Posts Tagged With: Viktor Orbán

Hungarian Parliamentarian, Jenő Lasztovicza, Dead At Age 53, Supported Steverson Book Collection

Posted on January 19, 2015 by Judge London Steverson

Jenő Lasztovicza was a Hungarian horticultural engineer, politician and member of the National Assembly (MP) for the Tapolca (Veszprém County Constituency IV) from 1998 until his death in early 2015.

He joined Fidesz in November 1994 and was the Party President in his town from 1998 until his death. He secured a seat as an MP in the 1998 parliamentary elections representing Tapolca. He was the deputy chairman of the Tourism Committee in the 1998–2002 term and was also active on the Regional Development Committee. From 15 July 1999 until the change of government in 2002 he held the position of Chairman of the Board of Tourism, the advisory body on tourism of the Minister of Economy. In the 2002 general elections he was elected incumbent MP for Tapolca in the first round on 7 April. He chaired the Committee on Sport and Tourism from the inauguration of the Parliament on 15 May 2002 to 24 October 2006. He secured a seat as an MP in the 2006 elections representing Tapolca again. He was the Vice Chairman of the Committee on Sport and Tourism.

Lasztovicza died on 8 January 2015, aged 53.

The native form of this personal name is Lasztovicza Jenő(21 December 1961 – 8 January 2015).

(The English equivalent of Jenő is EuGene, also written as Eugene.)

The “Steverson Collection” of English books is now in the Hungarian public library database. It is the largest collection of English language books in Hungary and possibly even Europe, except for England.

The STEVERSON COLLECTION Book Club is for book lovers.

After the Opening Ceremony of the Steverson Book Collection on 23 April, 2009 the American Corner Veszprem was excited to announce the start of the Steverson Collection Book Club.

The Club’s aim is to give the reading public a chance to get acquainted with the vast collection of books in the generous donation from Judge London Steverson and his family. This Book Club is run by book lovers, and is for book lovers. The members are at the heart of all the club does. (Find the Steverson Collection at www.ekmk.hu)

(Find the Steverson Collection at www.ekmk.hu)

Prominent Hungarian politicians who paid their respects to Jenő Lasztovicza, included President Janos Ader, Prime Minister Viktor Orban, Laszlo Kover, Speaker of the Parliament, as well as several cabinet members and political party representatives.

The long funeral was on January 8; He died from serious illness. Representative Tibor Navracsics, EU commissioner spoke of Lasztovicza Eugene as a winner, who started a family and community in Tapolca, Hungary and USA,California,

Rich contribution to the great common treasury

QUOTE: (Literal translation into English)

Tibor Navracsics drew parallels between the life and the life of the content. Mentions “a former biological time, which will be given, and in the end there is the great encounter. Contents of life, however, depends on us, “He stressed though Lasztovicza Jeno short life is given. ‘Rich contribution was the great common treasury”, so it lives on in the memory of Tapolca and its surroundings.

The new cemetery tapolca arranged ceremony, Archbishop Peter Cook and tapolca vicar Veszprém Gyula Márfi celebrated prior to the funeral service was held at the funeral Tapolca Roman Catholic church.

Lasztovicza Eugene was born on December 21, 1961 Kiskoros. In 1994 he entered the Fidesz party was a Member of Parliament since 1998, as a member and as vice president of several parliamentary committees were active. Between 2006 and 2014, Veszprém County held the presidency of the General Assembly.

Due to the death of a politician-elections should be around Tapolca. The EP elections should be set for Sunday within 120 days of the vacant seats, according to this last Sunday of May 3, when a choice has to be maintained. This should be set to at least 70 but not more than 90 days from the date of the setting and the day of the vote.

UNQUOTE.

Hungary. Trouble In Paradise

Posted on January 1, 2015 by Judge London Steverson

Rifts Emerge Within Hungary’s Ruling Party

December 30, 2014 | 00:38 GMT

Analysis

Prime Minister Viktor Orban may only have a few months left in office, according to a Dec. 28 report published by Hungarian daily newspaper Nepszava, citing sources close to the ruling Fidesz party. The report describes deep dissatisfaction within the party and a growing sentiment that Orban is an obstacle to success, factors the sources say could lead to a change in leadership following German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s planned February visit to Budapest. The report is the latest indication of a growing rift within Fidesz. Although the party won re-election in April and controls two-thirds of the seats in Hungary’s parliament, tensions over Orban’s increasing isolation and disagreements over the country’s foreign policy orientation have increased over the past months. While Hungary’s government is unlikely to collapse anytime soon, the rift within Fidesz presents a challenge to Orban — the party’s popularity is falling and anti-government protests are on the rise.Fidesz, which stands for the Alliance of Young Democrats, originated in 1988 when a group of 37 young students and intellectuals in two university dorms founded the party as a liberal entity. Orban was one these founding members, and by 1994, he was steering the neophyte party toward the right wing of Hungary’s political spectrum. While he was unquestionably the leader of Fidesz throughout the 1990s and 2000s, a group of fellow Fidesz founders and early members played a major role in advising Orban and shaping the party’s policies.

