Ferenc Gyurcsány, Hungary’s longest serving prime minister since the country’s transition to democracy twenty years ago, suprised even the most avid political analysts by announcing his imminent resignation. Gyurcsány spoke at the Hungarian Socialist Party’s congress, where he recommended that the left-centre party form a new government, headed by a new prime minister. „I misjudged our strength and the opportunities before us and I did not offer a clear and straightforward speech at a critical moment. As such, my credibility decreased significantly”–Gyurcsány told party delegates. Gyurcsány will call for a vote of confidence  in parliament this coming week, which he […]

Hungarian Prime Minister Ferenc Gyurcsány warned the leaders of western European Union member states not to erect a new Iron Curtain by permitting Eastern European economies to collapse under the pressure of the global financial crisis. „We should not allow that a new Iron Curtain should be set up and divide Europe. In the beginning of the nineties we reunified Europe, now the challenge is whether we will be able to reunify Europe financially”–Gyurcsány observed, while attending the EU’s emergency summit this weekend. The Hungarian Socialist prime minister’s words were significant enough to echo on this side of the Atlantic as […]

The organizers of an academic conference on Eastern European émigrés and the Cold War, held in Lublin, Poland on November 13-15, 2008, were good enough to mail out a DVD of photos taken during the three day international symposium. Entitled „Secret Weapon, or Victims of the Cold War?” and organized by Dr. Slawomir Lukasiewicz, of Poland’s Instytut Pamięci Narodowej (Institute of National Remembrance), the conference brought together academics from all former Soviet bloc countries, as well as American, Canadian and Western European scholars with an interest in the relationship between political émigrés and the region’s former communist regimes. Included below […]

The on-going saga of Hungary’s troubled flag carrier, Malév, entered another chapter, with news that the Russian state has indirectly purchased a stake in the badly indebted airline. Vnyesekonombank, a state-owned Russian financial institution, is reportedly preparing to take control of a 49 percent stake in AirBridge Zrt., the company which owns Malév Hungarian Airlines. In order to ensure that Malév retains its status as Hungary’s national airline and, by extension, does not have to forfeit its European Union operating license, Magdolna Költő and Kálmán Kiss–two Hungarian businesspeople–will together control 51 percent of the company’s shares. János Veres, Hungary’s finance minister, met […]

The Canadian Hungarian Artists’ Collective (CHAC) is organizing a film screening and pot luck dinner on February 18th, 2009 at the Youth Centre located next to Our Lady of Hungary Church, in Montreal. The event will focus on a handful of short films, including Peter Horvath’s „Tenderly Yours” and „The Boulevard,” as well as Clarissa Schmidt Inglis’ „Stories of Life.” All three films were produced in 2008. Two other, slightly longer documentary films will also be screened, both of which were produced by Sofie Fekete, a Québec-based artist of Hungarian origins, and a long-time CHAC member. These films include „Tantramar […]

The Ukrainian Canadian Civil Liberties Association is ramping up its campaign to get all NKVD, KGB and other Communist secret police veterans out of Canada.  UCCLA’s “No KGB In Canada!” involves thousands of its supporters mailing in pre-printed postcards to Prime Minister Stephen Harper, the Honourable Jason Kenney (Minister of Immigration and Citizenship) and the Honourable Peter Van Loan (Minister of Public Safety). The cards share a common message: “Veterans of Soviet secret police formations like the NKVD, SMERSH and KGB should not be allowed to enter Canada nor to remain here. No exceptions. Denaturalize and Deport them all, immediately.” […]

Hochtief, the company that operates Budapest’s Ferihegy International Airport, is now dealing with a strike, which started this afternoon. The announcement of a renewed walk-out on the part of airport workers caught Budapest Airport off-guard and it is impossible to tell how the strike– started today at 4:00PM local time– will affect air travel. What is known, however, is that airport officials have already shut down Terminal 1, transferring all flights to Terminal 2B. Passengers who arrive to T-1 later this evening will be transported to T-2B by shuttle bus. According to the two unions involved–the Légiközlekedési Egyesült and the […]

Slovakia gave up the last strand of its economic sovereignty earlier this week, for what this Eastern European country’s political leaders hope will provide it with stability during the global financial crisis. Slovakia relegated its national currency, the Koruna (or Crown) to the rubbish bins of history on January 1, 2009, and within less than two weeks, the country’s monetary unit will disappear forever. Slovaks have until January 16th to spend their korunas and all stores must accept them as payment until this date. The number 16 seems to be one which comes up repeatedly, within the context of this […]

