Hungary.

[TsarSamuil]

I was thinking about creating a Hungary thread before since they keep appearing on the radar.

John McCain being his usual self, it's his hate for the world that keeps him alive? The Vietcong should never have let that monkey out of his cage..

Hungary fuming after McCain calls PM Orban ‘neo-fascist dictator’

RT.com
December 03, 2014 18:39

Hungary’s Foreign Ministry has summoned the US envoy after US Senator John McCain called Prime Minister Viktor Orban a “neo-fascist dictator.” Washington is incensed with Orban for seeking closer ties with Russia.

The US charge d’affaires, Andre Goodfriend, will be asked for an explanation for McCain’s comments.

"The Hungarian government ... rejects the words of Senator John McCain regarding the Hungarian prime minister and the relationship of Hungary and Russia," Levente Magyar, state secretary at the ministry, told national news agency MTI, Reuters reported.

Meanwhile the country’s foreign minister, Peter Szijjarto, said: "Hungarian citizens ... articulated a very clear opinion that everyone ought to respect,” referring to the victory of Orban’s center-right Fidesz party in parliamentary, European and local elections.



McCain’s comments came in a highly charged speech at the US Senate on Tuesday, where he hit out at President Barack Obama’s appointment of Hollywood producer Colleen Bell as the new US ambassador to Budapest.

"I am not against political appointees... I understand how the game is played, but ... [Hungary] ... is on the verge of ceding its sovereignty to a neo-fascist dictator getting in bed with Vladimir Putin, and we're going to send the producer of 'The Bold and The Beautiful' as the ambassador," he told the Senate, Reuters reported.

The US State Department however does not share Sen. McCain's hawkish view.

“I think it’s no surprise that there are a number of views Senator McCain has espoused that we don’t share," Marie Harf, Deputy Spokesperson for the US State Department told reporters. “As an Administration, I would put that in this category, of course.”

Harf went on to defend Washington's choice in appointing a new ambassador to Hungary saying, “we believe she will be a very good ambassador, [and] are happy she’s been confirmed.”

Last month, AFP reported Orban as saying that Hungary's relations with Russia have become “entangled in geopolitical and military and security policy issues.” The PM said that the US was retaliating for Budapest's willingness to endorse the South Stream gas pipeline, as well as a deal that would see Russian firm Rosatom develop Hungary’s nuclear power.

Under a deal worth up to €10 billion, Rosatom will build a 2,000 megawatt addition to Hungary's state-owned nuclear power plant, MVM Paksi Atomeromu. Russia is Hungary’s largest trade partner outside of the EU, with exports worth $3.4 billion in 2013. It is highly dependent on Russian energy.

“We don’t want to get close to anyone, and we don’t intend to move away from anybody. We are not pursuing a pro-Russian policy but a pro-Hungarian policy,” Orban said, adding that expansion of the nuclear plant was the “only possible means” to lower dependence on external energy resources.

Orban has been highly critical of US and EU sanctions imposed on Russia for what he says is Moscow’s “perceived role” in the conflict in Ukraine. Speaking in August, he said the measures are like “shooting oneself in the foot.”

“The sanctions policy pursued by the West, that is, ourselves, a necessary consequence of which, has been what the Russians are doing, causes more harm to us than to Russia,” Reuters quoted Orban as saying on the radio.

READ MORE: EU sanctions like 'shooting oneself in the foot' - Hungary PM

[TsarSamuil]

‘National independence under attack’: Hungary’s PM answers McCain's remarks.

RT.com
December 05, 2014 18:48

Hungary’s national sovereignty had come under US attack said the country’s Prime Minister Viktor Orban after Senator John McCain earlier criticized Budapest’s relations with Moscow and called the top official a “neo-fascist dictator.”

"Hungary's national independence is under attack here," said Orban speaking on state Kossuth Radio on Friday. The prime minister added that McCain’s statements were “extreme manifestations” which only “reflect on the person who said them”.

McCain’s comments on Tuesday came as a response to President Barack Obama’s appointment of Hollywood producer Colleen Bell as the new US ambassador to Budapest. During a highly charged speech at the US Senate, McCain said that he is “not against political appointees... I understand how the game is played, but ... [Hungary] ... is on the verge of ceding its sovereignty to a neo-fascist dictator getting in bed with Vladimir Putin, and we're going to send the producer of 'The Bold and The Beautiful' as the ambassador."

