A recent survey of young Hungarian professionals reveals a growing interest in living and studying abroad, with political discussions at home on the rise. Conducted by the HUN-REN Research Centre for Social Sciences, the survey highlights significant shifts in the attitudes and preferences of Hungary’s youth.
Active Youth survey
Mfor reports that the Active Youth in Hungary survey, conducted for the fifth time since its inception in 2011, explores the public and political attitudes of Hungarian students. Directed by the Head of the Department of Political Behavior at the HUN-REN Research Centre for Social Sciences, the representative survey received support from the National Youth Council of Hungary and the National Conference of Student Self-Governments. The latest survey, conducted between 22 February and 11 March, involved interviews with 805 full-time university students and was unveiled at the EFOTT festival, shedding light on the perspectives of over 1.5 million young Hungarians aged 15–29.
A new record?
Andrea Szabó, director of the Department of Political Behavior, highlighted the survey’s “record-breaking” findings regarding young Hungarian professionals’ openness to living abroad. While 37% of respondents in 2015, 33% in 2019, and 45% in spring 2024 considered permanent relocation outside Hungary. The desire to study abroad has also seen a slight increase, with nearly a quarter of students now expressing this interest. Additionally, the survey revealed that young Hungarian professionals are engaging in more discussions about public issues and politics with their families, friends and acquaintances than ever before.
Young Hungarian professionals show more interest in politics
Dániel Oross, a senior research fellow at the department, notes a significant rise in political participation among young Hungarian professionals, with non-participation dropping from 43% in 2019 to an anticipated 30% by 2024. The increase is evident in activities like signing protest petitions, donating money, demonstrating and participating in boycotts, reflecting activism levels similar to the early 2010s.
The survey also highlights students’ financial optimism and willingness to support important causes financially. In terms of values, 72% support same-sex marriage, and only 6% endorse traditional mother-father roles. Additionally, 23% of students favour a strong leader over a political agenda, and a quarter advocate for stricter migration policies, with a significant divide between left- and right-leaning students on this issue.
Horror stories emerged in the last few weeks about holidaymakers stuck at different airports because their planes could not take off or did not even show up. Some groups even had to wait days, even with small children or sick people, and did not receive proper help. Hungarian budget airline Wizz Air was mentioned too many times in such news, and that has consequences.
Significant delays in European airspace
We wroteabout the last delayed Wizz Air plane on 3 July. The flight from Catania (Sicily) to Budapest was due to leave at 6.25 PM on 1 July but took off only on 3 July at 3.27 AM.
An Austrian air traffic controller head said Europe struggled with delays and named the Hungarian HungaroControl as a main contributor. The Hungarian company struggles with a labour shortage, so colleagues are overworked. Since Hungary is a main air traffic route, that has dire consequences for the entire continent.
Telex managed to talk to some insiders at HungaroControl, who cleared that the situation was not that simple. For example, they accused the budget airlines of leaving too little time for turnarounds. Therefore, sometimes the behaviour of a single passenger can cause serious delays and lead to a snowball effect. We wrote about the other side of the coin in THISarticle.
Hungarian Wizz Air is not among the top worst European airlines
Flightright, the leading European portal for passenger rights, measured the performance of the twenty biggest European airlines. They brought surprising news for Wizz Air.
Experts at the portal measured three categories: reliability (delays and cancellations), payment policy and customer opinion.
The overall results showed that Hungarian Wizz Air was the seventh worst airline in Europe, preceded by British Airways and Lufthansa, which was surprising for many Western European portals. Out of the five stars they could have collected, Wizz got 2.60. Ryanair is 10th on that list with 2.65. The best one was Transavia France (3.49).
Photo: FB/HungaroControl
Wizz Air is a reliable airline, but passengers are dissatisfied
Concerning reliability, the delays and cancellations of the individual airlines were assessed. Interestingly, Wizz Air is not on the negative end of the list, the first four places went to Air Dolomiti, Lufthansa, British Airways and KLM. That means they are the most unreliable airlines in Europe. Wizz Air got four stars in that category, which means it is in one league with Vueling, Ryanair, easyJet and Condor.
Given customer satisfaction, Wizz Air performed the worst. The Hungarian airline collected only 1.79 stars, which means they are at the top of the negative list. The category includes how satisfied passengers are with customer service, information sharing policies, and help they get from the airlines, turizmus.com wrote. There is much space for development for the Hungarian airline in that regard.
Source: depositphotos.com
Considering payment policy, Wizz Air did not perform well. They got two stars, only Turkish Airlines being behind them with 1.
The number of media outlets taking a critical stance on the government has been steadily growing since the last change of government in 2010, the Nézőpont Institute said in its 2024 Press Freedom report on Hungary released on Monday.
Compared with 36 critical domestic media outlets opposed to the government in 2010, there are now 61, the report said, adding that 34 critical websites were established in the past ten years.
“Whereas it is often said that press freedom is under attack in Hungary and that opposition media are being impeded, the precise opposite is the case,” the think-tank said.
Out of 15 print media, 7 are critical of the government while 8 favour it, the report said. Meanwhile, 12 out of 33 electronic media are opposed to the government and 21 are friendly. Further, 37 out of the 53 online platforms are against the government while 16 are for it, the think-tank added.
Fully 71 percent of the adult population (5.6 million people) get their information from sources critical of the government, while 64 percent (5.1 million people) get theirs from pro-government sources, it said, adding that the proportion of those who only obtain information from one type of media is low.
Media are easily accessible to anyone throughout the country, regardless of their attitude towards the government or political affiliation, it said.
