laszlo solyom
March 11, 2010, 09:39 CET
President Sólyom signs Holocaust denial bill
President Laszlo Solyom on Wednesday signed a recent law on penalising Holocaust denial, a senior official of the president's office, told MTI. Solyom signed the law since it does not contravene the Constitution, said Ferenc Kumin. At the same time,... [read complete entry]
February 23, 2010, 10:13 CET
President Sólyom, opposition's Orbán lead poll
President Laszlo Solyom was given 47 points out of a maximum of 100 by respondents in a popularity survey by pollster Szonda Ipsos published in Tuesday's Nepszabadsag daily. Viktor Orban, head of the main opposition Fidesz, garnered 44 points -... [read complete entry]
February 23, 2010, 09:54 CET
Hungarian MPs criminalize Holocaust denial
The denial of the Holocaust will be punishable by law under a bill passed by Parliament on Monday afternoon. Those who publicly deny the Holocaust, call it into doubt or present it as insignificant may be sentenced to up to... [read complete entry]
February 16, 2010, 10:09 CET
MPs adopt law on enactment of Civil Code opposed by president
The Hungarian Parliament on Monday adopted a law on the enactment of the Civil Code passed last November, without accepting the critical remarks of President Laszlo Solyom. Solyom returned the bill to Parliament for reconsideration last December, saying that it... [read complete entry]
January 25, 2010, 09:02 CET
Sólyom sets elections for April 11, 25
The two rounds of the parliamentary elections will be held on April 11 and 25, President László Sólyom announced on Friday, thereby kicking off the election campaign. Socialist chairwoman Ildikó Lendvai welcomed the announcement, saying it is good news for... [read complete entry]
January 20, 2010, 08:34 CET
President meets new justice minister
President Laszlo Solyom held his first meeting with the new Justice and Law Enforcement Minister in his office on Tuesday. Imre Forgacs, who was appointed last December to replace Tibor Draskovics, outlined to the president his objectives as minister for... [read complete entry]
January 12, 2010, 03:07 CET
New US ambassador to Hungary meets president
The new US ambassador to Budapest Eleni Tsakopoulos-Kounalakis presented her credentials to President László Sólyom at the Sándor Palace on Monday. She was nominated for the post by US President Barack Obama in October. At her hearing in Congress the... [read complete entry]
January 11, 2010, 12:36 CET
Sólyom says PM free to call Jobbik "undemocratic" party
Prime Minister Gordon Bajnai's labelling the radical nationalist Jobbik party "undemocratic" falls under his right to a freedom of opinion, a senior official of the President's Office told MTI on Friday. Ferenc Kumin responded to a letter sent to President... [read complete entry]
January 06, 2010, 08:08 CET
President declines MDF request for national summit
President Laszlo Solyom "sees no point" in calling a national summit before the general elections, as requested by the small conservative Democratic Forum, a senior official of the president's office said on public radio on Tuesday. The national summit --... [read complete entry]
January 05, 2010, 10:24 CET
Jobbik to appeal to Sólyom over PM's "prejudiced" remark about party
Far-right party Jobbik will appeal to President László Sólyom over what it deems to have been a "prejudiced" remark made by Prime Minister Gordon Bajnai over the weekend. The premier said in an interview with state news agency MTI on... [read complete entry]
January 04, 2010, 09:48 CET
President returns anti-graft authority law to parliament
Hungary's President Laszlo Solyom has returned a law on setting up an anti-graft authority to parliament for review, the president's office told MTI on Wednesday. The law envisages setting up a national anti-corruption office, an autonomous body within state administration... [read complete entry]
January 04, 2010, 08:55 CET
Hungary ripe for renewal, President says in New Year's address
President László Sólyom stressed the need for renewal in his New Year's Day message, taped on December 30 and aired on several major television channels on January 1. "In the early nineties many felt the change of regime would bring... [read complete entry]
December 30, 2009, 11:07 CET
Ecology, culture seen as key issue dominating President's agenda in '09
The key topics addressed by Hungarian President Laszlo Solyom in 2009, his last full year in office, were the heritage of the 1956 revolution, the relationship between state and "cultural nation" and the necessity of an ecological change, head of... [read complete entry]
