere. The lack of popular feminism is really noticeable in Hungary, as even young women seem to despise the term and condemn the movement. Many people still believe feminism is about hating men and excluding them from society, when, in reality, it promotes equality to all.
Lili also started a personal blog upon realising this, where her goal is to make feminism more accessible to all women.
Many people may dismiss the feminist movement because they think it is a trivial matter and would not affect their life whatsoever. Hanna finds feminism similar to the Black Lives Matter movement in this way. Many think equality has already been achieved, but if you dig a little deeper, you can discover how there are still many aspects in which complete balance has not yet been reached.
Hungary is attracting “a great deal of attention” from global powers like the United States, China and Russia, David Cornstein, the US ambassador to Hungary, said on a radio talk show on Sunday.
Speaking to billionaire John Catsimatidis on his “CATS Roundtable” New York radio show, Cornstein said Hungary and the central European region “all of a sudden . became very very attractive”.
“The Chinese like them, the Russians like them and of course they’re a member of NATO, so the United States likes them a lot as well,” Cornstein said of Hungary.
Asked about the state of the European Union, the ambassador said: “If you think that we have a polarised situation here in America, it’s an understatement compared to what’s going on in Europe.”
Divisive issues like immigration have pitted “East against the West, the North against the South, the liberals against conservative governments”, Cornstein said.
“Certain countries like Germany say ‘let’s just let everybody into the country’,
and then you get a country like Hungary that says, ‘Hey, wait a minute. I want to keep this country Hungarian and I’m not interested in bringing a lot of new people into the country, especially people from Africa’, so to speak.”
Asked about border policies within the bloc, the ambassador said they depended on the country in question.
“You have a leader in Hungary that’s a very very forceful leader . He is not ready to open borders until its safe,” Cornstein said.
“Right now, with the virus, everything was closed.” Hungary was “very successful” in fighting the virus, he said, adding that the country has had “hardly any cases in a relative sense” and “very few deaths as well”.
Prime Minister Viktor Orbán “is not very much interested in open borders” and “would like to have the people that he thinks would be good for the country come into the country” whether they be tourists or someone who would permanently settle in the country.
Asked about Russia’s influence in Hungary, Cornstein said
Hungary’s close relationship with Russia was mainly due to geographic proximity and an “energy dependence”.
But, he added that he believed Hungary did not “have a love really for Russia and what they represent.”
Cornstein described Hungary as “the best kept secret in the world”, saying that in spite of its welcoming people, good food and relatively low cost of living, it is less known abroad.
“Hungarian democracy is alive and well, and we’re succeeding in our fight against the novel coronavirus,” State Secretary Zoltán Kovács said in an op-ed published by The Washington Post on Saturday.
Kovács responded to an earlier article by George Will, who suggested that Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán was an “inspiration” for US conservatism shifting toward authoritarianism. Kovacs quoted Will as referring to the Hungarian PM as the “destroyer of Hungary’s democracy” who has “extended direct or indirect control over courts… and the media”.
“In our democracy, the press is indeed lively and critical, the courts are independent (see the Supreme Court decision just last month in a prominent Roma segregation case, a ruling that contradicted the government’s position), and opposition candidates still win elections,” Kovacs said.
“Voter turnout in Hungary’s 2018 parliamentary election topped 70 percent, the highest since 2002. That’s hardly an indicator of a destroyed democracy,” he said.
Kovács also quoted Will’s article as accusing Orbán of using the coronavirus pandemic as an excuse to build a dictatorship, and said that “the government called for a state of emergency entirely consistent with the provisions of our constitution, even giving parliament more say in the extraordinary measure, and the prime minister says it will come to an end June 20”.
“Thanks to these extraordinary measures, our government was able to take swift action with restrictions on movement and support to our health-care system that helped us avoid the levels of infection and death tolls we see elsewhere in Europe,” Kovács said in his article.
Difficult weeks and months are behind with significant challenges for all of us. Restrictions implemented because of the coronavirus epidemic clearly showed how important digital networks and tools are. As the country now re-establishes itself, what are the new priorities and how are companies like Vodafone going to evolve? We tried to answer these questions with Amanda Nelson, CEO of Vodafone Hungary.
DNH:Today Vodafone announced unlimited mobile data for their RED customers. That’s big news! Is it linked to the crisis situation or something bigger? Amanda Nelson: I think all of us understand more than ever before now how critical high-speed networks and constant connections are – it’s what’s got us through the last few weeks and months. Immediately the crisis hit Hungary, we’ve been supporting our customers with extra allowances and free connectivity where required. However, it’s time to make a big step forward and unlock the freedom of connections for as many as possible, for the longer-term support of our customers.
So today we launched our updated RED tariffs which offer a truly unlimited experience. We want Hungarians to feel the freedom and security that comes from knowing you are able to connect at all times.
These are important weeks for building resilience and creating the new normal in our daily lives. Having access to affordable, unlimited mobile voice and data options will be critical to this.