Printed dailies and weeklies are distributed nationally and the major electronic media enjoy national coverage, Nézőpontsaid.
More than 8 million people can access TV channels and almost 93 percent of households have broadband. Moreover, there are 14 million mobile phone subscriptions in a country with a population of just below 10 million, the report said.
Half of the Hungarian population has seen its purchasing power decline in the past three years, with nearly two-thirds (64 percent) of households able to finance their everyday expenses only with considerable effort, according to the latest poverty survey by the Equilibrium Institute (Egyensúly Intézet).
More money is needed to maintain an average life than a year ago
Respondents of the poverty survey of the Equilibrium Institute said that today, a net monthly income of HUF 250,000 (EUR 630) is needed to sustain a scarce lifestyle, while HUF 400,000 (EUR 1,008) net per month is needed to maintain an average standard of living – this is HUF 50,000 (EUR 126) more than in 2023.
Almost half of Hungarians today, 45 percent, cannot provide the necessary financial conditions for a meagre living, according to the survey. 31 percent of respondents have a net income above HUF 250,000 (EUR 630) but below HUF 400,000 (EUR 1,008) net – they can live above the minimum, but still not completely comfortably. All in all, more than three-quarters of respondents (76 percent) fall below the income level needed for an average life.
Compared to 2023, in spring 2024, 11 percentage points more people, 24 percent in total, fell in the income bracket considered to be average or above average. There is therefore a slow improvement in the income structure in this respect, says the Equilibrium Institute. Still, only a tenth of respondents felt that they are living in good financial conditions and that they have no problems with everyday expenses.
Moreover, although poverty levels in Hungary have fallen over the past decade or so, as the Institute points out, the country remains one of the poorest in the European Union, both in terms of GDP and purchasing power parity.
2.5-3 million Hungarians (a quarter to a third of the population) might be considered poor. Roughly half of the people (45-50 percent) can live on their income and maintain a balanced lifestyle, and only 15 to 20 percent of the population have no problems with everyday expenses, are able to save from their income, and could easily cover an unexpected expense.
Source: Pixabay / Frantisek_Krejci
A third of parents surveyed had to eat less to feed their children
Half of Hungarians feel that their purchasing power has decreased over the past three years. They say that they were most affected by price rises and the emergence of new expenses (e.g. health care costs). Only 14 percent reported positive developments in terms of purchasing power.
In response to inflation, 46 percent of respondents regularly looked for low prices and promotions when shopping. 9 percent often and 18 percent sometimes did not eat meat because of high prices. 38 percent had to eat less than three meals a day, 37 percent had to cut back on heating in some cases, while 31 percent had to rely on some kind of aid to put food on the table. According to the poverty survey’s data, a third of parents, 34 percent to be exact, had to go hungry sometimes to feed their children.
Overall, it is clear that inflation has had a significant impact on the daily lives of Hungarians.
For many, a sudden expense is an insurmountable problem
The poverty survey also found that almost two-thirds (64 percent) of Hungarian households can only finance their everyday expenses with difficulty. Almost one-third of those asked would have trouble paying an unexpected expense. 39 percent of people would find a sudden expenditure of HUF 100,000 (EUR 250) a great complication but could manage it on their own. However, 32 percent would not be able to cover such a sudden expense at all.
Between November 2023 and May 2024, people have become much more vulnerable in terms of poverty: the proportion of those who would not be able to pay a sudden bill of HUF 100,000 has increased by 7 percent.
Perceptions and outlook for the future
31 percent of respondents feel uncertain about their financial situation, but the majority of Hungarians (54 percent) are confident about the near future, as they see no chance of financial instability in the next few months. At the same time, 75 percent of Hungarians expect their household income to stagnate. As for the long-term, the majority are typically pessimistic.
Hungarians are most concerned about financial vulnerability in old age: 40 percent are somewhat and 21 percent are very worried about their ability to maintain an adequate standard of living in retirement. This is closely followed by fears about unexpected expenses: 38 percent are somewhat worried and 22 percent are very worried about not being able to cope with sudden costs, such as a broken boiler or the family car breaking down. 51 percent are worried about food prices rising.
Poverty survey methodology
The poverty survey was conducted by face-to-face interviews with a representative sample of 1,000 people. The respondents represent the population aged 18 and over in the country. The polling data may differ by up to plus/minus 3.2 percent from what would have been obtained if all eligible persons in the country had been interviewed. The survey was conducted in May 2024.
The European Commission presidency of Ursula von der Leyen has been marked by “a series of failures and dissatisfaction”, according to the Századvég think-tank.
Szazadvég’sEurope Project, research covering 2023 and 2024, assessed European public opinion regarding Ursula von der Leyen and the commission’s performance.
In a press release on Friday, the think-tank noted that von der Leyen, backed by the European People’s Party (EPP), was on track to retain her office, enjoying the support of the majority of European leaders.
Its research shows public dissatisfaction with the commission’sresponse to recent crises and views of von der Leyen “and the Brussels bureaucracy” among European citizens were “clearly negative”.
Ursula von der Leyen. Will she be re-elected this summer? Source: Facebook/European Commission
In 2023, 77 percent of respondents expressing an opinion had a poor opinion of the commission, while this year 55 percent had negative opinion of von der Leyen, the research shows.
When it comes to migration, 63 percent expressed dissatisfaction, while on the issue of attempts by the commission to address inflation and energy prices, 63 percent had a negative opinion of the body, with 64 percent perceiving the energy crisis as partly the result of a bad energy policy pursued by the commission.
