Category: Hungary

At Anniversary of Hungarian Revolution, Some Refugees See Communism Creeping Into US

When the 65th anniversary of the Hungarian Revolution against Russian communists was commemorated on Oct. 23, Andras Pongratz of Scottsdale, Arizona, was among those speaking to thousands in Budapest about the importance of that time and the reasons for their uprising. You’d never know it by looking at the short and stocky, bespectacled silver-haired man,…


Hungary PM Orban Flags Further Wage Hikes Ahead of 2022 Election

BUDAPEST—Hungary will raise nurses’ salaries by 21 percent from January and plans to lift the monthly minimum wage to 200,000 forints ($644), Prime Minister Viktor Orban told state radio on Friday. Orban, who faces elections next year, said talks on the minimum wage hike were still underway. The government will cut taxes for businesses if…


Hungary Agrees to Global Tax Deal, Finance Minister Says

BUDAPEST—Hungary has agreed to join the agreement on a global corporate minimum tax as the conditions it proposed, which included a 10-year transitional period, have been met, Finance Minister Mihaly Varga told reporters on Friday. “We have managed to reach a breakthrough on the global minimum tax deal … so Hungary could join the deal…


Moody’s Upgrades Hungary’s Rating on Strong Rebound in Boon for Orban

BUDAPEST—Ratings agency Moody’s late on Friday raised Hungary’s sovereign credit rating to ‘Baa2’ from ‘Baa3’ on the economy’s strong rebound from the pandemic, which comes as a boon to Prime Minister Viktor Orban amid a campaign for early 2022 elections. Orban, the country’s longest-serving leader since Communist times, faces what could be Hungary’s first tight…


Hungary’s Evacuation Flights From Afghanistan Nearing an End: Minister

BUDAPEST—Hungary’s evacuation flights from Afghanistan are nearing an end after the central European country airlifted more than 500 people from Kabul, Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto said on Wednesday. Western nations were rushing to complete the evacuation of thousands of people from Afghanistan on Wednesday as the Aug. 31 deadline for the withdrawal of foreign troops…


Hungary Bus Crash Kills 8, Injures Dozens

BUDAPEST, Hungary—A bus traveling on a highway in Hungary crashed through a guardrail and tipped over early Sunday, killing at least eight people and injuring dozens, police said. The crash occurred on Hungary’s M7 highway near the town of Szabadbattyan, between the capital, Budapest, and Lake Balaton, at just before 5 a.m. Sunday morning. The…


Hungary: A Country Where Chinese Communist Values Reign Supreme

Commentary When you think of Hungary, the landlocked country in Central Europe, what do you imagine? For many in the United States, Hungary, home to some 9.7 million people, has become a Rorschach test of sorts. Left-leaning commentators view it as a place where democracy died a long time ago. On the other hand, more right-leaning…


Szilagyi Wins 3rd Fencing Gold in Sabre

Aron Szilagyi of Hungary has become the first Olympic fencer to win three individual sabre gold medals after beating Luigi Samele 15–7 in the men’s final at the Tokyo Games. Szilagyi used his fast reflexes to build an early 7–1 lead and held off a brief comeback from his Italian opponent before closing out the…


Hungary Government Offers to Buy Budapest Airport

BUDAPEST—Hungary has offered to buy Budapest Airport from its foreign shareholders, part of an effort to take it back into state hands and protect what the government says are national interests. Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s government earlier this year expressed its interest in buying a majority stake in Hungary’s main international airport saying its past…


The EU’s Self-Defeating Threats Against Hungary

Commentary The Prime Minister of the Netherlands, Mark Rutte, recently made the explosive comment that Hungary had “no business being in the European Union anymore.” Rutte’s comment followed the Hungarian Parliament’s adoption of legislation that bans the depiction or promotion of homosexuality among children younger than 18 years of age. Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban explained that…