December 23, 2009, 09:53 CET
Politicians' prestige suffers in 2009, but pecking order remains stable
The prestige of Hungarian politicians generally declined in 2009 but their ranking remained by and large unchanged over the past year, national daily Nepszabadsag said on Wednesday, citing a recent Szonda Ipsos poll. Hungary's relatively most popular politician is President... [read complete entry]
December 23, 2009, 08:44 CET
President vetoes legislation on new Civil Code
President Laszlo Solyom on Tuesday declined to sign the bill on the implementation of Hungary's new Civil Code, the president's office told MTI in a statement. The president also sent four other related bills back to parliament for review, the... [read complete entry]
December 21, 2009, 10:09 CET
President's political remarks seen weighing heavily on popularity
The popularity of President Laszlo Solyom lags far behind his predecessors, national daily Nepszava reported on Saturday. Analysts polled by the paper said Solyom's popularity was on the rocks due to his remarks which link him to party politics more... [read complete entry]
December 18, 2009, 10:01 CET
Socialist PM candidate attacks president over magazine interview
The Socialist party's prime minister candidate Attila Mesterhazy on Thursday criticised President Laszlo Solyom for comments made in an interview in which he said it would have been better for the country had there been early elections after Ferenc Gyurcsany... [read complete entry]
December 17, 2009, 10:09 CET
Hungary ready to turn to European Court over Slovak barring of President
The European Commission agreed with Hungary in so far as Slovakia had mistakenly referred to community guidelines when it denied Hungarian President Laszlo Solyom entry in August, Foreign Affairs Spokeswoman Zsuzsanna Matrai told MTI on Wednesday. President Laszlo Solyom had... [read complete entry]
December 17, 2009, 10:02 CET
President says MPs should have opted for early elections after fall of Gyurcsány
President Laszlo Solyom said in a press interview that Hungary would have come off better if the parliamentary majority had opted for early elections when Ferenc Gyurcsany resigned as prime minister in 2008. "As they only replaced the premier at... [read complete entry]
December 11, 2009, 09:52 CET
Sólyom welcomes Serbian law on ethnic council
Serbia's new law on ethnic councils, the agencies of ethnic minority government, is an example to be followed, Hungarian President Laszlo Solyom said during a visit to the northern Serbian Vojvodina province on Thursday. "The law is a huge opportunity... [read complete entry]
December 08, 2009, 10:04 CET
Parliament approves census law despite veto by president over religion
The Hungarian Parliament on Monday repeatedly approved the law on the 2011 census, which President Laszlo Solyom had sent back for reconsideration in October. The law was approved with 190 votes for, 158 against and two abstentions. Solyom criticised the... [read complete entry]
December 07, 2009, 01:27 CET
Memo to President Sólyom: What those foreign embassies said about corruption in Hungary wasn't offensive, at least compared to what I'm about to say about you
Unlike many people, I don't find the largely ceremonial state presidencies in countries like Hungary to be inherently silly. Of course I'd rather dispense entirely with all the protocol duties that such presidents spend much of their time engaged... [read complete entry]
December 07, 2009, 10:49 CET
Sólyom calls embassies' statement on corruption in Hungary "offensive"
Hungarian President Laszlo Solyom on Saturday said nine embassies in Hungary that issued a joint statement in mid-November to call attention to the lack of transparency that they say negatively impacts Hungary's investment climate expressed their problem in an offensive... [read complete entry]
November 24, 2009, 08:15 CET
Politicians' popularity continues to drop in November
Hungary's president and the head of the main opposition remained the most popular politicians in a November poll, which, however, gave low ratings overall to all players, daily Nepszabadsag said on Monday, quoting a Szonda Ipsos poll. President Laszlo Solyom... [read complete entry]
November 23, 2009, 09:08 CET
Socialists rule out early election for state president
The ruling Socialist Party is not planning to bring forward Hungary's presidential election due next year, party chair Ildiko Lendvai told MTI on Friday. Lendvai referred to earlier allegations in conservative papers that Socialist deputies might make an attempt to... [read complete entry]
