Malév Hungarian Airlines nationalized – state gains 95 percent majority
After having gone through privatization for the second time in 2007, Malév Hungarian Airlines will be nationalized once again this spring, with the Republic of Hungary gaining a 95 percent majority in the flag carrier. Russia’s Vnyesekonombank and representatives of the Hungarian government have been negotiating for several months on how to resolve the indebted carrier’s fate, especially after it became clear that the Russian interests which had controlled the company after its privatization three years ago wanted out. According to this agreement, Malév’s outstanding debt to the Hungarian state will be converted into shares, while Hungary will pump an additional 25.2 billion forints into the carrier. (tovább…)
In memoriam George Miok
Sergeant George Miok, a 28 year old reservist in the Canadian forces, died in Afghanistan on December 28th when the armoured vehicle he was in was blown up by a roadside bomb. Three other Canadian soldiers and a journalist from the Calgary Herald died with him. This was Sgt Miok’s second tour of duty in Afghanistan and all obituaries about him mention his strong belief in the value of what he was doing for his country and for world peace. Also mentioned is his love of teaching and the high regard in which he was held by students at St Cecilia Junior High in Edmonton where he taught last year. The Edmonton Journal published a letter George wrote to St Cecilia Junior High for Remembrance Day this past November: George’s Letter.
Sgt Miok was born in Canada to Hungarian parents and he participated in many events of the Hungarian community in Edmonton, including a Hungarian dance group. (tovább…)
Hungarian film Overnight screened in Ottawa
Hungarian director Ferenc Török’s most recent film, entitled Overnight, was screened in Ottawa this evening, as part of the European Film Festival. The Library and Archive Canada’s auditorium was packed for the screening–organized in partnership with the Embassy of the Republic of Hungary in Ottawa–with a mix of Hungarians, English-speaking Canadians with a keen interest in foreign films and other Eastern Europeans, who will see films in their own languages shown on upcoming nights. (A Polish film entitled Little Moscow and directed by Waldemar Krzystek will be screened on 3 December 2009 at 9:00pm.) Overnight portrays 21st century contemporary, urban and multicultural Hungary. (tovább…)
Gordon Bajnai appears on American television network
Hungarian Prime Minister Gordon Bajnai gave an interview today to CNBC and spoke at length about how Hungary averted a financial meltdown in late 2008. CNBC spoke with Bajnai, the country’s interim centre-left prime minister, on Kossuth Square, right outside Parliament. The network’s reporter opened the interview by noting that the crisis in Hungary peaked just over a year ago, when interest rates rose to as high as 11 percent and when the former economic power-house of Central Europe had to turn to the International Monetary Fund, in order to obtain a $25 billion loan. At the time, Bajnai served as Hungary’s economy minister, but ascended to the prime ministership following the sudden resignation of his Socialist predecessor, Ferenc Gyurcsány, this past spring. (tovább…)
New website launched on Visegrad-4 countries
A new website entitled Visegrad-4 was launched earlier this week and it aims to serve as an independent English-language news source for Hungary, Poland, the Czech Republic and Slovakia. The site notes that these East/Central European states share a common historical heritage, each of them having been impacted by pre-World War I empires, Soviet influence and a dramatic transition to democracy and free market economy in 1989. Twenty years after the collapse of the Berlin Wall and the re-introduction of multi-party democracy, the member states of the Visegrad Group should aim for greater cooperation and alignment of policies when negotiating with other European Union countries, in order to increase the region’s voice and weight both within the EU and abroad. (tovább…)
Power failure causes chaos at Budapest Airport
A power failure Saturday evening at Budapest Ferihegy Airport’s Terminal 2A resulted in scores of delayed flights, as authorities attempted to evacuate passengers from the building and transfer all flights and bags to Terminal 2B, located right next door. The electricity went out at 8pm local time and power will likely only be restored Sunday morning. According to Budapest Airport Zrt. spokesperson Mihály Hardy, problems with two 110 kilowatt cables caused the power outage. As such, all baggage reclaim machines are out of order, as are all automatic doors in the terminal. Terminal 2B, however, is not experiencing any of these technical difficulties.
Hardy noted that passenger traffic on Saturday nights tends to be very modest and as such, T-2B should have no problem accommodating all passengers from the terminal that is normally reserved for flights to and from Schengen Zone countries. Terminal 1–which serves discount carriers–is not affected by the outage.