Meanwhile, Századvég said that the European public considered that EU institutions failed to represent the interests of the individual member states, with 52 percent saying that EU institutions “and the political elite in Brussels” ignored the interests of their country, MTI wrote.
Századvég is a government-close think-tank.
Read also:
Von der Leyen: Hungarians made Europe stronger, Hungarian commissioner: This is not the EU we dreamt of – Read more HERE
Some 59 percent of European Union citizens said they would be willing to fight for their country at home, 27 percent said they would also be willing to fight beyond the borders, but 69 percent said they were against the participation of their soldiers in Ukraine, pollster Századvég said on Wednesday citing a survey dubbed Europe Project.
A total of 27 percent of European citizens said they would not fight for their country even within home borders and 54 percent said they were against fighting for their country abroad.
The highest willingness to protect the country at home was registered among Lithuanians (74 percent) and among Estonians and Hungarians (70 percent each), the Századvégstatement said.
The percentage of people willing to fight for their country beyond home borders was under 50 percent in all the countries surveyed, and only in Lithuania the ratio of supporters (46 percent) was higher than the percentage of those against (28 percent).
Only 23 percent of Germans said they would be willing to fight for their country beyond home borders, and 60 percent was against.
The highest rejection of fighting for their country beyond the home borders was registered among Hungarians (75 percent) and among Austrians and Belgians (66 percent).
Only 25 percent of the Europeans surveyed by Századvég said they were not against sending soldiers to fight in Ukraine.
The ratio of those who support sending soldiers to Ukraine was not higher then the proportion of those that oppose this in any EU state, with Hungarians (91 percent) and Bulgarians (86 percent) being most against supporting Kyiv by sending soldiers.
A month before the European parliamentary elections, the list of the ruling Fidesz-Christian Democrats (KDNP) alliance would garner the support of 48 percent of voters, according to a survey by government-related Nézőpont.
The phone poll conducted between April 29 and May 2 with a 1,000-strong sample showed that Péter Magyar’s Tisza party would get 21 percent of the vote, the coalition of the Democratic Coalition, the Socialists and Párbeszéd 12 percent, and the Two-tailed Dog party (MKKP) 7 percent, the pollster said.
It said that the radical Mi Hazánk party stood at 5 percent, while Momentum and Jobbik both polled at 1 percent, far below the parliamentary threshold. Vona Gábor’s party (3 percent), Második Reformkor (2RK), is ahead of them but also cannot count on getting in.
Source: Nézőpont
If the parliamentary elections were held this Sunday, Fidesz-KDNP would get 44 percent of the vote, on par with its performance in 2014, the pro-government survey said. Support for opposition parties would be similar to that in the EP elections, with 22 percent of voters supporting the Tisza party, 13 percent the DK-Socialists-Párbeszéd alliance, 7 percent voting for MKKP, and 6 percent for Mi Hazánk, Nézőpont said.
LMP and Péter Márki-Zay’s party, the Everybody’s Hungary People’s Party, would only garner 1 percent of the vote each, Nézőpont said.
As we reported on Sunday, Péter Magyar’s party held a huge rally in Debrecen, the “Fidesz capital” – details, PHOTOS
As we wrote earlier, 13 parties or party alliances have submitted lists for the upcoming European parliamentary elections, 11 of which have been supported by valid signatures of the required minimum of 20,000 voters. Details are here.
DiscoverCars.com has conducted new research into which cities cause drivers the most stress, asking drivers in a group of different European cities to track their heart rates on a 30 minute drive. The 3 most stressful cities to drive in were: Oslo (Norway), Lisbon (Portugal) and Milan (Italy). The 3 least stressful cities according to the research were: Krakow (Poland), Barcelona (Spain) and Prague (Czech Republic).
DiscoverCars.com has put together a new piece of research to find where Europe’s most stressed drivers are, measuring the heart rates of drivers in different cities across the continent. The research is supported by practising medical doctor Dr Adedeji Saheed, who provided insights into the drivers’ heart rates.
Aleksandrs Buraks, Head of Growth at DiscoverCars.com, comments:
“We were interested to find out which cities are causing drivers the most stress, and would like to say thank you to all the drivers for taking part in our research. You can see from their heart rates speeding up and slowing down that a normal half-hour drive through the city you live in or are visiting can be anything from fairly relaxing to a very stressful experience. Of course, this will depend on a number of factors, both related to the city itself and more to do with the day you’re already having. It could be traffic on the roads, the condition of the roads themselves, the behaviour of other drivers or something else that’s personal to you, such as an upcoming deadline at work.
“Our research revealed that the least stressful city to drive in is Krakow in Poland and the most stressful is Oslo in Norway. While all cities are prone to crowded roads at times, anecdotally, some cities are much busier than others.
“We also provided an idea for a road trip to a quiet nature spot or small town for each of the cities – from Oslo, we suggested that drivers take a trip to the Bygdoy Peninsula. Getting there only takes about half an hour, and once there, you can take a stroll on the beach, or head to the Kongeskogen, the King’s Forest, to enjoy the walking trails.”
DiscoverCars.com created the ranking by first creating an average of each driver’s lowest driving and resting heart rate, and highest driving and resting heart rate. Then, subtracting the average low rate from the average high rate provides a number DiscoverCars.com used as a ‘Stress Rating’.