November 23, 2009, 08:19 CET
Hungarian, Croatian presidents hold talks near border
Presidents Laszlo Solyom of Hungary and Stjepan Mesic of Croatia held talks on mutual support for national minorities, energy and nature conservation issues in Barcs on Saturday. The two presidents met in the south Hungarian border town to attend the... [read complete entry]
November 16, 2009, 08:44 CET
Hungarian president, delegation on official visit to Spain
Hungarian President Laszlo Solyom will pay an official visit to Spain on November 16-18 at the invitation on the royal couple, the president's office told MTI on Friday. Solyom is scheduled to meet Juan Carlos I, the King of Spain,... [read complete entry]
November 10, 2009, 08:54 CET
Parliament adopts new civil code following presidential veto
Hungary's Parliament on Monday passed a bill on the new civil code that President Laszlo Solyom had earlier returned to the body without signing. The deputies changed several details of the bill before the final vote. In a letter to... [read complete entry]
November 02, 2009, 11:23 CET
Gyurcsány addresses Socialist Party session in first post-PM appearance
Former Prime Minister Ferenc Gyurcsany addressed a session of his minority governing Socialist Party on Friday, on the occasion of the party's 20th anniversary. Gyurcsany, who made his first public appearance since he resigned in March, called on the Socialists... [read complete entry]
October 28, 2009, 08:50 CET
Debate continues over appropriate questions for 2011 census
Hungary's ruling Socialists will consider President Laszlo Solyom's suggestions regarding the 2011 census, but will not support the inclusion of questions on faith, a Socialist official told Wednesday's Nepszabadsag daily. Valeria Deak Fogarasi, deputy chairwoman of the parliamentary committee for... [read complete entry]
October 26, 2009, 10:37 CET
Commemorations of 1956 anti-Soviet revolt passes without major unrest
Hungary held national commemorations on the anniversary of its crushed anti-Soviet revolution of 1956 on Friday. The anniversary coincided with events marking the 20th anniversary of the change in political system. Police reported no incidents or violence at commemorations. It... [read complete entry]
October 26, 2009, 10:23 CET
New poll finds Orbán most popular politician in Hungary
Hungarians continued to rate their politicians negatively in October, though the least unpopular were main opposition leader Viktor Orban tying with the president, Laszlo Solyom, according to a poll by Szonda Ipsos carried in Monday's Nespszabadsag daily. Tibor Navracsics, the... [read complete entry]
October 15, 2009, 11:17 CET
EC declines to intervene in affair over Slovak barring of Hungarian president
Vice President of the European Commission responsible for Justice, Freedom and Security Jacques Barrot said on Wednesday that he considered the affair of Slovakia refusing to allow Hungarian President Laszlo Solyom to enter the country closed. "This is a bilateral... [read complete entry]
October 14, 2009, 09:52 CET
Hungarian president rejects civil code bill
Hungary's President Laszlo Solyom returned a bill on the new civil code to Parliament without signing on Tuesday, the President's Office told MTI. In a letter to House Speaker Bela Katona, Solyom criticised the bill for lacking in form and... [read complete entry]
October 14, 2009, 09:50 CET
Hungary launches proceedings against Slovakia
Hungary is launching proceedings against Slovakia at the European Commission over that country's refusal to allow President László Sólyom into the country on August 21, government spokesman Domokos Szollár told reporters on Tuesday. He said Hungary aims to resolve the... [read complete entry]
October 13, 2009, 10:56 CET
Egyptian President Mubarak begins three-day visit to Hungary
Hungary's President Laszlo Solyom will receive his Egyptian counterpart Hosni Mubarak on a three-day official visit, the president's office told MTI on Monday. The visit, starting on Tuesday, will include President Mubarak's address at a Hungarian-Egyptian business forum, as well... [read complete entry]
October 05, 2009, 10:06 CET
Roma campaigner to lead march on Budapest
Roma rights activist László Kállai is walking from Jászladány, central Hungary to Budapest in protest against "the destructive discrimination of Roma". Kállai said he wants to arrive at Heroes' Square next Sunday at the head of thousands of demonstrators, with... [read complete entry]
September 30, 2009, 07:45 CET
Hungarian President rubs noses and samples the grass down under