Following McCain’s remarks, Hungary’s Foreign Ministry summoned the US charge d’affaires, Andre Goodfriend for an explanation of the senator’s statement.

In turn Orban said that “the country’s independence in terms of energy, finances and trade relations is unappealing to those who profited from Hungary’s dependence prior to 2010.″

He added that the “the file on the South Stream gas pipeline is now closed” but Hungary’s interest has remained “to have a gas pipeline that arrives in Hungary avoiding Ukraine”.

In the interview he pointed out that he “would not be a viceroy in Hungary commissioned by some foreign state”.

Washington has been exerting heavy pressure on Hungary over the country’s decision to support South Stream gas pipeline and “fearing Moscow’s rapprochement with Budapest,” admitted Orban last month.

Meanwhile, relations between Russia and Hungary were “entangled in geopolitical and military and security policy issues” he said as cited by AFP.

The deal that would see Russia’s Rosatom expand Hungary’s nuclear power has also come under criticism from the US, the PM added. Under the €10 billion deal between the two countries, Rosatom will build a 2,000 megawatt addition to Hungary's state-owned nuclear power plant MVM Paksi Atomeromu.

Hungary is highly dependent on Russia’s energy and Moscow remains Budapest’s largest trade partner outside of the EU - in 2013 exports were worth $3.4 billion.

Nevertheless Orban has said that Hungary seeks to lower dependence on external energy resources and the expansion of the nuclear plant was the “only possible means” to do it. “We don’t want to get close to anyone, and we don’t intend to move away from anybody,” Orban said.

[TsarSamuil]

Hungarian rhapsody: Will Putin’s visit to Viktor Orban give Russia a way into Europe?

RT.com
February 17, 2015 05:10

Vladimir Putin has chosen Hungary for his first state visit to an EU state since the beginning of the Ukrainian crisis a year ago. Energy issues are expected to top the agenda, yet the Russian leader usually has an ace up his sleeve.

The Russian president’s visit to Hungary is keeping EU officials in Brussels guessing about what sort of deals exactly are going to be signed in Budapest.

Putin is visiting Prime Minister Viktor Orban at a time of unprecedented confrontation between the western world and Russia over the bloody conflict in Ukraine.

The EU has broadened its anti-Russian sanctions on Monday, expanding the blacklist with 19 more people and nine new companies. The EU blacklist now includes 151 citizens of Russia and Ukraine’s self-proclaimed eastern republics, as well as 37 Russian companies.

The Kremlin press service said that talks of the Russian and Hungarian leaders will focus on bilateral economic and trade relations, and in particular the nuclear energy deal signed in December.

Under a deal worth up to €10 billion, Russia’s Rosatom will build a 2,000 megawatt addition to Hungary's state-owned nuclear power plant MVM Paksi Atomeromu.

Russia is Hungary’s largest trade partner outside of the 28-nation EU, with exports worth $3.4 billion in 2013. Budapest is also highly dependent on Russian energy, both gas and oil refined products.

Russia supplies approximately 80 percent of the oil products and 70 percent of the natural gas consumed by Hungary.

Prime Minister Viktor Orban has been harshly criticized in the west due to his close economic cooperation with Russia. Orban, in turn, is critical of the EU for alienating Russia and plunging into a painful trade war with it.

On the eve of German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s visit to Budapest, about 3,000 people rallied in front of the Hungarian parliament holding national and European Union flags and demanding Orban's resignation.

Although protesters represented only about 0.17 percent of Hungarian capital’s 1.75 mln population, PM Orban is being forced to explain to Hungary’s EU partners and people of Hungary that his policies are economically justified.

“We don’t want to get close to anyone, and we don’t intend to move away from anybody,” Orban said in November 2014. “We are not pursuing a pro-Russian policy but a pro-Hungarian policy,” he added, advocating expansion of the only Hungarian nuclear power plant, explaining that this is the “only possible means” to lower dependence on external energy resources.

EU critics tend to accuse PM Orban of authoritarian trends because of the reforms he introduced to transfer more powers to the central government to effectively leverage large business entities, banks, mass media and other centers of power.

Orban is also famous for his skeptical attitude towards many European Union’s policies, particularly Brussels’ siding with the US in the sanctions against Russia, a campaign that damages ailing European economies.

Despite all the accusations, Orban’s Fidesz party won last year’s general election with a landslide victory, receiving practically 45 percent of votes and securing Orban’s third term as the Hungarian prime minister.

