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CORONAVIRUS: Here's the latest

A regularly updated feed of the latest information about coronavirus in Hungary.

CORONAVIRUS: 4,769 infected. In compulsory home quarantine: 7,730. Recovered: 3,529. Deceased: 605.

If you have a question call + 36-80-277-455 and + 36-80-277-456 or email koronavirus@bm.gov.hu.

PM Orbán: Everyone must assist in the defense against the coronavirus

In his regular slot on public radio, Prime Minister Orbán spoke about the importance of a collective defense against the coronavirus, the link between the epidemic and illegal migration, the national consultation and Hungary’s improving employment figures

Tourism is back on track – best destinations besides Budapest and Balaton

Following the onset of the coronavirus epidemic, the Hungarian government made rebooting tourism a paramount goal. And Hungary offers much more than Budapest and Lake Balaton!

PM Orbán: Our defense against the coronavirus is currently well-tuned, any change would only bring new risks

Prime Minister Orbán said in his regular interview on Kossuth Rádió that while the crisis keeps growing in neighboring countries, Hungary’s defense has proven to be effective. Besides the coronavirus, the PM touched upon the state of Hungary’s economy and

democracy

News in Brief

State Secretary: Hungarian democracy is alive and well

Jun 15, 2020

In an op-ed published by The Washington Post, Zoltán Kovács said Hungarian democracy is alive and well, and we’re succeeding in our fight against the novel coronavirus.

Blog

NGOs in Transit: Dropping the objective façade

May 06, 2020 - Zoltán Kovács

Freedom House has just released its latest edition of Nations in Transit, its annual ranking of countries in former communist eastern Europe and Eurasia. They call it a “comprehensive, comparative, and multidimensional” study that provides “in-depth” data. The title of this year’s edition: Dropping the Democratic Façade.

Blog

German public radio: here’s an example of why voters despise the liberal bias of the media

Nov 12, 2019 - Zoltán Kovács

A five-part series recently featured on German public radio Deutschlandfunk serves up a textbook example of a biased, liberal media incapable of reporting another side of the story.

Blog

Project Syndicate claims PM Orbán is a role model for President Trump

Aug 02, 2019 - Zoltán Kovács

Thank you. But what PM Orbán and President Trump have in common has nothing to do with “racist immigration policies” or “how to destroy a democracy”. It’s the respect for the people’s will.

Blog

Let me show you what the “climate of fear” in Hungary really looks like

Jun 01, 2019 - Zoltán Kovács

So, this week The Telegraph published – in the news section, not the opinion column – an article about Hungary entitled, “A ‘climate of fear’, which refers to our country as a “dying democracy propped up by the EU.”

News in Brief

Ruling party comms director: Everyone must accept the clear outcome of Sunday’s election

Apr 12, 2018

“Everyone must accept the crystal clear outcome” of the election, the communications director of the ruling party said. “When there’s an outcome the Soros brigade doesn’t like, they attack democracy itself,” he added

Blog Prime Minister

Dear New York Times: Hungarians are not stupid

Feb 12, 2018 - Zoltán Kovács

On Sunday, The New York Times published a 2,500-word article on Hungary, “As West Fears the Rise of Autocrats, Hungary Shows What’s Possible.” It even appeared on the front page of the print edition, featured front and center with photos, under a somewhat less subtle title, “Taking an Ax to Democracy as Europe Fidgets.”

News in Brief

Hungarian MEP says trans-national list (TNL) is a bad idea

Feb 07, 2018

Schopflin argues that European citizens haven’t asked to be represented in the TNL way. These ‘floating’ 27 MEPs would sit in the European parliament and be answerable to no one, with no structure for holding them accountable

News in Brief

Soros funded Freedom House takes “politically motivated and biased” swipe at Hungary

Jan 17, 2018

Government Spokesperson Zoltán Kovács said the Freedom in the World report, knowing the organization’s financial background, is an attack against Hungary by another Soros organization

Blog

I know what authoritarian rule looks like. Does Freedom House?

Jan 17, 2018 - Zoltán Kovács

The latest edition of Freedom in the World, an annual survey published by the Soros-funded Freedom House, places Hungary among a group of “states that a decade ago seemed like promising success stories” but are now “sliding into authoritarian rule.”

Blog

The New York Times takes a “road trip” through Hungary, and it turns into a train wreck

Jul 06, 2017 - Zoltán Kovács

A New York Times journalist recently took a “A Democracy Road Trip Through Hungary”. As a piece of journalism, this road trip turns into a train wreck.

Blog

Here’s what’s really behind the debate with Brussels over Hungary’s national consultation

Jun 12, 2017 - Zoltán Kovács

As the government announced last week, preliminary results of Hungary’s national consultation are in, and the number of responses received sets a new record.

News in Brief

CEU is not being singled out, according to the Guardian editorial

Apr 21, 2017

Perhaps CEU should adhere to its own principles and comply with the law, according to an editorial published in the Guardian newspaper.

News in Brief

Hungarian government responds to Freedom House attack

Apr 06, 2017

Press freedom is fully respected in Hungary; in the Hungarian press every shade of political opinion may appear. In addition, the citizens of Hungary exercise their democratic rights in free elections

Blog

The national consultation and why we listen to the people

Mar 23, 2017 - Zoltán Kovács

The national consultation has become an especially useful method in recent years to invite citizen participation in the decision-making process between election cycles

News in Brief

WATCH VIDEO: Hungary's foreign minister says people should know if NGOs are funded from abroad

Jan 31, 2017

The foreign minister said there was a clear demand for politics to be transparent. He argued that in this case transparency should be demanded of all organizations that influence public affairs, including NGOs, “because the people have a right to know whom these NGOs, whom these organizations actually represent”

News in Brief

Hungary is in Trump's corner

Nov 15, 2016

The election of Trump is “expressly good news for the world” since the views of the president-elect on the “export of democracy” are “favorable for the world," Hungary's foreign minister said

News in Brief

PM Orbán: US presidential election proves people can release themselves from captivity of ideological trends

Nov 10, 2016

PM Orbán stated that the world has always benefited whenever it has managed to free itself from the captivity of ideological trends

Blog

The EU’s democracy problem

Sep 27, 2016 - Zoltán Kovács

European citizens are down on the EU, according to a study carried out in 28 member states earlier this year. Revealing a disturbing pessimism about the current and future European Union, it seems that citizens like the EU far less than ever before.

Blog

Q&A on Hungary’s Upcoming Referendum, October 2

Sep 02, 2016 - Zoltán Kovács

With the national referendum slated for October 2nd, Hungary is the only country in the European Union that is giving citizens the opportunity to vote on one of the most significant issues of the day: the mass migration challenging the stability of Europe and, specifically, the EU’s attempt to impose compulsory resettlement of migrants.

Blog

Elections in Hungary: Where are the ‘free but not fair’ critics now?

May 18, 2016 - Zoltán Kovács

A week ago Sunday, something interesting happened on the elections front that went largely unnoticed outside of Hungary. On the 8th, Hungary had a Super Sunday of sorts with nine by-elections taking place in municipalities around the country. Some of the elections turned out as the polls predicted, but others produced a few surprises. Some brought mandates for the governing party, some to the left-wing and right-wing opposition, and a couple of independents were also successful.

Blog

Sunday Shopping Returns to Hungary

Apr 19, 2016 - Zoltán Kovács

Last week, the Hungarian Parliament withdrew the law on the mandatory, Sunday closures for retail shops. The regulation, which provided a guarantee to workers in the retail sector that they would have a day off on Sunday, had been in effect since March 15, 2015. Now Hungary’s retail sector is again open for business on Sundays.