DNH:When the crisis hit, what other actions did Vodafone take? How many of these are permanent? Amanda Nelson: We always have been a purpose-led business – and as the crisis hit we turned our immediate attention to keeping Hungary connected at all times. We had a 5 point plan with immediate actions to support customers, partners, employees and the authorities during the difficult times of the epidemic.
We’re now focusing our attention on supporting Hungarians to get back to the normal life – adjusted for new habits learned during lockdown – and on providing ongoing solutions that will make sure we are even more resilient should further waves hit.
Today’s announcement is a permanent step forward. Of course, the continuous investment in and improvement of our fixed and mobile networks is another ongoing action that remains an ongoing priority
Amanda Nelson, CEO of Vodafone Hungary
DNH:What did you do during the crisis period that made the most difference, do you think? Amanda Nelson: While helping people and businesses stay connected remained our overall objective – there were many ways we could make this happen. Whether it was offering discounts or free extra services such as extra 15GB allowance – that was an immediate boost to people finding themselves in an unexpected crisis. Securing children’s access to digital education and helping teachers learn and improve in how to do that was another clear priority. In order to do this – we allowed a lot of teacher training content to be available for free and made sure access to digital education websites was free for our customers. We had already launched an excellent Life-Saver app as strengthening Hungary’s accessibility to digital healthcare services (even before the crisis) was an obvious way Vodafone could contribute. It was great that we could adapt the app for Coronovrius situation, with a special virus information button and the ability for push notifications about the most important information. Hungary’s small and medium-sized business sector is clearly critical to this country’s growth – and we took emergency actions to support them as the crisis unfolded. Whether it was the need for urgent extra bandwidth – or some support on cashflow management by receiving our payments early – we put in place measures to keep our partner businesses able to operate throughout. All of this, of course, is only possible because we continued to make significant investments in our network to ensure flawless and continuous connections. I’d especially like to thank the technical and other teams who worked 24/7 for an extended period to ensure the network operated as our customers would expect from us and delivered all the capacity required in such an unprecedented time
DNH:Vodafone announced many developments before the crisis – have your plans for this year changed? Amanda Nelson: The period behind us was undoubtedly eventful and as a short-term response we clearly prioritised those crisis measures most needed by our customers and employees. However, we have an ambitious programme of transformation ahead, and we didn’t stop that one bit.
One great example is the integration of UPC Hungary and Vodafone together – after our acquisition of their business last year, which delivered an important milestone in April when we became one legally merged entity.
And we continue with our 5G investments – having already launched commercially last October. In April, we undertook a spectrum auction and bought new frequencies to expand our 5G network for almost 39 billion HUF (EUR 112 million).
DNH:You’ve already mentioned 5G investments. What does the purchasing of the additional frequencies during the tender of the National Media and Infocommunications Authority (NMHH) allow you to do? Amanda Nelson: The frequencies we bought in April are the prerequisites for rolling out nationwide 5G and therefore are of high importance if we are going to ensure Hungary remains a leader with digital infrastructure and resilient in an uncertain world. The development of the 5G is still in an early stage but we expect to see acceleration.
5G provides better speed, minimal latency and additional capacity, however as with all new technologies, it needs time for other technological solutions that use the network to scale up in parallel.
We will be utilising these frequencies over the coming years – and launching more and more services that help people in their everyday lives make the most of what the technology can offer.
DNH:So back to your unlimited data and new RED tariffs… Is this the start of a new era for Telecoms? Amanda Nelson: COVID virus experience has shown us that change doesn’t always happen incrementally – but sometimes we need to leap ahead. Our consumer and business customers’ needs for connectivity and highly increased demand will not go back to where it was before. As Hungary starts to unlock – we will truly see what the new normal is. And we are working hard every day to support our customers take those leaps – the new era is already here with data connectivity and let’s see what exciting new products and services we can develop to keep Hungary safe, connected and ever-growing in the future
Chief International Anchor for CNN Christiane Amanpour interviewed Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó, aiming to get his response to the international reaction to Hungary’s recent epidemic response law, which enhances government powers to tackle the novel coronavirus epidemic.
Szijjártó started out the CNN interview by saying that many “fake news and lies” are being spread about Hungary regarding the new epidemic response law.
His argument was that it is not entirely true that there is no time limit on said law because the parliament has the right to conclude the state of danger. He also argued that three other EU countries, Poland, Malta, and Croatia all have taken similar measures. Szijjártó apparently has had enough with “the double standards” and only Hungary being singled out when other EU members resort to similar measures.
Szijjártó also said that he “cannot imagine a more democratic solution” than this law.
Amanpour responded by saying that the Hungarian parliament has a two-thirds majority of the ruling FIDESZ party and its allies. She asked Szijjártó whether he thinks it is even possible that the parliament will ever go against Prime Minister Orbán. Szijjártó then argued that the parliament is elected by the people.
The Foreign Minister believes that it is not true that the government has the “unlimited and uncontrolled possibility to make decrees” because they can only do that regarding the coronavirus crisis. He said that international media is “portraying this situation as a threat to democracy”, which he finds unfair.