Prime Minister’s supporters view his action as defending Hungary’s national interests against agendas of international corporations and foreign governments. Among the biggest successes of the Orban government was the law that forced conversion of mortgages denominated in Swiss francs, which saved Hungarian borrowers from suffering a debt cost hike after Switzerland unpegged their currency from the euro, which resulted in sharp 20 percent gain in value.

Hungary used to be a vocal advocate of the South Stream project for exactly the same energy security reason, expecting the pipeline to pass through its territory on the way to Austrian gas hub.

When, in late 2014, Russia had to announce discontinuation of the South Stream project due of the restrictive stance of the EU, it became a hard blow for Budapest.

Now that the new Turkish Stream project has been announced, President Putin might be visiting Budapest with some kind of a new hard-to-resist gas pipeline offer.

In January Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto stated that Hungary is looking forward to delivering Russian natural gas through a new pipeline via Turkey.

"We want to start negotiations as early as possible when Turkey decides to purchase natural gas from Russia. We want to start negotiations on how some portion of this natural gas can be transported to central Europe through Turkey," Szijjarto said during his visit to Turkey, as cited by China Daily.

Hungary is already in talks with Serbia and Macedonia on the new natural gas delivery route that might pass from Turkey to Hungary through a Greece-Macedonia-Serbia pipeline.

[TsarSamuil]

Serbian and Hungarian PMs in informal meeting.

TANJUG
POLITICS | FEBRUARY 17, 2015 | 14:03

BUDAPEST -- The prime ministers of Serbia and Hungary, Aleksandar Vucic and Viktor Orban, held an informal meeting late on Monday in the town of Subotica, northern Serbia.

According to the press service of the Hungarian premier, Vucic and Orban discussed "strengthening the cooperation between the two countries."

The Hungarian MTI agency said in a report that the prime ministers, as well as foreign ministers Ivica Dacic and Peter Szijjarto, spoke about "the region's energy security, and the possibilities of strengthening bilateral economic cooperation."

According to a statement, the two prime ministers agreed to hold regular consultations on prospects of new investments after the South Stream pipeline was abandoned, and to cooperate in technical and financial preparations for these projects.

Orban's press service chief Bertalan Havasi was quoted as saying that both countries have an interest to buy natural gas at competitive prices, and that this "could be secured via multiple options of alternative routes in Central Europe."

[TsarSamuil]

‘Europeans shoot the messenger by attacking Hungary’s Orban for receiving Putin’

RT.com
February 17, 2015 21:22

Viktor Orban may face criticism for hosting Putin despite an EU ban on bilateral summits, but many leaders realize the EU has shot itself in the foot with sanctions, says John Laughland, Director of studies, at the Institute of Democracy and Cooperation.

RT: Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban looks like he's right behind Russia. Is he really?

John Laughland: I think the relations are governed by mutual interest and that’s perhaps where the difference is most apparent between Hungary on the one hand and other European countries on the other. What I mean by self-interest is the kind of commercial deals that we expect Hungary and Russia to sign today after the meeting. The ideological aspect has been overstated by the enemies of Hungary and of Russia. The thought police in Europe don’t tolerate descent and therefore they confused the different kinds of descent, which do of course exist on the European continent. But as I said the ideology is not the key thing; the key thing is simply that Viktor Orban is a sensible man who needs to sign big contracts with Russia and he is not involved in any kind of geopolitical orientation one way or the other. He is just looking at the bottom line and trying to do the best for his country.

RT: Will this rhetoric help him gain Russia's support?

JL: Absolutely! I think the reason why the visit is interesting is that Orban, of course, is a conservative, his party belongs to the European People’s Party, which is to say the Christian Democrat group where the German Christian Democrats and particularly Mrs Merkel are dominant. His party is therefore different in this respect from the newly-elected Syriza party in Greece, which of course now holds power in Athens, which is a radical left-wing party and an anti-system party. Viktor Orban’s Fidesz has never really been an anti-system party, it may have been an anti-communist party, but that was long time ago. And I think that’s why the visit has raised eyebrows, because as I say Orban has always been an object of attacks in recent years by thought police in Brussels. He is technically speaking a fully-paid up member of the European establishment.

RT: Why is he far from being a favorite in the West?