What is a Geopolitical Diary? George Friedman Explains.

During his second term as prime minister from 2010-2014, however, Orban started to promote new, younger members of Fidesz to influential posts. Toward the end of the term he was relying on an increasingly small circle of advisors, many of whom were newly appointed officials who lacked significant political or administrative experience. In fact, many of these new appointees owe their positions and political careers to Orban himself. At the same time, many older members of Fidesz were sidelined or relegated to posts outside the country. A number of ministries also had their decision-making authorities removed, further concentrating power in the prime minister’s office and in the hands of Orban’s contracting inner circle. Dependence on this small group, which seldom challenges Orban’s views, has contributed to confusion and frequent changes in policies, alienating many of the party’s veterans and elements of the state apparatus. As Orban has centralized power, many of his political allies have been marginalized, and now they are becoming dissatisfied.

Orban’s suspicious feelings toward the United States have also contributed to rifts within Fidesz. Some party officials, such as founding member and current chairman of the parliament’s foreign affairs committee, Zsolt Nemeth, have long seen the West in a more positive light. While the United States and Hungary have an uneasy relationship because of concerns over the Fidesz government’s centralization of power, the relationship has only worsened recently. In October, the United States banned six Hungarian nationals, including the head of Hungary’s National Tax and Customs Administration, over corruption charges. Orban responded by publicly pushing department’s head to sue the U.S. charge d’affaires in Hungary. A case was filed in December, and Orban repeatedly made public accusations that the United States is acting against Hungary’s national interest. Moreover, Hungary has continually made attempts to build stronger ties with Russia, even after the outbreak of the crisis in neighboring Ukraine. These foreign policy moves have combined to further alienate Fidesz members who support a Hungarian alliance with Western partners and increased political backing for the government in Kiev.

These reports of growing rifts within Fidesz come at a time when the party’s popularity is waning. Orban was forced to backpedal on a proposal for an internet tax after one hundred thousand Hungarians staged a protest against the plan in October, threatening to undermine the party’s support among its core middle-class constituency. Thousands also rallied against corruption, especially after the government refused to address U.S. concerns regarding corruption in Hungary’s National Tax and Customs Administration. While these protests failed to change Orban’s policies, in the month following the U.S. bans, one poll showed the Fidesz party’s popularity falling by an unprecedented 12 percentage points, demonstrating that strained relations with the United States and ongoing questions over corruption are impacting not only dynamics within Fidesz but also the party’s support among voters.

Despite the reported rifts in the ruling party, a faction capable of challenging Orban’s supremacy has yet to publicly emerge, though there are indications that some of the party’s members are distancing themselves from Orban and maneuvering in anticipation of such a scenario. Although there are doubts about Orban and his small circle of advisors, many Fidesz members have benefited greatly from his rule — both politically and financially. Because of this, they will hesitate to replace him without first building a coalition strong enough to challenge the prime minister. Any contenders will also want assurances that they will not lose their political positions and personal fortunes under a new Fidesz leadership. Orban’s rule may not be over, but the foundation of his power — the Fidesz party machine — has come under threat.

For Hungary, 2015 will see the government strive to avoid international isolation while also facing a host of domestic economic challenges. As a country in the Eurasian borderlands, Hungary has attempted to balance its ties to the West with its relationship with Russia. On one hand, Hungary is a member of both the European Union and NATO, depending heavily on investment and funding from the European Union and its central bank. On the other hand, the Fidesz government has sought to attract investment from Russia in the form of projects that include upgrading its Paks nuclear power plant and supporting the South Stream pipeline project. However, Russia cancelled South Stream and is facing economic troubles of its own, meaning Hungary has less of an opportunity to benefit from its relations with the Kremlin. Orban miscalculated, and now he finds himself struggling to rebalance the country’s foreign alliances.

In a conciliatory gesture to the West on Jan. 1, Hungary will resume reverse natural gas flows to Ukraine after halting them in late September. Nevertheless, with tensions between Hungary and its Western partners still rife, Hungary faces the challenge of avoiding international isolation in 2015.