Oslo, Norway ranked as the most stressful city to drive in, with a Stress Rating of 37.5. Dr Adedeji Saheed’s insight into this driver’s heart rate was that their resting heart rate hit 99 bpm at times, which is on the higher end of the normal range, and could be indicative of stress, anxiety, a medical condition or recent caffeine intake. Oslo is known to have some narrow roads which can make navigating the city difficult or slow – could this have influenced the driver’s level of stress?
In second place is Lisbon, Portugal with a Stress Rating of 36, only just behind Oslo. This driver’s heart rate while at rest reached 122 bpm, which is above the range that is expected. Lisbon is well known for having some narrow and twisty roads which could cause drivers here stress.
Milan, Italy has a Stress Rating of 30. This driver’s heart rates were within the normal range but their highest heart rate was 99 bpm while driving – is over 20 bpm faster than their slowest heart rate while driving. This would suggest that something may have happened during their journey to stress them out.
Next is London, UK with a Stress Rating of 29.5. Almost exactly in the middle of the ranking, this driver’s heart rate readings were all within the expected range. This city’s roads can become very congested, and many locals and visitors alike choose to travel by the Underground instead.
With a Stress Rating of 25.5, Budapest, Hungary falls right in the middle of the ranking. The driver’s heart rate was in the normal range, but was a little high at times, reaching 90 bpm at rest. While the city’s roads are generally in good condition, drivers here say parking can be difficult to find.
Munich, Germany has a Stress Rating of 21.5. All of the heart rate readings from this driver were in the normal range – on the lower end of the scale – with Dr Adedeji Saheed commenting that there was no cause for concern.
The third least stressful city to drive in is Prague, Czech Republic which scored a Stress Rating of 20, only just below that of Munich. While the driver’s highest heart rate while driving was 119 bpm, which might sound high, their lowest heart rate at rest was 71 bpm, meaning there was not as much of a difference in the readings they provided. Prague is connected by a well maintained motorway system.
Barcelona, Spain has a Stress Rating of only 16. This driver’s fastest heart rate was 74 bpm, compared to 50 bpm at its slowest while they were resting. Dr Saheed advised that heart rates as low as this can be a sign of health in people with an athletic lifestyle – but he also advised that for some people it can indicate that they are experiencing ‘bradycardia’. If someone’s heart rate is too slow, it could mean that oxygenated blood is not being sent around their body fast enough.
Finally, the least stressful city to drive in is Krakow, Poland with a Stress Rating of 9.5. This driver’s heart rate readings were within the normal range, although their resting heart rate was a little high at times, with a low of 84 bpm. Their heart rate did not spike much on their journey. Poland’s 2014-2023 National Road Construction Programme has led to the creation of lots of new roads and highways, which could be a contributing factor that makes driving less stressful in the country.
DiscoverCars.com also provided some hints and tips for how to reduce your stress while you’re driving.
They recommended listening to music as long as it isn’t distracting.
If you’re on a journey that’s several hours long or longer, it’s important to take enough breaks while driving. Clear your mind, stretch your legs and have some food and drink. It will provide you with a reset and break up the journey into manageable chunks.
Setting off with plenty of time to spare is another tactic that will help keep your journey calm.
Read also:
Free driving licence in Hungary: here is whom it concerns – Read more HERE
From aliens and 5G towers to vaccines and chemtrails, conspiracy theories have permeated almost every aspect of contemporary society, often spreading like wildfire on some recesses of the internet. Here is a look at some statistics from Hungary that illustrate what sort of conspiracy theories have found fertile breeding ground in the country.
What are conspiracy theories?
The European Commission defines conspiracy theories (CTs) as narratives that explain events as the products of the secret machinations of powerful, malevolent groups. CTs divide the world into good and bad, scapegoating some individuals or groups as the source of evil: historical events are the results of these bad people plotting in secret.
CTs are popular as they give simple answers to complex problems. In times of uncertainty or crisis, they provide a sense of control. It is much easier, for example, to comprehend the so-called Great Replacement Theory (the idea that global elites are planning to replace white populations by moving migrants into Europe), than to consider the infinitely complex political, social, and economic factors that drive international migration.
Some popular contemporary conspiracy theories in Hungary
Recently, Telex published an article detailing how anti-vaxx parents are suing their GPs, because the doctors are not willing to issue a health certificate that would allow them to refuse mandatory childhood vaccines. Such rejection of modern medicine is often based on conspiracy theories.
Photo: Pixabay
Indeed, a part of Hungarian society was a great sceptic of the COVID-19 pandemic. Pénzcentrum wrotethat Hungary was the 4th most sceptical country in Europe when it came to the pandemic: a significant number of people thought the dangers of the coronavirus were overestimated, and out of 20 European countries, Hungary had the most people who believed that lockdowns caused more harm than good.
Political Capital analysed conspiracy theories and disinformation in the country in several representative studies. In 2018, they found that 41% of Hungarians thought that “events that seem independent of each other are often the result of secret activities.”
Over one-third of people thought that Jewish people wanted to rule the world for which they had secret agreements in place, and 45% believed that “Muslim leaders have a secret plan to take over Europe and turn it into an Arab continent.”
42% agreed that “pharmaceutical companies are hiding the antidote to diseases from us” in 2018. In 2023, researchers of Political Capital found that 39% of those surveyed thought that the statement “Pfizer’s internal documents prove that many people died because of their vaccination against the coronavirus”, was at least partially true.
16 and 19% of the respondents thought that it was, respectively, certain, or rather true, that “left-wing liberal forces are trying to destroy Christianity and nation-states in Europe”. Among Fidesz voters, more than half agreed that this statement was at least somewhat true.