JL: My view is that the European leaders are growing uncomfortable with the sanctions. I might be wrong about this but I think it is a possible explanation for diplomatic initiatives that were after all taken by France and Germany, and which led to the visit of Francois Holland and Angela Merkel to Moscow last week. I think that the cost of sanctions, which as we know the Americans insisted on and the Europeans initially didn’t want to sign up to…the cost is dawning on the Europeans. So although the Europeans may shoot the messenger by attacking Viktor Orban for receiving Vladimir Putin, I suspect that there are quite a few leaders, including the main countries, who are beginning to fear that the sanctions policy was indeed an example of shooting itself in the foot.

RT: Is there a chance his voice will be heard?

JL: Totally! First of all, Russia has always pursued bilateral links rather than links with the European Commission or the European structures in Brussels, because the relations with them have always been problematic, whereas relations with individual leaders or individual countries in Europe have often been very good. Putin for instance had excellent relations, personal and political, with Silvio Berlusconi when he was prime minister of Italy. Until recently the relations with Germany were pretty good. So, yes Russia continues to make friends where it can find them. Now there are three friends in Europe, two of which are in the EU and NATO, Greece and Hungary, and of course Serbia. Let’s not forget that Putin was in Serbia not so long ago. So yes Russia of course wants to curry favor where it can.


President Vladimir Putin (L) and Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban meet in Budapest February 17, 2015. (RIA Novosti / Alexei Druzhinin)President Vladimir Putin (L) and Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban meet in Budapest February 17, 2015. (RIA Novosti / Alexei Druzhinin)

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‘Europe non-competitive without Moscow’: Hungary & Russia seek closer energy, gas transit ties.

RT.com
February 18, 2015 00:52

Russia sees Hungary as a strategic partner and will pursue mutually beneficial energy projects, while Budapest is striving for cooperation with Moscow. The European economy will never be competitive without Russia, the Hungarian PM told Vladimir Putin.

Both Hungary and Russia need each other and are interested in reliable gas supplies and transit, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban said after signing several deals with President Vladimir Putin.



“I have clearly stated that Hungary needs Russia. For us, Hungarians, it is important that Russia is open for Hungarian products. And Hungary is interested in reliably getting Russian energy,” Orban said at a joint press-conference with Putin.

He has stressed that Hungary will strive for cooperation with Moscow as well as maintaining “good contacts”.

“I am personally sure that cooperation and good relations serve the interests not only of Hungary, but also the whole of Europe,” the Hungarian Prime Minister said. He then added that the deals Moscow and Budapest signed on Tuesday “perfectly serve the interests of both Russia and Hungary.”

Isolation of Moscow ‘unpractical’, Europe not competitive without Russia

Speaking of broader cooperation, Orban has also stressed the necessity to revive Russia-EU relations, saying “the isolation of both Russia and Europe is unpractical”

“Sanctions hurt; the response also caused harm. Of course, we respect both sanctions, and the [Russia’s] responsive steps, but our common goal is to strengthen the cooperation between our countries,” he said.



The European economy will not be competitive and energy security will not be ensured without cooperation with Moscow, the Prime Minister pointed out: “One who believes the European economy will be competitive without cooperation with Russia and one who thinks energy security can be guaranteed in Europe without energy supplies from Russia is cherishing illusions.”

“I am certain that relations between the European Union and Russia need to be reestablished as soon as possible,” Orban said. “Hungary is struggling to find appropriate solutions.”

South Stream termination an opportunity to cooperate on Turkish route

Hungary’s role as a gas transit country has not diminished with the cancellation of the South Stream, Putin emphasized.

“Unfortunately, as you know, we had to cancel the South Stream pipeline project, but I believe that the experience that we have built together with the Hungarian partners, the jointly created venture, may be used also in expanding the work with our Turkish friends regarding the so-called Turkish stream,” Putin said.

“There are different options here, and we are ready to discuss them with anyone who is interested in cooperation,” the president added.

Orban confirmed that Hungary is looking forward to joining the Turkey Stream project, which could transit Russian gas to Greece, Macedonia, Serbia and Hungary, and “is fully committed to continue investments.”

Energy issues dominated the talks between Orban and Putin, for whom it was the first formal visit to the EU-state since the beginning of the Ukrainian crisis in 2014. Budapest and Moscow already reached a “political agreement” on a new gas deal on Tuesday.



“We [Russia] value our reputation as a reliable supplier of energy resources to Europe and Hungary,” Putin said after the talks with the Hungarian PM. “We have agreed [with PM Orban] that we will not only positively consider certain issues the Hungarian side had raised during today's talks but also agreed that all these issues will be settled.”

