2006. október. 02. 12:30 English version

"An expression of will"

The Socialist Party has suffered a historic defeat in the local elections, according to Viktor Orban, who claimed the people had unseated Hungary's prime minister.

The president of the opposition Fidesz party said at a post-election press conference: "The elections were an expression of the national will. The results have made it clear: Hungarians do not want to live in a country entangled in lies." He added that it was now clear that Hungarians do not like lies. Hungarians like truth, peace and straight talking, he said, and this was reflected in the way they had voted.

Orban called on Ferenc Gyurcsany, the prime minister, and his government not to "stand in the way of the will of the people," and act according to voters' decisions.

Our reporter on the scene said that every major figure in Fidesz was present for Orban's speech, from Tibor Navracsics to a visibily flagging Zoltan Pokorni.

2006. szeptember. 22. 12:37 hvg.hu English version

The Great Hungarian Reality Show

We are living through the worst crisis in the history of the Third Republic. Events have clearly caught the political elites by surprise, both in government and in opposition, just as in October 1956, the commemoration of which has just become an even bigger problem for the Government.

2006. szeptember. 24. 22:25 English version

Gyurcsany: Lies Speech

An audio tape has been broadcast of a private party speech given in May by Hungary's prime minister in which he admits his party lied to the public in order to win April's general election. These excerpts - which contain strong language - are translated from Ferenc Gyurcsany's official blog, Amoba.

2006. szeptember. 27. 10:40 hvg.hu English version

Party or personality?

It is impossible to forecast accurately the outcome of the local elections. Nor is it clear how Gyurcsany's leaked speech to Socialist MPs will affect public opinion. But certain trends do emerge from a Median poll conducted for HVG over the past few weeks.

2006. szeptember. 27. 10:30 hvg.hu English version

Regrettable events

It was police passivity that allowed a series of demonstrations held in response to a private speech given by Ferenc Gyurcsany to become the centre of world attention. On a leaked recording of the speech, the Prime Minister acknowledged that the governing coalition had been focused entirely on political survival in the previous parliamentary cycle and that the government had lied in order to win the elections.

2006. október. 02. 12:28 HVG English version

"I have no talent for political hysteria"

"Someone who, like me, has lived through several historical storms where one would be quite enough, is no longer afraid of anyone or anything." These are the words of the 89-year-old novelist Magda Szabo, who has just been made an honorary citizen of Budapest. She regretted the fact that society seemed to have returned to the problems from which it seemed to have escaped.

2006. szeptember. 27. 10:45 hvg.hu English version

From Takacs to Csurka

Following a flurry of rival petitions on Monday, the spontaneous political groupings that represent the Kossuth ter demonstrators are trying to sustain the illusion of unity. Nonetheless, fractures are beginning to show, not just between the rival groups, but within them as well. Gyorgy Budahazy, currently sought by the police, has condemned Andras Takacs, one of the demonstration's leaders. And if you can no longer follow who's with whom and what which group wants, then hvg.hu has a summary.