Stories from and

Hungary: Oct. 23 Opposition Rally

  22 October 2011

Hungarian Spectrum and The Contrarian Hungarian write about the Oct. 23 anti-government rally, organized through a Facebook community called Egymillióan a magyar sajtószabadságért [hu; 88,272 ‘likes’]/One Million for the Freedom of Press in Hungary [en; 720 ‘likes’] – and about a pro-government rally, which was scheduled to take place on...

Hungary: War on the Homeless in Budapest

  16 October 2011

The Wayward Hungarian, a new English-language Tumblr blog, writes about the recent initiative by a Hungarian activist, who has “hacked” the regulation targeting the homeless living in Budapest's District VIII. The regulation imposes a fine of “up to 250 dollars if one is conducting ‘lifestyle-like’ behavior in public, but the...

Hungary: Protests (and Protest Art) in Budapest

  1 October 2011

The Contrarian Hungarian writes about “a long weekend of protests” in Budapest – here and here, and about “a protest art competition that serves both as creative outlet and as protest against the most recent instances of the government’s restrictions on the freedom of the press” – here. Hungarian Spectrum...

Hungary: Photojournalists Banned From Parliament

  21 September 2011

The Contrarian Hungarian reports that photojournalists working for two Hungarian online news portals have been banned from entering the Parliament building following the publication of photos of PM Orbán's handwritten notes on the speech he was delivering on the country's defense plan.

Hungary: “The Constitution's Table”

  13 September 2011

The Contrarian Hungarian writes about a new regulation that requires “every municipal council in Hungary [to] set up a table to display the country’s newly enacted constitution”: “The table must be covered by glass, and the constitution on the table must be opened on page 28 […]. Next to the...

Hungary: Memory of a Political Thinker

  16 August 2011

Eva Balogh of Hungarian Spectrum commemorates István Bibó (1911-1975), who in her opinion is one of the greatest political thinkers in Hungary during the 20th century.

Hungary: New Law on Churches and Scientology

  15 August 2011

Eva S. Balogh of Hungarian Spectrum writes about Hungary's new law on churches – according to which the legal status of a church is to be decided by the parliament – and the alleged role of the Church of Scientology in the adoption of this law.

Hungary: Military Training on School Curriculum

  18 July 2011

Eva Balogh of Hungarian Spectrum reports that from the schoolyear 2012/2013, Hungarian high school students will be able to study basic military science as a subject to be included in their highschool degree, and goes on to present other critical views on what she feels is a militarization of Hungary.

Hungary: Legislating Religion

  15 July 2011

Eva Balogh of Hungarian Spectrum reports on the adoption of a new and criticized law on religions and religious communities in Hungary.