President László Sólyom is currently down under on a visit to New Zealand and Australia, who despite not being members of the Schengen Zone and therefore not required by law to allow the Hungarian president freedom of movement across the... [read complete entry]
September 25, 2009, 09:21 CET
Politicians' unpopularity slightly eases in new poll
The unpopularity of Hungary's politicians has eased slightly, suggesting that voters might be willing to give them one last chance at the start of the autumn cycle, daily Nepszabadsag said on Friday, quoting a Szonda Ipsos poll. But the order... [read complete entry]
September 21, 2009, 10:33 CET
President says politicians' "hysteria" not harming Hungarian-Slovak cooperation
Disputes of "big politics" has not affected cross-border cooperation between Hungarian and Slovak towns along the two countries' borders, Hungarian President Laszlo Solyom said in Ipolytarnoc, near the border, on Sunday. "The outbreak of hysteria among political leaders has not... [read complete entry]
September 18, 2009, 09:41 CET
Costs of 2010 elections expected to near Ft 15 billion
The parliamentary, local and presidential elections in 2010 will cost Ft 14.9 billion, next year's draft budget reveals. The figure was Ft 10.5 billion in 2006, although no presidential elections were held that year. The draft allocates Ft 3.8 billion... [read complete entry]
September 17, 2009, 11:35 CET
Foreign Minister says Slovakia Hungary's only problematic neighbor
Hungarian diplomacy had a hot summer this year because of Slovakia, Hungary's only problematic neighbour, Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Balazs told a news conference in Budapest on Wednesday. The minister referred to the enactment of a controversial amendment to Slovakia's... [read complete entry]
September 17, 2009, 11:32 CET
Fidesz retains big lead in latest Median poll
Hungary's main opposition Fidesz party retained its big lead over the minority governing Socialist party in September, pollster Median said on Wednesday. Among decided voters, Fidesz kept its backing at 67 percent while the Socialist Party's support level increased from... [read complete entry]
September 17, 2009, 10:25 CET
Socialist MP calls state president "peasant" after snub of new house speaker
Socialist MP Tibor Szanyi called President László Sólyom a "peasant" on his online blog, Magyar Hírlap reports. Writing on kapcsolat.hu, Szanyi said Sólyom had gone to Parliament on Monday to witness the election of a new Speaker, heard the applause... [read complete entry]
September 17, 2009, 10:19 CET
Leader of small party climbs bridge in protest
Gábor Benke, head of the New Social Democrat People's Party, climbed up the Szabadság bridge on Wednesday afternoon, vowing not to come down until he received an appointment for a meeting with President László Sólyom. Benke wanted to protest against... [read complete entry]
September 11, 2009, 11:40 CET
EU measures against Slovakia no substitute for strong Hungary, Orbán says
A lengthy EU legal procedure is no substitute for an unequivocal and dynamic Hungarian answer based on national interests, Fidesz chairman Viktor Orbán declared yesterday in discussing the Hungarian-Slovak conflict. There is no doubt that the conflict has a European... [read complete entry]
September 10, 2009, 10:16 CET
President says all parliamentary parties rule out cooperation with Jobbik
All parliamentary parties of Hungary rule out cooperation with the radical nationalist Jobbik, which is a non-parliamentary party, Hungarian President Laszlo Solyom told reporters in Berlin on Wednesday. Giving an informal briefing in the German Council on Foreign Relations (DGAP),... [read complete entry]
September 09, 2009, 10:56 CET
Hungarian officials deny meeting planned with Slovak President
Until Slovakia gives a response to a request for an explanation of its treatment of President Laszlo Solyom, it would be untimely to enter into discussions about a meeting between the presidents of the two countries, the head of the... [read complete entry]
September 09, 2009, 09:40 CET
EU justice commissioner sides with Hungary over Slovak language law
The EU's justice commissioner is sympathetic to Hungary's view of the Slovak language law and shares Hungary's opinion of it in a number of respects, Foreign Minister Peter Balazs told Hungarian journalists after talks with Jacques Barrot. "I asked him,... [read complete entry]
September 03, 2009, 09:48 CET
Slovak Foreign Minister hints at fraught meeting
The meeting between Slovak prime minister Robert Fico and his Hungarian counterpart Gordon Bajnai "will not be simple, because both parties want to say many things to the other,” Slovak Foreign Minister Miroslav Lajcák said in a statement after a... [read complete entry]