Amanpour asked the minister what measures the Hungarian government aims to take that they could not have done with the help of their majority in parliament and without the emergency law. Unfortunately, she never got an answer to this question.
Amanpour brought up specific examples of responses to Hungary’s new law, including what the Head of the European Commission said (“I am concerned that certain measures go too far, and I am particularly concerned with the situation in Hungary”) and also what U.S. State Secretary Mike Pompeo said (“There will be bad actors try to use this outbreak of virus for nefarious ends”) regarding this new law.
She wanted to know how Szijjártó responds to these statements. He kept repeating himself, stating that these allegations are not true, and it is “unfair” to say that Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s rule by decree is a threat to the country’s democracy.
“I have not seen him for years, but this year was exceptional. We met at Andy Vajna’s two funerals – the first time in Budapest this January, followed by a few weeks later in Los Angeles. After the sad event, he promised to give me a long interview for my new book. And a few days later, he called me on FaceTime; a few hours later, we arranged a meeting at his residence.” Anikó Návai did an interview with the world-famous Hollywood actor, Arnold Schwarzenegger.
During the 2.5-hour-long interview, the world-famous actor did not hide his emotions. Arnold Schwarzenegger has never denied, in fact, he has always been proud, to have Andy Vajna to thank for his career.
“Andy was a fantastic person. It was very useful for the country that the Hungarian National Film Fund was led by him – several foreign productions were lured to Budapest, numerous jobs were created, and it also enhanced the economy as well. I spent three months in Hungary while shooting the film, and I really enjoyed our shared dinners – the goulash and Wiener schnitzel he prepared. He was a great cook. Few months after we said goodbye, he died unexpectedly. I could not believe it, Andy would have deserved to live much longer, and the film industry would have also deserved to have him around for a longer time. I am terribly sad that he passed away, he was an extremely important person in my life,” said the world-famous Hollywood actor.
As Nők Lapja reports, Schwarzenegger first collaborated with Andy Vajna in 1986, during the shooting of Red Heat. But how did he feel working in Budapest again?
“During the shooting of Red Heat, Hungary was a Communist country, there was no freedom.”
“Budapest is a wonderful city. One of the most beautiful cities in the world. I used to say it in the Austrian capital as well that Budapest is much better than Vienna. Which is a big word from an Austrian, isn’t it?”
“The Viennese are not happy to hear that, but that is the truth. Hungarians behave very politely with foreign filmmakers – they do their best to please them. The film staffs are great, and the tax benefits are also favourable. They also help with everything.”
“I would absolutely recommend Hungary as a filming location.”
This year, Arnold Schwarzenegger celebrates his 72nd birthday. What about the shootings? Aren’t they exhausting sometimes at this age?
“Sure, they are. Getting older is not easy. Especially for me – when I look in the mirror and I recall the years of being Mr Universe and Mr Olympia; the time when I was able to push out 300 kg and could lift 400 kg. At this age, my body is far from this achievement. Ok, I am 72 years old, but it makes me sad that I was once at the top, and I cannot be there anymore. Of course, I do sports every day; however, it is medically proven that by ageing, a man has less testosterone in his body, and it takes much longer to build muscle. And my health is not the same either. I need to take care of my heart. As one gets older, pain is an inevitable factor. However, I am thankful that I am still in good shape, and I can do sports every day. In the morning, I always go to cycle in the fitness room. It was funny when we sat down with the film director to discuss where I need stunt doubles. Nowhere if it is possible, I answered. But then I needed to work extremely hard, including cardio training and armed workout as well. If you remember, you know that the Terminator does not blink when someone is firing at him, I had to practice this as well. All in all, I am fine, thank you, really fine.”
Woody Allen talks about his time in Hungary during Kádár’s regime while filming his movie Love and Death in Budapest, his experience with a Russian soldier, as well as other things.
In the interview Allen gave to magyarnarancs.hu, he touched upon topics such as his lawsuit, the afterlife, and how he liked the Hungarian capital during his stay in the 1970s.
“Budapest was beautiful, it proved to be a great location, but the presence of the occupant Russian soldiers could be sensed,” says Allen.
He remembers that the soldiers had nothing to do, so he and his fellow filmmakers could put them in the movie, which is a funny war movie. The soldiers were excited, because they were bored of occupying Hungary, according to the famous director.
They did everything as they were meant to. “It was an ideal situation, soldiers playing soldiers, which they did authentically.” They were paid mostly in cigarettes, boxes of cigarettes, but Woody says this was still much cheaper than what he would have had to pay in the States if he wanted to have, say, 500 soldiers in one of his movies.
The shooting fell behind of schedule, because it got dark early, and the shooting days were very short. Allen says he did not mind though, as he liked a lot of things about Budapest, such as the wonderful streets and the Opera House.
Allen was also asked about his famous line: “I do not believe in an afterlife, although I am bringing a change of underwear,” and whether his feelings have changed. To which the answer is no. He still believes we only have this one chance, and once it is over, that is it.
His new movie A Rainy Day in New York, is now playing in Hungarian theatres.