Canadian Hungarian Journal
SkyEurope declares bankruptcy
Christopher Adam
According to a press release circulated minutes before midnight (Central European Time) on 31 August 2009, SkyEurope has formally declared itself bankrupt and has canceled all of its flights. Bratislava’s Letisko M.R. Stefánik’s airport’s website now lists all of the Slovak discount carriers flights as canceled and SkyEurope’s own website carries a message informing passengers that the company has suspended all operations. Further, the vast majority of passengers will not be eligible for a refund, if they have already purchased a ticket for a SkyEurope flight.
What can you do if you bought a ticket with SkyEurope for a future flight? If you are like the author of this article and are stuck with a future SkyEurope ticket, your only hope is with your credit card company. If you paid for your flight with a credit card, you might be able to ask your bank or credit card issuer for a refund, since no service was rendered to you. If, however, you purchased your SkyEurope ticket through other means–such as a bank transfer or by cash–you are sadly out of luck. (tovább…)
SkyEurope strands a thousand passengers
Christopher Adam
SkyEurope has stranded more than 1,200 passengers at Bratislava’s Letisko-M.R. Stefánik Airport earlier today, when it decided to cancel all of its afternoon and evening flights without any warning. As we reported earlier today, as well as last week, SkyEurope teeters on collapse, as airports in Vienna and Prague have decided to ban the carrier due to outstanding debts. Bratislava Airport’s spokesperson, Zuzana Hornanova, told journalists that SkyEurope canceled all of its flights due to “operational reasons.” Hornanova described the situation as “complicated.” The airline has yet to issue a statement, even though SkyEurope is now effectively grounded. Somewhat curiously, the carrier is still advertising an autumn fare discount in its site and accepting new bookings.
There is no official information as to why SkyEurope canceled all of its flights, and Bratislava Airport confirmed that the carrier had, in fact, made all payments on time. Unconfirmed reports, however, have suggested that SkyEurope employees may have refused to report to work, after the carrier deferred their monthly salaries due to on-going financial problems. (tovább…)
SkyEurope cancels most Bratislava flights as Prague ban looms
Christopher Adam
SkyEurope’s financial situation went from bad to worse today, after Prague Airport decided that it would no longer serve the Slovak low-cost carrier’s flights until it paid its outstanding debt. Prague’s move follows the Vienna Airport’s decision to cancel all SkyEurope flights due to unpaid bills, which forced the carrier to transport ticket-holders to Bratislava Airport, located 59km from the Austrian capital.
But the question now becomes whether or not SkyEurope will be able to survive the suspension of both its Prague and Vienna bases, and the likely collapse in passenger bookings. The first signs seem to cast doubt on SkyEurope’s future. Bratislava Airport’s website indicates that the vast majority of SkyEurope flights due to depart today have been canceled. Additionally, the airport’s website suggests that all SkyEurope flights scheduled for this evening and early Tuesday morning have been cancelled as well, including London-Luton, Brussels, Amsterdam, Bucharest-Baneasa, Istanbul, Lisbon and Larnaca. Almost all arrivals into Bratislava have been canceled as well for later this evening and early Tuesday morning, including flights headed to the Slovak capital from Nice, Barcelona, Amsterdam, Paris-Orly and Rome-Fiumicino. (tovább…)
Tensions rise between Hungary and Slovakia as president banned
Christopher Adam
Simmering tensions threatened to boil over between Hungary and Slovakia, as Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico decided to ban Hungarian President László Sólyom from visiting Slovakia, in order to unveil a statue of Saint Stephen, Hungary’s founding king, in the southern Slovak town of Komarno (Komárom). According to the most recent census, more than 60 percent of Komárom’s 37,000 residents are ethnic Hungarians and the town is located along the Danube, on the border between Hungary and Slovakia. Mayor Tibor Bastrnák had decided to erect the bronze statue in Komárom’s Lúdpiac Square, which depicts St. Stephen mounted on his horse.
Sólyom was about to cross over the bridge between Hungary and Slovakia, but held a news conference instead, in which he indicated that the Slovak government had effectively barred him from entering the country. “This is a situation unheard of, inexcusable and unexplainable in the relationship of two allied countries. It is especially so because of the reasoning behind the ban: that my presence would mean a security threat.” Sólyom said. (tovább…)
Hungarian Wizz Air overtakes struggling SkyEurope
Christopher Adam
Hungarian low-cost carrier Wizz Air has now clearly overtaken its main regional rival, Slovakia’s SkyEurope. Once Eastern Europe’s largest discount airline, SkyEurope has failed to turn a profit since its founding in 2002 and was forced to file for creditor protection in June 2009. Since then, the Slovak carrier’s woes have only gotten worse. The carrier failed to reach a deal with Vienna’s Schwechat Airport last Friday, which led to the cancellation of all flights from SkyEurope’s Central European hub. SkyEurope reportedly has a significant outstanding debt with airports in both Vienna and Prague and as such, Schwechat has decided to stop servicing all SkyEurope flights.