Those issues, according to Putin, include contracts for Russian gas supplies to Hungary after 2015 and “some other issues linked with the use of gas storage facilities.”

[TsarSamuil]

‘Strategic rift’: Hungary PM criticizes EU partners trying to isolate Moscow.

RT.com
February 19, 2015 04:28

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has criticized EU’s attempts to isolate Moscow, in particular blaming former Polish PM and President of the European Council Donald Tusk for spearheading the European anti-Russia crusade.

“This rift in the EU is very deep, of a strategic nature,” Orban said regarding the division in the EU and on how to build the bloc’s relationship with Russia.

The European Council President Tusk is “on the other side” of this dividing line, Orban said, a day after striking economic deals with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Tusk has been an ardent critic of Moscow’s stance throughout the Ukrainian conflict, and on numerous occasions has called for a much tougher sanctions against Moscow. He speaks out against the “appeasement” of Moscow.

But the EU countries are divided in Brussels in their attitude towards Russia. Orban specified that the Baltic States and Poland sided with the United States in their belief that Russia should be gradually excluded from cooperation with Europe.

On the other hand, Hungary, Czech Republic, Slovakia, and Austria, Orban claims, believe cooperation with Moscow is essential.

“We think that without cooperation with the Russians we cannot achieve our goals,” the Hungarian prime minister said, referring mainly to energy security, which the EU sanctions against Russia jeopardize.

Russia also sees Hungary as a strategic partner and will pursue mutually beneficial energy projects. This was Vladimir Putin's message to his Hungarian counterpart on Tuesday, as both countries sealed a number of energy deals.

Orban’s foreign policy towards the Ukrainian conflict has been criticized in the West from the onset as too soft. Generally supporting a Moscow-backed approach of achieving a long lasting peace in the region, Orban has on numerous occasions spoken out against discriminatory treatment of Russia by Brussels.

His vocal criticism of EU and US role in European foreign policy forced Washington to issue travel bans for several Hungarian businessmen. In October, US Chargé d'Affaires André Goodfriend, visiting the country warned that Hungary should “stand firm with the EU, with EU sanctions” stating that it was not the time for Hungary to “break with its EU partners to criticize so publicly the approach that the partners have taken.”

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EU and Moscow–led economic bloc should develop free trade – Hungarian PM.

RT.com
February 20, 2015 15:15

Efficient cooperation between the EU and Russia will define the future of Europe. That’s why the EU shouldn’t waste any opportunity to unite with Russia in pursuance of a “prosperous future,” said Hungarian Prime Minister Victor Orban.

Hungary backs Russia’s initiative of economic cooperation and free trade between the EU and the Eurasian Economic Union; Orban said in an interview to Kommersant published Friday, adding that in his view Europe cannot be competitive without Russia.

“We have to find a mutual interest in each other's economies,” he said. “We have to create the overall ‘tissue’ between Russia and the European Union, which will hold us on the way to peace.”

Talking about the geopolitical tension between the West and Russia, he said that giving up an opportunity of peaceful cooperation would be a grave mistake.

“I do not want to live in a Europe that leads to a new Cold War with Russia, which makes Europeans enemies of Russia, which wastes a fantastic opportunity to unite Russian energy and the tremendous economic opportunities with European technological knowledge and culture,” Orban said. “If we link these two things, we will have a bright fantastic future in front of us.”

Hungary has suffered from both the EU sanctions and the reciprocal steps taken by Russia, he said, adding that the trade war mostly hurts Hungarian agricultural and investment sectors. Orban explains the reason for an outflow of Russian investment by the fact that Russia isn’t willing to fund a country that joined Western sanctions.

Russia is Hungary’s largest trading partner outside of the EU, with exports worth $3.4 billion in 2013. Russia supplies 80 percent of the oil products and 70 percent of the natural gas consumed by Hungary.

Stepping towards progress requires generosity, but it is a rare thing in Europe, Orban said, adding that EU countries should unite, but at the same time each of them should have its own vision on economic development.

“We told the International Monetary Fund not to meddle. We said: ‘Your plan doesn’t suit us. We will solve our problems ourselves.’ And yet we’ve solved them! Hungary's economy is now one of the most successful in Europe,” he said.

Talking about South Stream, Orban said the projects’ cancellation turned out to be a great loss for the Hungarian economy, as the initial plan envisaged that gas transit went through the territories of Greece, Macedonia, Serbia and Hungary.

