For decades, Hungarian foreign policy has swung between two seemingly incompatible poles: passive conformity to Western — especially EU — expectations, typically associated with the left of the Hungarian political spectrum, and an assertive emphasis on national sovereignty, often in opposition to the same alliances, more characteristic of the right. But must these two directions be mutually exclusive? An essay by Csaba Barnabas Horvath.

„His policy is, unfortunately, anti-Ukrainian. And anti-European. He is using this in his domestic policy: he wants to turn the war in Ukraine to his own advantage in the elections. That is dishonest”, Volodymyr Zelenskyy tells Válasz Online about Viktor Orbán. The President of Ukraine, who, after 1,200 days of full-scale war, gave his first […]

Our article is closely linked to two earlier pieces published on Válasz Online. In the article Researcher Concerns About the Reliability of EU-SILC Income Data in Hungary, Annamária Tátrai and András Gábos highlighted serious data issues in Hungary’s EU-SILC dataset—issues that affect key indicators used to track poverty both nationally and at the EU level. According to the authors, the nature and extent of the problems suggest not mere technical issues but a chain of professional errors, potentially even raising the question of data manipulation.

„There’s no way the HCSO’s income poverty data could have developed this way naturally,” commented Zsolt Németh, former Deputy President of the Hungarian Central Statistical Office (HCSO), in response to the academic analysis published alongside our article by Annamária Tátrai and András Gábos. Their study shows that the HCSO has, been publishing poverty data for years that raise the possibility of professional error or even manipulation. According to the statistician who held a senior position at the HCSO between 2010 and 2017, the probability of so many people having incomes just above the poverty line is practically zero.

The EU-SILC study, which monitors the income and social situation of the member states of the European Union, provides data on Hungary through the Hungarian Central Statistical Office (HCSO). Since data collection began in 2005, the proportion of people living in relative income poverty in Hungary decreased in the second half of the 2010s and is still among the lowest in Europe. In this important database, which underpins the calculation of this poverty indicator, the shape of the income distribution in Hungary between 2005 and 2016, closely resembled that of other Central European countries, consistent with the expectations based on similar databases.

Opinion piece by Ambassador Paul Fox.

Thirty days. This is the amount of annual leave granted for a Ukrainian soldier. But what is the solution for those who want to see their loved ones throughout the rest of the year? They pay a visit to one of the few frontline towns with functioning railway stations, where soldiers get to meet their […]

Underwater combat activities have been continuously polluting the environment since February 2022.

We recorded the shocking story of Lisa and Denis at their temporary home in Kyiv Oblast. Exclusive report.

“The rebellious Hungarians were constantly fighting against ‘Viennese rule’ but had no intention of breaking away from the empire; it was worth staying in. It says a lot about them that they are now doing the same”, writes Dutch journalist Caroline de Gruyter in her recently published book ‘It will not be better: Travels in the Habsburg Empire and the European Union’, published by Európa Könyvkiadó in Hungarian.

Two young Hungarians came up with an extraordinary innovation just a month ago: the world’s first deodorant refill machine. While the creation of the machine itself is a great achievement for 21-year-old Gergely Zámbó and 22-year-old Andor Réti, it could also be a significant step forward in the fight against climate change. Respray can reduce the carbon footprint of deodorant use by three quarters.

In early December, Emmanuel Macron said that Russia sees NATO enlargement as a threat and needs „security guarantees” to bring her back to the negotiating table. The French president’s words were sharply criticized immediately by the Baltic states. To make sense of the situation, Válasz Online calls on one of the most competent people in the field: a top French diplomat, Pierre Vimont, who has long been Macron’s éminence grise on Russia. Interview.

„Backing an authoritarian loser, such as Vladimir Putin, will have consequences. It already has on the Polish–Hungarian friendship”, former Polish minister of foreign affairs and national defense Radoslaw Sikorski tells Válasz Online.

How did herders become important players in nature conservation? How did the researcher succeed in “taming” the herder, whose father used to set his dog on strangers, and who would only treat sick animals in secret, so nobody would find out how he did it? This is the story of the shepherd and the scientist.

A well-known priest, András Hodász believes that the generous amounts of subsidies by the Orbán government have a harmful effect on the moral stature of the church. In an interview with Válasz Online he gave an account of a request made by a Church superior: keep silent, or subsidies can be terminated.

In our presumption the general elections on 3rd of April were not simply „one of a kind”, but an ultimate vantage point. As such, the election results clearly reflect the stunning shortcomings of the opposition parties, and also the manipulated, hand-tailored rules and the vast resources of Orbán’s sytem.

Sixty-five Hungarian scientists sent a declaration of solidarity to our editorial staff on Thursday afternoon. The full text and the list of signatories are provided.

Up until now, Le Pen’s party has received support from Russian funds, a role now taken over by a Hungarian bank. This may as well put an end to a European-level alliance of radical parties.

There is an aspect of the events of the fall of 2006, which was not really mentioned on the 15th anniversary…

„We should work to forge unity at the EU level in a way that is most favourable to Hungarian national interests. Each hour spent in a different way is a waste of time” – says foreign policy expert and deputy director of the Brussels-based Jesuit European Social Centre (JESC) Botond Feledy. Why does he think that several countries wish to become China’s rich Trojan horse in the EU? One-on-one interview.

„We would like fewer heatwaves, more bearable summers, cheap flights and endless consumption and comfort – all at the same time. The bad news is that this will not work. It is either-or.” – warns Diána Ürge-Vorsatz. A korábban magyarul megjelent interjúnk angol fordítása.

Our point is: if Orbán was in opposition and Hungary’s rulers did what he is doing now, he would loudly call them communist. And he would be right.

It was explosive news that Hungarian scientist Katalin Karikó, who played a key role in the development of vaccines using mRNA technology, confirmed that she had been recruited by the state security services in the late 1970s. The director general of the Historical Archives of the State Security Services (ÁBTL) tells our publication that Karikó’s “index card six” can indeed be found in their institution. What does this document reveal?

The Russian government has put the sole remaining major independent news outlet, Meduza, in front of its administrative death squad. In his interview to Válasz Online, editor-in-chief Ivan Kolpakov explains why.

Válasz Online asks Mikhail Kasyanov, who has been a harsh critic of his former boss since 2005, about the prospects of the opposition after the imprisonment of Alexei Navalny and about the Hungarian-Russian friendship blossoming since 2010. Moreover: as a Russia liberal, would he hand back Crimea to Ukraine?

Maria Kalesnikova believes even with the governance of the current opposition Belarus would not turn away from Russia towards the West.