September 02, 2009, 09:58 CET
Thousands protest in Dunaszerda
Participants from Slovakia, Hungary and Romania took part in a three-hour rally at Dunajska Streda, Slovakia on Tuesday to protest the amended Slovak state language act. Organisers put demonstrator numbers at 12,000, and police at 6,500. “It is a shame... [read complete entry]
September 02, 2009, 09:13 CET
Orbán pledges to take Hungary off "respirator of foreign loans and aid”
Fidesz spokesman Péter Szíjjártó quoted party chairman Viktor Orbán as having told President László Sólyom that the right wing can put Hungary back on its feet, after a change of government “instead of being kept on a respirator of foreign... [read complete entry]
September 01, 2009, 10:01 CET
Sólyom meets Orbán to discuss Slovakia, budget
President Laszlo Solyom on Tuesday met Viktor Orban, head of the main opposition Fidesz party, the President's Office told MTI in a statement. The talks focussed on Solyom's failed visit to Slovakia on August 21, as well as topical issues... [read complete entry]
August 31, 2009, 10:05 CET
Ethnic Hungarian leaders call for revision of Slovak language law
Participants in an ecumenical meeting in the cathedral of Szeged, S Hungary, on Sunday called upon "Slovakia's post-communist government to reconsider and withdraw its State Language Act", which is to come into force on September 1. In a joint statement,... [read complete entry]
August 26, 2009, 10:32 CET
Hungarian PM discusses Slovak language law with EP President
Hungarian Prime Minister Gordon Bajnai on Tuesday made a phone call to European Parliament President Jerzy Buzek to express thanks for his approach to Slovakia's controversial State Language Act, the PM's spokesperson told MTI on Tuesday. Upon his inauguration in... [read complete entry]
August 25, 2009, 11:23 CET
Socialist party challenges EC position on Sólyom row
The spokesman of the European Commission has not interpreted correctly last week's diplomatic incident between Hungary and Slovakia, the parliamentary group leader of the ruling Socialist party said on Tuesday. Speaking in public TV's morning programme "Napkelte" Attila Mesterhazy responded... [read complete entry]
August 25, 2009, 09:33 CET
EU refuses to get involved in Slovak-Hungarian row
The European Commission considers Friday’s Hungarian-Slovak diplomatic incident a bilateral matter, spokesman Michael Mann told a Monday press briefing. The Commission is in no way affected in this matter, he said. Asked whether there is an EU law to govern... [read complete entry]
August 24, 2009, 11:29 CET
Slovak minority MEP calls for EU to uphold minority rights
The Slovak government's steps to hinder the entry of Hungary's president into Slovakia were without any legal basis and were "scandalous", Slovak MEP Edit Bauer told journalists on Saturday. Solyom was scheduled to attend the ceremony of unveiling a statue... [read complete entry]
August 24, 2009, 11:21 CET
Hungarian politicians less popular than ever
Hungary's politicians scored an average 29 points out of 100 in a recent Szonda Ipsos popularity poll, the daily Nepszabadsag said on Monday. Only President Laszlo Solyom and Viktor Orban, leader of the main opposition Fidesz party, were close to... [read complete entry]
August 24, 2009, 10:33 CET
Sólyom denounces "inexcusable" step by Slovak authorities
Hungarian President Laszlo Solyom called the Slovak authorities' decision to deny him entry to Slovakia to attend the unveiling ceremony of Saint Stephen's statue in Komarno on Friday as "an unprecedented step, inexplicable and inexcusable in relations between two allied... [read complete entry]
August 24, 2009, 08:30 CET
Uproar as Sólyom denied entry to Slovakia
A crowd of some 2-3,000 people that gathered for the unveiling ceremony of a statue of Hungarian King Stephen I in Komarno, Slovakia, booed and whistled when they learnt that Hungarian President Laszlo Solyom would not attend the ceremony because... [read complete entry]
August 13, 2009, 09:16 CET
President meets young survivor of Roma murder in hospital
The Kisléta girl whose mother was murdered nine days ago is no longer in a critical condition, President László Sólyom told reporters after he and ethnic minority rights ombudsman Ernő Kállai visited her at Jósa András hospital in Nyíregyháza yesterday.... [read complete entry]
August 12, 2009, 09:28 CET
Sólyom condemns planned neo-Nazi demonstration