Russia suspended South Stream in December 2014 over the EU’s unwillingness to support the pipeline. Instead, Gazprom will build an alternative 63 billion pipeline to the Greek border via Turkey.

[TsarSamuil]

Outrageous!

‘Dictator is coming!’ Hungarian PM heckled by European Commission chief (VIDEO)

RT.com
May 22, 2015 16:56

The head of the European Commission, Jean-Claude Juncker, seems to have invented a new way to address a European leader, using the word "dictator” to the Hungarian prime minister during arrivals at the Friday EU summit in Riga.

"The dictator is coming!" Juncker is heard was overheard saying as Viktor Orban approached him. He then repeated the word to Orban's face, following it with a warm handshake and a slap on the cheek. Orban's reaction was a smile and a bit of friendly shoving.

The right-wing populist Orban has been often criticized for his "strongman-like" outlook. In power since 2010, he has introduced a number of reforms that Western officials deem contrary to human rights. His latest initiative is the possible restoration of the death penalty, which was banned in Hungary in 1990.

In late April, Juncker vowed to "battle" Orban's possible intent to restore the death penalty, saying it goes against EU rules.

On Tuesday, the European Parliament called a meeting on the issue, to which Orban flew in to give his response. He insisted Hungarians had the right to debate the revival of the death penalty. "Hungarians talk straight about tough things. We don't like to beat about the bush. We are a frank people," he said.

He also used the occasion to slam Juncker's new plan for helping asylum seekers in Europe, calling it "insanity."

Juncker's supposedly joking Friday remark echoes a December 2014 rant by US Senator John McCain, who went so far as to brand Orban a "neo-fascist dictator" in a Senate address. That remark triggered fury in Budapest, where the US ambassador was summoned for an explanation. Orban himself said McCain's "extreme manifestations" brought Hungary's national independence "under attack."

The US State Department, however, was quick to distance itself from McCain's words.

“I think it’s no surprise that there are a number of views Senator McCain has espoused that we don’t share," State Dept spokesperson Marie Harf said. “As an administration, I would put that in this category, of course.”

The "dictator" line is apparently a running jibe between Juncker and Orban, Reuters reports. It cites unspecified EU officials and diplomats as saying they had heard Juncker use it to Orban in the past – only this time, it was caught on camera.

At home, Orban is seeing repeated protests demanding his resignation. Some of the largest, numbering about 3,000 demonstrators, came in February. The leaders then claimed "the majority of the people" in Hungary were against Orban's improving relations with Russia. The protesters represented about 0.17 percent of Hungarian capital’s 1.75 million population.

Orban's supporters credit him with leading the country out of crisis, lowering personal income tax, cutting utility bills and standing firm against Brussels' influence. In the April 2014 election, Orban's Fidesz party got a two-thirds majority.

[TsarSamuil]

Hungary is ready to protect their compatriots in Transcarpathia | Eng Subs.

Vox Populi Evo
Jul 22, 2015

[TsarSamuil]

Butt-hurt Westerners are fuming at the mouth now.

Hungary PM Viktor Orban: Antagonising Europe since 2010.

Bbc.co.uk
4 September 2015

Viktor Orban's tough approach to the migrant crisis has positioned him as one of Europe's most controversial leaders. His comments describing the situation as "Germany's problem" and insisting that Hungarians have "the right not to live together with populous Muslim communities" drew strong criticism from EU politicians. But the Hungarian prime minister has long riled many of his European colleagues with divisive domestic and foreign policies, including close ties with Russia. Despite forging the country's strongest government since the fall of communism, his democratic and economic credentials have been questioned. After a surge in the number of refugees entering Hungary he is reaching out to anti-immigrant opinion across Europe.

'Politics of the gutter'

As a young lawyer, Mr Orban attracted attention on 16 June 1989 by publicly demanding the withdrawal of Soviet forces and the holding of free elections.
According to the CV posted on the official prime ministerial website, he was already a founding member of the Federation of Young Democrats (Fidesz), which he would eventually make Hungary's party of government.

He was elected an MP in the 1990 vote that followed the country's transition to multi-party democracy. Assuming the leadership of Fidesz in 1993, he moved the party to the right and in 1998 became prime minister at the head of a centre-right coalition. That first Orban administration took Hungary into Nato and cut inflation while maintaining economic growth. Hurt by corruption scandals and regarded by some as divisive, it fell after a single term and Mr Orban spent the next eight years in opposition.