In an effort to stop the carrier from going under, SkyEurope has transferred all of its Vienna-based flights to Bratislava’s Letisko M. R. Štefánik Airport and passengers are being offered free coach service from Vienna. Despite these efforts and the relatively short 59km distance between the two hubs, the majority of SkyEurope passengers are experiencing lengthy delays. (tovább…)
The death of Hungarian socialism?
Christopher Adam
Hungarians usually refer to the doldrums of August as the “pickle season.” In a modest parallel to Canada’s cottage season, many Hungarians traditionally flee their city apartments to work tiny plots of land behind weekend houses, the majority of which were granted to them during the bygone days of socialism. But this year is different, in that Hungary finds itself at the cusp of seismic political change, which is likely to transform the country. This sense of imminent transition permeates society, as the left teeters on collapse and as the right looks set to win the most massive parliamentary majority in the European Union.
At the centre of this transformation is the imminent collapse of the Hungarian left, which has governed the country for nearly 12 out of the 20 years since the transition to democracy in 1989. Following a disastrous performance in the European parliamentary elections, the governing Socialist Party finds itself in the unhappy position of having only scored two percentage points more than an upstart far-right party and nearly 40% behind Fidesz, its main right-wing rival. (tovább…)
Hungarian Socialists suffer major defeat in European elections
| Party Lists | Percent | Seats | |
| Fidesz – Alliance of Young Democrats | 56.37% | 14 | |
| Hungarian Socialist Party (MSZP) | 17.37% | 4 | |
| Jobbik – Movement for a Better Hungary | 14.77% | 3 | |
| Hungarian Democratic Forum | 5.30% | 1 | |
| Alliance of Young Democrats (SZDSZ) | 2.16% | 0 |
Hungary’s centre-left parties, the Socialists (MSZP) and the liberal Free Democrats (SZDSZ), suffered a massive defeat during the June 7th European Parliamentary elections, as two right-wing party lists together won more than two thirds of the vote. The governing Socialists only managed to win 4 out of 22 seats allocated to Hungary in the European Parliament, losing five of the nine seats that it had garnered during the last EP elections, in 2004. The situation was far worse for the SZDSZ; the liberals failed to pass the 5% threshold necessary to win mandates and will therefore lose the two seats that they currenty hold in the European Parliament. Despite long odds, the liberal-conservative Hungarian Democratic Forum (MDF), however, was successful, and will keep its one mandate.
While the Hungarian centre-left vote collapsed, the right-wing won a landslide victory. Fidesz won 14 seats, while the far-right Movement for a Better Hungary (Jobbik) succeeded won a shocking and unexpected victory. Not only did Jobbik pass the 5 percent threshold, it far surpassed expectations by winning 3 seats and taking 14.77% of the vote. Jobbik’s surprisingly strong performance in this election will likely help it cement its position prior to national elections in spring 2010, when it will aim to pass the 5% threshold necessary to enter the Parliament of Hungary.
The turn-out for the EP elections in Hungary was slightly lower this year than in 2004. While 38.50% of eligible voters participated in EP elections five years, this proportion stood at only 36 percent in 2009.
Attila Mesterházy, the MSZP’s caucus leader, noted that the Socialists would continue to support the current government, led by recently appointed independent Prime Minister Gordon Bajnai, despite continuous calls on the part of Fidesz to hold early national elections this fall, instead of waiting until 2010.
Canadian Hungarian Journal
Hungarian studies conference and lectures in Ottawa
The Canadian Hungarian Journal and the Canada Hungary Educational Foundation are organizing a lecture evening at the University of Ottawa, on May 25, 2009 at 7pm, which will include presentations by three Hungarian academics. Historian Mária Palasik of the Historical Archives of Hungarian State Security in Budapest will begin the evening by discussing the role that women and technology have played in Hungarian universities, while Róbert Takács of the Institute of Political History will give a lecture on censorship and self-censorship under János Kádár’s communist regime. Márton Pászti of the Budapest University of Technology and Economics will complement the evening with a presentation on applied human-computer interaction.
Each lecture will be 20 minutes in duration and there will be an opportunity for discussion and debate. Complimentary refreshments will also be served by the organizers. The event is scheduled for May 25, 2009, at 7:00pm, in Tabaret Hall room 323, at the University of Ottawa. Please see the event’s poster for more information.
