Biscke, 1903. This is, to me anyway, an unmistakably Hungarian photo. The dresses, the magnificent moustaches, the headwear, and not mention the way the instruments are being held, are all demonstrably Hungarian, even though the photo was taken over 120 years ago - probably after the wine harvest. If you went to a folk music festival today in Hungary dressed as these people are, you wouldn’t look that out of place.
On June 9, #Hungary is going to the elections. Citizens will simultaneously elect members of the European Parliament, as well as local authorities throughout the country.
This vote is almost guaranteed to cause a sensation. Its creator is Peter #Madyar - until recently, almost no one knew the representative of the government. His party called Tisa, which appeared on the political map of Hungary a little over a month ago, already has second place and 20-25% support.
Viktor #Orbán’s #Hungary is holding up legislation that would enable #Ukraine to receive up to €2bn for weapons from the #EU, in a blow to efforts to mobilise profits from Russian assets frozen under sanctions.
“For the time being they are blocking everything connected to the military support to Ukraine,” said one of the people, suggesting #Budapest’s reservations would remain until at least next month’s European elections.
Kecskemét, 1968. These two men don’t seem like the talkative types to me. At least not while they were at the local market in Kecskemét, a largish town on the Hungarian Southern Great Plain.
While most Western countries are concerned with extrajudicial security personnel from #China going after Chinese dissidents and other interference via secret police stations, Hungary just went and signed a deal with China: "lol, police from a totalitarian country officially patrolling our streets? sure thing"
@benroyce And that government lost all its credibility on (claimed) conservative values of protecting the family not that long ago, exposing more of their moral corruption, and yet, they cling to power.
"The Hungarian government's invitation to Chinese police officers to patrol in Hungary poses a threat to European security and in particular the freedoms of Europe's Chinese diaspora."
#Hungary will not participate in #NATO's long-term plan to aid #Ukraine, its foreign minister said on Wednesday, calling the plan a "crazy mission".
NATO allies agreed in April to initiate planning on long-term military support for Ukraine against #Russia's invasion, through setting up a fund worth 100 billion euros ($107 billion).
On the last leg of his European tour in #Hungary, Chinese President #Xi Jinping on Wednesday (8 May) is expected to tighten ties with #Budapest, its closest ally in the #EU.
#China’s ambassador to Hungary, Gong #Tao, said that “#Beijing expects from the Hungarian EU Presidency that the Hungarian side will pursue a rational and pragmatic policy towards China and will encourage other EU countries to do the same.”
"Orban and his like succeed in part because there’s enough overreach in #Brussels, Western college campuses and elsewhere that he can use it to paint “liberal” democracy as a woke authoritarianism that’s being thrust down Hungarian throats, concealing his destruction of independent institutions."
Sopron, 1969. There are still courtyards in Hungary that look much the same as this one, 50-odd years later. They are the antithesis of suburbia in many ways: inward facing, cars not required, shared spaces and lives, with all the blessings, and troubles, they can bring. The plumbing and wiring are old and expensive to fix though, so the elderly and poor tend live in such places now.
»Authoritarian populists tilt the democratic playing field to favor themselves and their personal and political interests. Subverting #democracy from the inside without violent repression allows leaders like #Orbán and #Trump to pretend they are democratic. This authoritarianism from within creates #chokepoints where the #opposition isn’t crushed, but it has a hard time breathing.«