The statement that “the Russian secret service has incriminating evidence against Viktor Orbán, with which they blackmail the Prime Minister” was considered at least somewhat true by almost one-third of all respondents. 10 and 8% of Fidesz members thought that this was definitely or rather true, while 26 and 16% of the opposition held these opinions.
Studies have shown that conspiracy beliefs “stack ”. That is, those who believe in one CT are likely to believe in others, as well. This is the case in Hungary, too, where in 2022, studies found that Covid-scepticism was closely correlated with believing in Russian propaganda about the war in Ukraine.
Of those who agreed that the coronavirus was the work of a background power, 76% agreed with the statement that Ukraine is a Nazi country. Telex also highlighted that the COVID and pro-Russian conspiracy theories were mainly accepted among Mi Hazánk and Fidesz voters.
At the same time, Political Capital writes that “a significant number of Hungarians are receptive to disinformation about Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. 27% believe the most common disinformation narratives about Ukraine’s role and responsibility, and 22% believe those related to the United States.”
Overall, party preferences define what CTs people believe. Fidesz voters are more likely to believe anti-Muslim, anti-West, and anti-Soros CTs, while those on the opposition side believe CTs that target the Orbán government. Only the far-right Mi Hazánk voters were susceptible to almost any conspiracy theory.
Indeed, in 2018, Deutsche Welle called Hungary “Europe’s conspiracy champion” in an interview with Péter Krekó, a Hungarian scholar of CTs. Krekó explained to the magazine how after the 2015 refugee crisis, conspiracy theories became part of the official government narrative.
The Orbán government churned out propaganda that Hungarian-born billionaire George Soros had a plan to bring masses of migrants to Europe. As a consequence, in Hungary, we are now dealing with a situation where CTs are not just on the political fringes. Instead, the government itself spreads them as official policy.
National consultation slip about the so-called “Soros Plan”
How to spot conspiracy theories?
Here is the difficulty: real conspiracies do exist. Assassinations, political coups, and cover-ups of political scandals are all real-life conspiracies.
The European Commission gives this example: “In 2006, the U.S. District Court in Washington D.C. (USA) ruled that major cigarette companies were guilty of conspiracy. For decades, they had hidden evidence of health risks attached to smoking to promote higher sales.”
However, Péter Krekó also asserts that “conspiracy theories are gaining traction all across the globe.”
“That has a lot to do with the prevailing mood of the day, which shows how little trust people have in international institutions and how changes in our world lead people to believe the craziest theories about their causes. We are dealing with a global crisis of confidence.”
Indeed, Political Capital found that “the majority of the respondents (59%) agreed to some extent with the statement that objective reality does not exist, there are only different opinions.” We are living in a world, it seems, where basic truths about facts and reality are up for debate.
As such, it is worth looking at what individuals can do to effectively identify CTs in their lives. The European Commission shares these three tips to help you decide if you are dealing with a conspiracy theory:
Check the author: who is writing what you are reading and what is their goal?
Check the source: is it reliable and reputable? Has it been confirmed by independent fact-checking?
Check the style and tone of what you are reading: is it balanced, objective, and thorough?
Former US President Donald Trump and Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán are the only ones who can see clearly that the policy of open borders, “woke madness” and the constant escalation of war could come to a very sudden devastating end, the head of the Center for Fundamental Rights said in Tampa Bay, Florida.
In a statement, the think-tank cited Miklós Szánthó as telling the congress of the Young Republican National Federation that this was the reason why 2024 was considered an “election super year”.
He said the US would be holding the “most defining election” of its history, while Europeans would be facing their own “greatest test” in June.
Szánthó said both the US’ and Hungary’s enemy in their respective elections were “the deep state and the swamp”, adding it was “pointless” to look for differences between the two.
Concerning the meeting of the Conservative Political Action Conference in Budapest (CPAC Hungary) later this month, he said “we will drain the swamp in both Brussels and Washington”.
Read also:
Would the majority of Hungarians be happy if Trump won? – HEREis the answer
Trump ‘guarantee of peace, good Hungary-US relations’, saysHungarian foreign minister in NY
Modern paganism is one example of a line of movements that turn away from established religions and towards ancient traditions. These contemporary movements are becoming more and more popular in the world and Hungary, as well. Here is a look at some trends, and a possible explanation for their popularity.
What is modern paganism/neopaganism?
The word pagan comes from the Latin paganus, meaning villager, rustic, or rural, a collective term used in the Roman Empire for those who did not practice Christianity or Judaism but some other ethnoreligion, or were polytheistic.
When we speak of neopaganism (also contemporary/modern paganism), Réka Szilárdi writes on litera.huin a study of the current paganist resurgence, it denotes the modern followers of longstanding pagan traditions. While paganism is an umbrella term for an eclectic array of smaller groups, generally speaking, paganism is polytheistic, it is centred around nature and/or magic, and its followers typically aim to reconstruct pre-Christian cults.
This new kind of movement can be traced back to the 1960s and 1970s, when countless new religious movements appeared worldwide, all of which tried to provide answers to the uncertainties in the modern world, such as the issue of climate change.
In the last 60 years, the movements have spread from the United States to Central Eastern Europe, and today, their followers can also be found in Hungary.
Modern paganism is conquering the internet
The recent expansion of modern paganism is closely related to internet trends, index.hu writes in its article about the religion in Hungary. The witchtok (i.e. witch TikTok) community on TikTok, for example, has a large following, full of fortune-telling, astrology, card reading, and natural remedies, among other nature-related practices.