President László Sólyom is shocked by reports that fascist groups from Hungary and elsewhere plan to honour the anniversary of the death of convicted Nazi war criminal Rudolf Hess, his office told MTI on Tuesday. Sólyom said it is his... [read complete entry]
August 11, 2009, 10:29 CET
President declares solidarity with Hungary's Roma minority
Ensuring the safety of the Roma community is a moral obligation for the nation, President Laszlo Solyom told reporters on Monday, following talks with Prime Minister Gordon Bajnai concerning the investigation into a series of anti-Roma attacks. Solyom added that... [read complete entry]
July 13, 2009, 10:52 CET
President reportedly turns down requests for meeting with gay rights groups
President László Sólyom has refused a weekend request for a meeting from gay organisations, citing a busy schedule. In seeking a meeting, the groups pointed out that radical nationalist organisations such as Jobbik, the Magyar Gárda, the 64 Counties Youth... [read complete entry]
July 01, 2009, 10:41 CET
Fidesz mayor of Debrecen tops political popularity survey; Orbán gains
Politicians of the main opposition Fidesz party gained in popularity and strengthened their lead over their Socialist rivals in June, pollster Szazadveg-Forsense told MTI on Tuesday. The popularity list is topped by Lajos Kosa, deputy leader of Fidesz and mayor... [read complete entry]
June 25, 2009, 09:53 CET
Former Supreme Court chief denies plotting against successor
Former Supreme Court president Zoltán Lomnici denied a report on website Index that he had tried to persuade politicians to vote against chief justice András Baka. In response to a remark made by President László Sólyom on Monday that "the... [read complete entry]
June 23, 2009, 09:28 CET
MPs elect Supreme Court chief justice after year-long drama
Parliament elected András Baka as Supreme Court chief justice with 309 affirmative votes and 36 dissensions on Monday afternoon. The House was voting on the former Hungarian judicial representative at the Strasbourg-based European Court of Human Rights for the third... [read complete entry]
June 17, 2009, 10:53 CET
Solyom to nominate Baka for Supreme Court post for third time after vote fiasco
The parliamentary group of the minority ruling Socialist party on Tuesday asked President Laszlo to re-nominate Andras Baka as Chief Justice after a failed parliamentary vote earlier. Andras Baka failed to secure a majority of votes in Parliament on Monday... [read complete entry]
June 17, 2009, 09:27 CET
Public split over meddling state president, Fidesz supporter
President László Sólyom is viewed as divisive by 47% of the electorate, while 31% believe that he is a unifying force, a poll commissioned by Progresszív Institute and conducted by Publicus Institute found. Nearly 40% of Fidesz voters believe Sólyom’s... [read complete entry]
June 11, 2009, 08:49 CET
Parliament to vote again on nominee for Supreme Court chief
Parliament is scheduled to vote on the next head of Hungary's Supreme Court next Monday, House Speaker Katalin Szili said on Wednesday. The candidate, Andras Baka, a former member of the Strasbourg-based European Court of Human Rights, was nominated by... [read complete entry]
June 10, 2009, 09:31 CET
President tells politicians to leave justice system out of squabbles
Hungary's justice administration should be left out of ongoing political squabbles, President Laszlo Solyom said on Tuesday. Accusations by politicians and local councillors to the effect that the prosecutor's office is politically biased not only undermine public trust in justice... [read complete entry]
May 29, 2009, 11:36 CET
Sólyom again makes nomination for Supreme Court chief
President Laszlo Solyom on Thursday nominated Andras Baka to head Hungary's Supreme Court, the president's office told MTI. Baka, who is a former member of the Strasbourg-based European Court of Human Rights, was nominated by Solyom earlier, but parliament rejected... [read complete entry]
May 27, 2009, 09:37 CET
President meets ethnic Hungarian MEPs from Slovakia, Romania
President Laszlo Solyom on Tuesday met in his office ethnic Hungarian MEPs Edit Bauer from Slovakia and Laszlo Tokes from Romania, the President's Office said. Bauer leads the European Parliamentary election list of the Party of the Hungarian Coalition (MKP)... [read complete entry]
May 13, 2009, 09:34 CET
Orbán tops popularity poll, Bajnai trails badly
Viktor Orban, the leader of conservative opposition Fidesz, was Hungary's most popular politician in May, according to a Szonda Ipsos poll published in Tuesday's Nepszabadsag. Gordon Bajnai, the new prime minister heading the Socialist government, was among the least liked... [read complete entry]