Earlier this week, the Canadian Hungarian Journal published an article on how a small group of Wikipedia users deleted virtually all of the information on the religious and denominational affiliations of Canadian prime ministers and politicians. Our article made the rounds on the internet, and the news story was picked up by several blogs, including fivefeetoffury.com, hallsofmacadamia.blogspot.com, smalldeadanimals.com and several other sites. Thanks to their interest in this topic and their willingness to feature this news item on their sites, some Wikipedia users are starting to reverse the unwise and unilateral decision taken by a few of their peers. We […]

Until a few days ago, former Prime Minister Paul Martin was still Catholic, Stephen Harper was affiliated with the Christian Missionary Alliance and the late MacKenzie King used to be a slightly unconventional Presbyterian. Then, this information mysteriously vanished from Wikipedia. A quick online search revealed that the sudden disappearance of information concerning the religious affiliations of Canadian politicians-both dead and alive-was a haphazard editorial decision taken after a brief online discussion between the likes of DoubleBlue, Ducio1234 and Skeezix1000, thus confirming the worst misgivings that so many have about Wikipedia. In a single swoop, denominational information concerning former prime […]

Strikes are causing disruptions for travellers and commuters in both the Hungarian and Canadian capitals this week, with public transit workers on the picket line in Ottawa and essential ground staff engaging in strike action at Budapest’s Ferihegy International Airport. According to the most recent statements by Budapest Airport Zrt, the company that operates Ferihegy, flight delays of around 60 minutes are anticipated on December 12, 2008, but it is unlikely that new flights will have to be cancelled. Ferihegy Terminal 1, however, remains closed to passenger traffic and all flights that would have normally departed from here have been […]

We had a couple of articles lined up about Québec’s provincial election, which saw Premier Jean Charest’s Liberals win a razor thin majority last night, the Parti Québécois regain its status as the official opposition and Mario Dumont resign as leader of the Action démocratique du Québec (ADQ) following his party’s truly disastrous performance. Unfortunately, we can’t upload this new material at the moment, because our internet service provider is down and their tech support is missing in action. We rely on 3Web CIA Cybersurf for our internet access, but we have been unable to access the web as of earlier this evening […]

Hungary’s Socialist Prime Minister, Ferenc Gyurcsány, was undoubtedly disappointed earlier today to discover that Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico decided to reject all six suggestions raised by his Hungarian counterpart. These ideas were aimed at improving the two country’s troubled relationship and ensuring the rights of minorities in both states. Gyurcsány, who leads a centre-left minority government, has consistently avoided the use of inflammatory nationalist language and has been cautious when addressing the prickly issue of Hungarian minorities in neighbouring countries. As such, Gyurcsány’s six suggestions for Fico and his leftist-nationalist Slovak coalition reflected this moderation. Gyurcsány recommended that minority […]

Hungarian Abstract / Magyar kivonat: Michaelle Jean, Kanada főkormányzója három emléktáblát avatott fel a budapesti Városligetben magyarországi látogatása során. A három nyelvű táblacsoport megemlékezik az 1956-os magyar bevándorlókról, illetve valamennyi magyar emigránsról, valamint arról az építő munkáról, mellyel hozzájárultak Kanada fejlődéséhez. A három tábla mellé pedig egy juharfát ültettek el és mind ez a központi 1956-os emlékműtől néhány lépésre található. A felavatáson szintén beszédet mondott Demszky Gábor, Budapest főpolgármestere.  Michaelle Jean, Governor General of Canada, unveiled a set of three plaques in Budapest’s City Park (Városliget) earlier this week, which commemorate the achievements of the more than 40,000 Hungarian refugees who arrived in Canada following the suppression of the 1956 Hungarian […]

The Kesztyűgyár Community Centre is located in the eighth district of Budapest, and is part of the Hungarian capital’s efforts to improve living conditions in the neighbourhood. Opened in August 2008, the Centre offers various classes and counselling to youth, and is host to several organizations, such as the Roma Youth Association and the Drug Prevention Association. My name is Jordan Croucher, a singer/songwriter from Halifax, Nova Scotia, and I am very honoured to be part of the State visit to Europe with Their Excellencies the Right Honourable Michaëlle Jean, Governor General of Canada, and Mr. Jean-Daniel Lafond. When I first received […]