Despite popular belief, modern paganism does not involve animal sacrifice or other similar procedures. On the contrary, the followers of neopaganism seek to draw attention to harmony with nature.
Scholars of the phenomenon believe that the popularity of paganism can be explained by the fact that today, many people are disillusioned with the modern world. Because of this, they are looking for alternative worldviews.
Indeed, in the United States, the number of people who identify as pagans has increased tenfold in 20 years: today there are approximately one and a half million followers of this movement. Similarly, this alternative worldview is also very popular in England and Wales: while in 2011, roughly 57 thousand people declared themselves pagans in the census, by 2021, this number reached 74 thousand.
At the same time, looking at the census data, it can also be seen that the number of followers of the traditional major religions is constantly decreasing.
Modern paganism pops up in Hungary
The decline of traditional religiosity is also typical in Hungary: in 2001, the census counted 5.5 million Catholics and 1.6 million Protestants, by 2022, their numbers had decreased to 2.9 million and 950 thousand, respectively.
“Today in Hungary, the number of people who belong to some kind of pagan community can be put to at least ten thousand, but maybe even more.”
theologian Zoltán Cser, director of the Dharma Gate Buddhist Church, told Index.
Cser finds that for many people a return to the countryside is very attractive, due to its distance from the modern world. Many people strive for self-sufficiency and want to be close to nature. And more and more, they turn to pagan religions, because they feel that the historical churches are not able to give answers to their problems.
In her study, Szilárdi highlights that modern paganism in post-socialist countries shows significant differences compared to its Western counterpart. In Eastern European countries, the revitalisation of pre-Christian, local tribal traditions (and ancestral religions), and the assertion of national identity are extremely important for the communities. For example, shamanism is prominent among these groups. For this reason, (sometimes radical) right-wing political activity can often be observed in these groups.
At the same time, interest in more “Western-type” religions, such as Wicca, is also present in the country. For these groups, which Szilárdi calls “imported” movements, the issue of national identity is less central.
Fully 86 percent of Hungarians oppose sending European or NATO troops to Ukraine, according to a fresh survey by pollster Századvég released on Thursday.
Századvég survey
In a statement, Századvég noted that several European leaders had recently “joined in on the war rhetoric of French President Emmanuel Macron”, proposing that European countries should support Ukraine in the war against Russia by sending troops of their own to the conflict.
Századvég said its survey found that 75 percent of Hungarians saw the war as conflict between the economic and military interests of the United States and Russia. Hungarians also say the biggest obstacle to peace is that neither side is willing to compromise, the statement added.
Altogether 77 percent of respondents said they had heard about the French president and other European as well as Ukrainian leaders urging the involvement of European troops in the conflict.
Meanwhile, Századvég also found that 80 percent of Hungarians say Russia is unlikely to attack Hungary if achieves a military victory in Ukraine, while 79 percent believe Russia would not attack NATO at all.
Is Hungary really the least happiest country in the region? Since 2012, the 20th of March has marked the celebration of the International Day of Happiness. This year’s World Happiness Report unveils Hungary’s ongoing struggle as one of the less content nations in Eastern Europe.
The World Happiness Report (WHR) is the joint project of Gallup, the Oxford Wellbeing Research Centre, and the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network. It aims to call policymakers’ attention to happiness as a crucial factor in shaping government action. Their goal is to give a numerical answer to the question: how happy is life in a given country? To do this, they first ask respondents to rate how happy they feel on a scale of 0 to 10, thereby quantifying subjective bliss.
Beyond mere self-assessment, they delve into additional factors that correlate with feelings of societal happiness to find the happiest country in the world. They study the GDP per capita and the purchasing power parity of a country, the strength of social support among the population, life expectancy, perceptions of freedom, support for charity in the community and the prevalence of corruption both within governmental structures and among corporate entities.
These metrics can significantly affect individual contentment, thereby amalgamating to paint a comprehensive picture of global happiness. This year’s report casts a spotlight on happiness across various life stages, disclosing disparities between Boomers, Millennials and Gen X.
Most and least happiest country in the world
The happiest countries remained unchanged in the past years with Finland being the happiest country now seven years in a row. Denmark came a close second, but overall, the region is a joyous one: all Nordic countries are in the top 10 of the list. Iceland is the third happiest country in the globe, Sweden fourth and Israel is fifth in the ranking.
Central and Eastern European nations, notably Czechia, Lithuania and Slovenia, ascend the ranks, whereas powerful countries, such as the United States and Germany, experience a slight decline. Afghanistan, Lebanon, Lesotho and Sierra Leone languish at the bottom as the unhappiest nations in the world.
Hungary continues to score low on happiness
This year’s report positions Hungary in 56th place, a five-place regression from the previous year. The report identifies dissatisfaction among Hungarian respondents regarding charitable endeavours and the pervasive spectre of corruption. On the other hand, many express a sense of autonomy in shaping their lives the way they wanted.
However, as highlighted by Index.hu, countries such as El Salvador, Guatemala, Kazakhstan and Kosovo surpass Hungary in happiness rankings. Comparably, neighbouring states fare considerably better: Romania secures 32nd place, Slovenia 21st, Czechia 18th and Austria 14th.
Last year, Eurostat ranked Austria as the happiest country in the European Union, boasting a stellar 7.9 out of 10 in quality of life surveys. Poland, Finland and Romania share the runner-up position with a commendable 7.7. Bulgaria languishes at the bottom with a 5.6, albeit Hungary remains a mere five places ahead, surpassing Greece and Croatia.