Viktor Orban
Born 31 May 1963 in the small Hungarian village of Alcsutdoboz
Trained as a lawyer at university in Budapest and later studied the history of British liberal political philosophy at Oxford
Founding member of Fidesz
Twice prime minister: 1998-2002 and 2010-present
Married with five children
Football fan and player (FC Felcsut)

Cracks emerge in Hungary's ruling party

Out of government, Mr Orban was regarded by political analysts as a populist, to the extent that in 2007 the UK's Economist awarded him its "politics of the gutter award", citing his "cynical populism and mystifyingly authoritarian socialist-style policies". But bickering on the left played into the hands of Mr Orban, and in 2010 Fidesz and its Christian Democrat allies were returned to power with an overall majority. Mr Orban said his landslide victory represented the desire of Hungarians to "close the chapter of post-communism". Some view him as a pragmatist; he himself insists he is providing strong, stable political leadership, with policies that reduce bureaucracy and empower individuals as responsible members of society.

'Viktator'

He soon embarked on the constitutional and financial reforms that have so antagonised his opponents. His supporters say he has introduced long-needed structural changes, such as restricting early retirement in the police and military and making the welfare system more transparent. But critics accuse his government of imposing a conservative agenda on everything, from the media to the economy and religion. In December 2011 parliament approved a controversial new election law that halved the number of MPs and redrew constituency boundaries. Opponents said it tilted the system in favour of Mr Orban's Fidesz party. A month later tens of thousands of people took part in protests in Budapest against the measure, branding the prime minister a dictator - or "Viktator". Another taunt shouted by the crowd was "bovli", or "junk" in Hungarian, mocking the downgrading of the country's credit rating under his premiership.

A central bank law was also passed on 30 December 2011 in defiance of EU and IMF warnings that it would infringe on the bank's independence. The law would become a key stumbling block in negotiations over the country's massive bailout. The European Commission - the EU's executive arm - went on to take legal action against the government over reforms to the central bank, data protection and the judiciary. And in 2013 Hungary's constitutional court struck down the controversial electoral law, saying it restricted voter rights.

Jobbik challenge

More protests have followed, with tens of thousands taking to the streets over corruption allegations and Mr Orban's relationship with Russia. In 2014, the government approved a €10bn (£8.3bn) deal with Russia over the financing of two new reactors at the Paks nuclear power plant. Mr Orban went on to criticise EU sanctions imposed on Russia over the Ukraine crisis. But last December he suffered a serious setback when Russia cancelled its plans for the South Stream gas pipeline - a project which he had backed in defiance of the EU.

His popularity has waned in recent months, with his Fidesz party losing two seats in by-elections this year. The result saw the far-right party Jobbik win its first ever individual constituency seat in parliament. following moves to woo centrist voters. With Jobbik set to present a major challenge in Hungary's 2018 parliamentary elections, Mr Orban is keen to appear both powerful and patriotic. His policy on migration - including the construction of a 175km (109-mile) fence along the border with Serbia - is his latest show of strength.

[TsarSamuil]

Hungarian Imam Ahmed Miklós Kovács: Right Wing Political Parties Are our Enemies.

MEMRI-TV
Sep 3, 2015



In a July 24 Friday sermon, Imam Ahmed Miklós Kovács, Vice President of the Hungarian Islamic community, criticized Islamophobia in Hungary. Imam Kovács said that although many Hungarian Muslims supported right-wing political parties in the past, this is not longer "halal."

[TsarSamuil]

Viktor Orban - Guardian of Hungary.

Gaius Octavius
Jun 11, 2015



A tribute to Prime Minister Orban Viktor of Hungary, defender of all nation states in the EU.

[klarisa]

Judging by the political situation - on holiday in Hungary is not worth to go?

[TsarSamuil]

Oct 8, 2015 3:08:06 GMT -5 klarisa said:

Judging by the political situation - on holiday in Hungary is not worth to go?

I wanted to go to Munich before christmas, but with the refugee situation there...

[TsarSamuil]

Russia & Hungary talk joint rail car production.

RT.com
24 Mar, 2016 07:43

Russia’s Trade Ministry has announced it is negotiating with Budapest to begin the joint production of Russian rail cars and trams in Hungary.

During a visit to Hungary Russian Trade Minister Denis Manturov met with the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Peter Szijjarto and Prime Minister Viktor Orban.