Politics

US-Hungary Relations Are A Marriage In Deep Crisis, Fidesz’s Zsolt Németh Says

2014-12-30 |

ban affairZsolt Németh

Hungary’s international reputation has worsened dramatically during the past half year and in terms of rhetoric, the conflict between the United States and Hungary is becoming dangerously reminiscent of that of Russian President Vladimir Putin, Fidesz politician Zsolt Németh, chairman of the National Assembly’s foreign affairs committee, has said in an interview given to the news website Index.

Mr. Németh pointed out that it gives cause for special concern that the situation has also worsened in regions that distinctly stood by Hungary in the previous four years, citing the country’s Central European allies as an example. Concerning the case of Ildikó Vida, the chairman of the National Tax and Customs Administration who is at the centre of the US visa ban affair, he said that it is unfortunately to associate someone with allegations of corruption without providing the possibility to defend oneself, adding that among allies, it can be expected from parties to do everything possible to root out unfounded accusations becoming public.

Commenting on US-Hungarian relations, he drew a comparison with a marriage experiencing a deep crisis. “This is the deepest crisis since the marriage took place, a situation in which the two sides occasionally completely loose their sobriety and thir self-control, such as the case involving Senator McCain. However, I do not believe that all responsibility can be laid on the Americans. It takes two to tango”, Mr. Németh said.

In Mr. Németh’s opinion, the aggravation of disputes between the governments of the United States and Hungary can be attributed fundamentally to questions of security policy, such as NATO, Russia and the South Stream, adding that this is no excuse for the country’s allies to disregard unwritten rules. The situation could be resolved if the West would present Russia with a reasonable political offer, the chairman of Parliament’s foreign affairs committee concluded.

via index.hu
photo: index.hu/Orsi Ajpek

Categories: Hungary | Tags: Hungary, Viktor Orbán | Leave a comment

Adventure Travel- Hungary 2013, And Then The Floods Came

Posted on June 12, 2013 by Judge London Steverson

Budapest, Parliament (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Record rain fall has caused rivers such as the Danube, the Elbe and the Vlatava in Eastern and Central to overflow their banks. The Danube flows through the center of Budapest, the Hungarian Capitol. The Danube is one of the longest waterways in Europe. It snakes through Budapest, Hungary to Belgrade, Serbia and Northern Bulgaria before reaching the Black Sea.

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban said no casualties have been reported in his country, but that 7,000 soldiers and thousands of volunteers were packing sandbags on the banks of the Danube to shore up flood walls.

“The flood is now approaching Budapest, the heart of the country,” Orban said in Esztergom, some 30 miles (48 kilometers) north of Budapest. “Two decisive days are ahead of us because the danger will be where most people live and where most things of value are at risk. It is now when we have to gather all our strength.”

While no flood-related deaths or injuries have been reported in Hungary,

some 1,400 people have been evacuated from towns and villages along the Danube, including over 200 in Budapest.

Parts of the south and north ends of the Hungarian capital are already under water, but the city’s downtown area, including the parliament building and several large hotels near the river bank, are seemingly out of direct danger as flood walls were built to a height of 30.5 feet (9.30 meters).

Officials said nearly 8,000 volunteers and specialized crews in Budapest had strengthened flood walls by packing and placing one million sand bags and many are also monitoring defenses for any leaks.
At least 21 flood-related deaths have been reported in central Europe, as rivers such as the Danube, the Elbe and the Vlatava have overflowed after a week of heavy rains and caused extensive damage in central and southern Germany, the Czech Republic, Austria, Slovakia and Hungary.

In Hungary, storms threatened flood-prevention work, as the National Meteorological Institute issued warnings along the Danube River and said storms may bring more than an inch of rainfall and wind speeds of 55 miles per hour.

Water levels stabilized in Budapest and were starting to subside after peaking at about three times their normal levels on Sunday night June 9, said Mark Mate Kisdi, spokesman for the Municipal Catastrophe Authority.

Attention has turned to parts of southern Hungary that will be hit by the Danube River’s advancing floodwaters.

“Today is the day of shifting focus from the northern part of the country to the southern parts,” said Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban.

The flood wave was forecast to leave Hungary on Thursday, June 13 and the country has contacted neighboring Serbia to coordinate emergency plans, the prime minister said.

Categories: Adventure Travel | Tags: Budapest, Czech Republic, Danube, Elbe, Esztergom, Hungary, Viktor Orbán, Vlatava | Leave a comment