Pénzcentrum has compiled its own happiness index in Hungary. Their Great Happiness Survey shows which regions of the country are the most and least satisfied. They found that those in the Western part of the country, in Vas, Győr-Moson-Sopron, Veszprém and Fejér counties, as well as in the capital are the happiest. Conversely, Nógrád, Somogy, and Bács-Kiskun counties occupy the opposite end of the spectrum, mirroring the schism in subjective and average incomes.
In total, 51 percent of all respondents in a recent survey by Real-PR 93 believe that Hungary would benefit if Donald Trump won the November US presidential election, the pollster said in a statement on Tuesday.
Among right-wing supporters, 78 percent said they would welcome a Trump victory, while 26 percent of leftist respondents shared that opinion.
Twenty-three percent of all respondents said Hungary would benefit from Joe Biden’s re-election.
Real-PR 93 has gauged Hungarian voters’ support for Trump for the second time, the first one conducted in October-November last year. The first survey indicated 47 percent support for Trump, the report said, adding that the ratio could further increase in future.
The pollster said support for Trump was higher among older respondents, with 47 percent in the 18-39 age group, 49 percent among the middle-aged and 58 percent among people over 60.
The survey was conducted by phone with a sample of 1,000 adults between Feb 26 and 28.
The Hungarian government and its media are campaigning heavily for Donald Trump. Viktor Orbán makes no secret of the fact that he is clearly interfering in the US election and wants Trump to be president again. “The direct security situation isn’t looking good … and the only sane chance on Hungary’s part is to bet on President Trump’s return,” Orbán said yesterday, details HERE.
Also, we wrote earlier, PM Orbán travels to Florida to meet Trump, Chinese President Xi may visit Budapest, details HERE.
750 Budapest University of Technology and Economics (BME) employees signed a letter calling their wages unacceptable and the students’ allowances low. According to their complaint, the university teachers’ base income does not reach the average salary of engineers in Hungary.
University teachers’ wages in Hungary are ridiculously low
According to telex.hu, an assistant professor at BME gets HUF 277,200 (EUR 703) gross wage/month. That is only EUR 469/month net. Since they cannot take home less than the guaranteed Hungarian minimum wage, their final gross income is HUF 366,000 (EUR 929), which is EUR 620 net per month. You must obtain your PhD to become an assistant professor in Hungary.
An associate professor’s guaranteed monthly gross wage is only HUF 535,200 (EUR 1358).
PhD students get HUF 140,000 (EUR 355) per month in the first two years and HUF 180,000 (EUR 456) in the last two years.
Therefore, the teachers at BME would like at least a 50% wage rise as soon as possible and a guaranteed salary increase following the inflation.
Photo: FB/BME
Hungarian university students must work
Népszava sharedsome shocking data about university students in Hungary. According to a survey, 3/4th of the students have a job, and half would move abroad after acquiring their diploma. The survey was representative, containing the answers of 9,764 students.
Marcell Budai, the president of the National Union of Students in Hungary (HÖOK), said work had become necessary for Hungarian students due to the economic crisis. The number of Hungarian families able to spend on their children’s education has decreased significantly in the last few years.
Mr Budai saidthat the maximum scholarship a Hungarian student can get with excellent results does not reach EUR 90 per month. Therefore, scholarships cannot convince students that studying is worth more than working.
Students’ allowances increased in 2020, but inflation took that extra money away between 2022 and 2023. Meanwhile, the number of places in dormitories did not increase even though rental prices skyrocketed.
More than 50% of the students said they would move abroad, provided they found a good job opportunity. However, 56% of the students said their studies did not prepare them for working in a foreign country.
Read also:
Non-EU citizens can apply for a Hungarian Card, 65 thousand guest workers may come – Read more HERE
Shocking data about the drug use of Hungarian university students – Details in THISarticle
The Hungarian left-wing opposition have failed to capitalise on the ruptures during the past month caused by the scandal related to a pardon granted in the case of a child-abuse cover-up, according to a survey carried out by the Nézőpont think-tank.
Based on the telephone survey of 1,000 people in January and February published on Friday, Fidesz and its Christian Democrat ally would win the European parliament elections if the vote were held this weekend, bagging 47 percent of the votes as against 50 percent in January, translating into 13 seats — the same number they won in 2019.
The opposition’s combined support was 29 percent as against 30 percent in January. In 2022 their joint list garnered 36 percent of the total, Nézőpontsaid.
The leftist Democratic Coalition was steady at 14 percent, not sufficient for the party to keep the 4 seats it won in 2019. Centrist-liberal Momentum’s support dropped a percentage point to 7 percent in February, securing the party a single theoretical seat. The Socialists and the conservative Jobbik were each on 2 percent, according to the think-tank’s poll.
Meanwhile, radical right-wing party Mi Hazank and the satirical Hungarian Two-Tailed Dog Party each notched up 8 percent.
Among relative newcomer parties, the centrist Everyone’s Hungary People’s Party and Second Reform Age party each had 4 percent backing, just below the threshold for gaining EP mandates.
According to an Ipsos poll, citizens in 28 states think their country is in a decline. In a growing number of places, including Hungary, there is a desire for a strong leader to stand up to the elite.
Ipsos conducted a poll at the end of 2023 to gauge the popularity of populism in 28 countries. The survey also revealed the mindset of Hungarians.
Hungarians have a negative opinion of society, with 69% of those surveyed saying the country is in ruins. This is 12% higher than the average for the participating countries.