Our three presenters are travelling to Ottawa in order to participate at the annual conference organized by the Hungarian Studies Association of Canada (HSAC). This year’s conference is scheduled to take place at Carleton University on May 23-24, 2009, within the context of the Congress of the Humanities and Social Sciences. The HSAC conference programme includes a wide array of interdisciplinary presentations, as well as a talk by Hungarian-Canadian author Anna Porter.
We believe that most of you who are participating in this year’s conference, have registered through the fedcan Congress office, but if you have not done so please do so now. HSAC benefits from your registration. We will be circulating the information about the conference to some local community members who might be interested in attending. If you have friends and acquaintances in the Ottawa region, please alert them to this. Interested non-member individuals do not need to register for the Congress but are expected to pay a daily $15 fee for attending any association programs. If you just come to one or two lectures there is no need to pay this fee. The evening event with Anna Porter is free and open to the public.
We would like to draw your attention to a number of special features/events noted in the conference program:
1. As a pre-conference event, on Friday evening, May 22nd we are fortunate in having Tamás Szabó, curator from the Szeged Móra Ferenc Museum to talk to us about the Giorgio Vasari painting in the museum’s collection, as well as other aspects of the Szeged collection.
2. On Saturday 23rd, we have the talk by Anna Porter, preceded by a buffet supper in the same location. This replaces our usual dinner in a restaurant and we will need to charge for the costs of the supper (we are not yet sure of the amount but it will probably be $25 per person, including wine). This will be announced on the first day of the conference.
3. Finally, as a post conference event, on Monday May 25th at 10 am we have arranged a special visit /tour to the Library and Archives of Canada’s super-modern Preservation centre where staff will have a display of some of the Hungarian relevant materials of the national collection (books, archival materials, art and other visual material). We are grateful to the Embassy of Hungary for helping to transport participants to the Preservation Centre.
The location of the conference is at the Carleton University Campus in the Hertzberg building. However, the talk by Mr Szabo and by Anna Porter, as well as the lecture evening on May 25th, are on the campus of the University of Ottawa. Please take a careful look at the programs and the poster. Some of us locals will try to provide transportation certainly on Saturday evening from Carleton to Ottawa U for the supper and Anna Porter.
Logistics, and other useful information:
-The congress will distribute bottled water for each panel/session, but staff will ask the session chairs if they wish to “opt out,” for environmental reasons. Catered coffee breaks will still include bottled water as well.
Swine Flu Concerns:
-The congress is cooperating with Ottawa’s pandemic planning committee and with Carleton’s Health Services
-Hand sanitizers will be widely available on campus, especially in the Field House.
Information for Delegates:
-The Congress will set up an information desk at Ottawa’s MacDonald-Laurier Airport to assist visitors, but a similar booth will not be available at the train station.
-There will be shuttle service available from the Carleton residences to the Ottawa Airport. Return fare: $20.
-Shuttle bus service will be offered free of charge between Carleton and 11 hotels in Ottawa. The Congress guide provides a list of hotels. All buses will run every 15 minutes in the morning and every 15 minutes in the evening, with service suspended during the rest of the day.
-As Carleton is a fairly large campus, delegates with reduced mobility can make use of golf carts, which will run between the Field House (place of registration) and the University Centre. These golf carts will be available between 7.30 and 17.00.
-Luggage storage will be available for all delegates at “Delegate Services,” or at the residences, for those with on-campus accommodation
-Parking will be available for $8 per day
-There will be a complimentary breakfast on campus in the Residence Dining Room for all delegates on Monday. Those who are staying an extra day may take advantage of this.
Letter to the Canadian Hungarian Journal–Hungary and the Holocaust
April 20th being Holocaust Memorial Day world-wide, it struck me as particularly sad that on the preceding weekend a gentleman, István Dósa, leader of a radical nationalist organization in Hungary, spoke before 200 supporters in front of the German Embassy and in essence stated that “nothing of the Holocaust was true”. For a nation that had a 900,000 strong Jewish Hungarian population before the devastating events of the Holocaust, for such an event to occur in 2009 is hard to believe. On Monday, the actual day of memorial, the Hungarian education and cultural minister, István Hiller asked deputies in Parliament to pass a bill to make denying the Holocaust punishable by law.
I, for one was flabbergasted. MTI reported that Hiller said a democratic duty is to condemn Holocaust denial. Perhaps I am not a politician, but as I see it, it is an ethical and moral duty of humanity, particularly relevant to a nation such as Hungary that saw so few of its Jewish population return to their homeland. They perished at Auschwitz. It is difficult for me to see Holocaust denial issues in a nation that lost so many of its prominent citizens simply because they were Jewish.
Zsolt Patakfalvi (Canada)
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