"We discussed in detail the issue of joint production of Russian rail cars, including metro train cars, passenger cars and trams,” Manturov said, adding that the Russian rolling stock builder Transmashholding and Hungary’s Dunakeszi took part in the discussions.

According to the Russian Trade Minister the project includes supplying machinery to Hungary and Eastern Europe.

“At present we are considering the possibility of making joint bids in tenders in the Middle East and North Africa, including Egypt,” Manturov added.

Russia and Hungary have close industrial ties in transport, electrical engineering and pharmaceuticals, according to the minister.

Last month, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Hungary’s PM Viktor Orban signed several deals during a meeting in Budapest. Putin said Russia sees Hungary as a strategic partner and will pursue mutually beneficial energy projects, while Budapest is striving for cooperation with Moscow.

[TsarSamuil]

Bill Clinton angers Poland & Hungary by saying ‘US-freed’ countries 'want Putin-like dictatorships'

RT.com
18 May, 2016 05:26

Former Polish PM and ruling party chair Jaroslaw Kaczynski slammed Bill Clinton for sharp remarks he made on the state of democracy in Poland, in which he claimed democracy had become “too much trouble” for it and Hungary.

Addressing a crowd gathered at an event for Democratic front-runner Hillary Clinton in Paterson, New Jersey on Friday, former US President Clinton alleged that the two ex-Eastern bloc countries would not have taken a democratic path themselves, claiming that if it had not been “for the United States and the victory in the Cold War,” the two would not have become “free.”

Clinton went as far as to suggest that Poland and Hungary “have now decided this democracy is too much trouble” and developed a penchant for authoritarianism just because the US’ influence on those countries’ domestic policies has since waned. He also claimed the two “want Putin-like dictatorships.”

Poland’s political establishment has recently been going through a turbulent time, with over 50,000 protesters taking to the streets of the capital of Warsaw in March to defend the Constitutional Court from a government crusade to reform it.

The Constitutional Court crisis began in autumn of 2015 after the Law and Justice Party (PiS) won the elections and re-appointed several of the court’s judges that had been chosen by its rival party. PiS then passed a law raising the number of judges needed for the court to decide on the most complex cases from 9 to 13 – a move seen to impede the work of 15-member court. The court then ruled that those amendments were unconstitutional, but the new government refused to publish their verdict.

Former Polish Prime Minister Kaczynski, who is also the party’s head, took the criticism of the former US president directly to heart, advising Bill Clinton to have his state of mind checked by a doctor.

“If anyone says there is no democracy in Poland, it means that he is in a state that you need to examine by medical means,” Kaczynski told a briefing on Tuesday, as cited by TASS.

“I can say only one thing – that the media, various factors in the world, triggered a situation of a giant misunderstanding. Perhaps it affects the consciousness of the former president of the United States,” he added, trying to downplay the sharp tone of Clinton’s remark by offering his own explanation. “Otherwise, I cannot explain it to myself,” he concluded.

Rafal Sobczak, a spokesman for Poland’s foreign ministry, also branded Clinton’s opinion as “unfair,” though he said they were understandable, given that “it was voiced in the context of the internal electoral campaign in the US.” He pointed out in an email to AP, that Poland does not view his words as “the official position of the American administration.”

Poland is considered to be one of the US’ key military allies in Eastern Europe and is preparing to host a NATO summit this July. Its foreign minister, Witold Waszczykowski, recently labeled Russia “an existential threat,” more serious than even Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS/ISIL), while calling for more NATO troops to be stationed on the alliance’s eastern border.

Hungary was also outraged by Clinton’s controversial remarks.

“No one, not even Bill Clinton, can allow himself to offend the Hungarian people in this way,” Hungary’s foreign minister Peter Szijjarto was quoted as saying by AP.

“Bill Clinton may not like the decision of the Hungarian people, but this is no reason for the former American president to offend them,” he added.

Poland is ruled by a right-wing government in which Kaczynski’s national-conservative Law and Justice Party holds the majority of seats. It has lately come under public criticism from the media and various governments for having a poor democratic record. The European Parliament even threatened to suspend Poland’s voting rights in the EU last month and passed a non-binding resolution saying “Effective paralysis of the Constitutional Tribunal in Poland poses a danger to democracy, human rights and the rule of law,” following PiS’ attempts to sabotage the decisions of the Constitutional court.