For the survey, Ipsos has developed a so-called “flawed system index”, which aggregates responses to five statements:
the economy benefits the rich,
traditional parties don’t care about the people,
you need a strong leader,
strong leaders need to take the country back from the rich,
and the experts don’t understand the problems of the people.
The aggregate response to these questions shows that 61% of people worldwide think the system is not working, but in Hungary, the figure is 66%. The worst situation can be seen in South Africa, while the majority of Germans are broadly satisfied in this respect, 24.hu reports.
What do Hungarians want? A strong leader
What Hungarians want most of all is a strong leader to lead the country. An important goal would be for the leader to take Hungary back from the rich and powerful, but they no longer want the leader to break the rules in the process.
73% of the respondents are disillusioned with traditional domestic parties, while 69% think that the most important political issues should be decided by referendum.
Respondents said that Hungary could make progress by stopping immigration and giving preference to Hungarian workers. 70% of respondents in Hungary see the elite as a closed group with similar values, and about as many say that elites only look out for their own interests when making decisions and do not care about the rest of the country.
When it comes to public spending, Hungarians say that the biggest share of public spending should go to healthcare. This is followed by education and public safety.
University students drink more alcohol, use more drugs, but smoke less than the average for both secondary school students and the 18-34 year olds, according to a recent representative survey conducted by researchers at Corvinus University of Budapest.
A research team, led by Zsuzsanna Elekes, Professor at Corvinus University, mapped risk behaviours of young people through a national representative survey. The HUN-REN Social Epidemiology Research Group surveyed 1,385 university students in 2022, with an equal split between girls and boys, and between residents of the capital city and the rest of the country.
The results show that smoking is less prevalent among university students than the average population, with 43.6% of respondents having consumed some tobacco product in the week before the survey and 17.9% smoking on a daily basis. The average proportion of Hungarians who smoke daily was 24.5 per cent in 2019, according to KSH data. Interestingly, traditional cigarettes are still the most popular among students, with e-cigarettes and heated tobacco products being less popular.
Photo: Budapest Corvinus University
A university student drinks twice as much alcohol as an average young person, on an average occasion
As for alcohol, one third of students consume it on a weekly basis; weekly drinking is twice as common among boys as among girls; and university students’ consumption is more than twice the amount drunk by secondary school students. 94% of respondents had consumed alcohol during the prior one-year period, and 27% of them had consumed large amounts of alcohol on a monthly basis. In addition, it turned out, that when university students drink alcohol, they consume much more of it than adults or secondary school students: more than twice as much as secondary school students when calculated in terms of pure alcohol.
Beer and wine are the most common drinks among university students, hard liquors do not dominate and, unlike secondary school students, they tend to drink in pubs and bars rather than at home. When asked if they had ever experienced any signs of a hangover, 41% of respondents reported some problem, compared to 10.3% in a previous nationwide sample of adults. Students at universities of Budapest and natural sciences drink higher amounts and more often than students at institutions outside Budapest and of social sciences.
“One of our important goals is to explore the alcohol situation in Hungary, as often uncertain data is available on it. Young people are the most at risk in this regard, but relevant research is rarely conducted among university students, unfortunately, and this is why the current results are so valuable,” Zsuzsanna Elekes, Professor at Corvinus University, Leader of the HUN-REN Social Epidemiology Research Group, emphasized.
Almost one in two students have tried some kind of drug, the most common being cannabis (36.3%), sleeping pills or tranquillisers taken without a prescription (14.3%), and Ectasy (8.2%). More than a quarter of students are repeat users; and boys and students studying in Budapest are more affected. Cannabis is more than 3.5 times more prevalent among university students compared to 18-34 year olds, and more than twice as prevalent compared to the age group of students in forms 9 -10. Other relatively common drugs include amphetamines (6.6%), sleeping pills and sedatives taken on prescription (6.1%), alcohol drunk on medication (5%), magic mushrooms (4.8%), cocaine (4.4%), painkillers used to improve mood (4.3%), synthetic cannabinoids (4.1%) and LSD (3.4%) – with heroin at the bottom of the list at 0.2%. Working while studying is a risk factor: a higher proportion of university students who are currently working have tried drugs than those who are not.
Photo: Budapest Corvinus UniversityPhoto: Budapest Corvinus University
University students spend 6.6 hours a day online
Another Corvinus staff in the Research Group, Kitti Kutrovátz, researched what students spend their leisure time on. According to the results, the most popular leisure time activity among students is meeting friends, followed by “just hanging out at home or elsewhere”, and then traditional TV watching; doing sports is characteristic to a third of them. The question is also influenced by gender, with girls more likely to spend their time without any special goal, and boys more likely to do sports. People in Budapest also spend time doing sports more frequently. Longer and more frequent online presence is more characteristic to residents of settlements other than the capital city, to the inactive in the labour market, and to those without a partner relationship.
Photo: Budapest Corvinus University
“Protective factors include relationship status and work: the risk of problematic internet- and social networking site use is lower among those in stable relationships. Those who work while pursuing their studies participate in more cultural events,” Kitti Kutrovátz, Corvinus University staff member, said.
In the online space, students mainly use social media, listen to music, watch videos and films. The average time spent in front of a screen is 6.6 hours per day among those surveyed. Boys are more likely to play online games, while girls are more likely to chat and use social networking sites. Problematic internet use is characteristic to about one in four university students, but only 6% of them use social media in a worrying way.
Read also:
Students in Hungary in deep trouble: financial struggles are immense – Read more HERE
Success! Hungarian university moves uptwo places in new ranking