April 17, 2009, 09:49 CET
Ukrainian President Yushchenko to visit Hungary on April 28
Ukraine's President Viktor Yushchenko is scheduled to pay a visit to Hungary on April 28, at the invitation of his Hungarian counterpart Laszlo Solyom, the President's Office told MTI on Thursday.... [read complete entry]
April 16, 2009, 09:45 CET
President says Bajnai's platform sound but still supports early elections
President László Sólyom basically agrees with the plans outlined by Gordon Bajnai, but reiterated his support for early elections after meeting with the new Prime Minister on Wednesday morning.... [read complete entry]
April 10, 2009, 10:45 CET
Popularity of Hungary's politicians continues to drift down
The popularity of almost all Hungarian politicians declined in March compared with the previous month, a poll published in Friday's Nepszabadsag daily said.... [read complete entry]
April 06, 2009, 10:25 CET
Thousands protest in Budapest in favor of early elections
A crowd estimated at 25,000-60,000 converged on Heroes Square Sunday afternoon to demand early elections. The vast square was filled to overflowing, with people standing on the steps of the Fine Arts and Műcsarnok galleries, and a crowd extending along... [read complete entry]
March 31, 2009, 10:22 CET
PM-nominee Bajnai warns that tough times lie ahead for Hungarians
Gordon Bajnai yesterday accepted a nomination for the post of prime minister on condition that the Socialist and the Free Democrat MPs endorse the main points of his crisis-management plan. Bajnai announced his intention to nominate "non-party politicians" to run... [read complete entry]
March 27, 2009, 09:37 CET
Hungary to hold European Parliamentary elections on June 7
Hungary's President Laszlo Solyom announced on Thursday that Hungary will hold the European parliamentary elections on June 7.... [read complete entry]
March 26, 2009, 08:43 CET
Hungarian president backs early elections, draws criticism
Only early elections can give Hungary a chance to have a stable government with broad authorisation, President Laszlo Solyom said in an interview with public television on Wednesday.... [read complete entry]
March 26, 2009, 08:36 CET
Crisis management gov't would require support of all parties, Surányi says
A crisis management government will only be successful in Hungary if it enjoys clear support from all parliamentary parties, Gyorgy Suranyi -- a strong favourite to replace Ferenc Gyurcsany as prime minister -- told public radio on Wednesday.... [read complete entry]
March 26, 2009, 07:54 CET
Fodor denies Liberals out to blackmail MSZP
"The Free Democrats are not in a position, nor is it their intention, to blackmail the Socialist Party," chairman of the liberal party Gábor Fodor told ATV station Wednesday evening.... [read complete entry]
March 24, 2009, 09:18 CET
Hungarian president meets Polish counterpart
Hungarian President Laszlo Solyom on Monday discussed bilateral and crisis-related issues in Warsaw with his Polish counterpart Lech Kaczynski.... [read complete entry]
March 21, 2009, 03:12 CET
Analysts see marginalizing president aim of PM's no-confidence vote bid
The constructive vote of no confidence Hungarian Prime Minister Ferenc Gyurcsany initiated against himself offers the best chance for excluding President Laszlo Solyom from the process and preventing the dissolution of parliament, think tank Political Capital said on Saturday.... [read complete entry]
March 20, 2009, 10:46 CET
Standoff leaves Hungary's Supreme Court without leadership
Hungary's Supreme Court will be left without its top leadership after President Laszlo Solyom's refusal to appoint a new deputy chief justice, Nepszabadsag daily said on Friday.... [read complete entry]
March 19, 2009, 08:04 CET
War of words continues between Hungarian and Romanian presidents
Hungarian President Laszlo Solyom on Wednesday rejected a charge by his Romanian counterpart Traian Basescu that he had not respected Romania's constitution.... [read complete entry]
March 18, 2009, 08:39 CET
Foreign ministry slams Romania over Hungarian president's visit
Romania's response to the Hungarian president's visit to attend commemorations of the 1848/49 revolution by ethnic Hungarians in Romania did not help advance mutually flourishing relations, the Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Tuesday.... [read complete entry]
March 17, 2009, 08:49 CET
Fidesz calls Romanian move against Sólyom "outrageous provocation"
The main opposition Fidesz party called an "outrageous provocation" Romania's refusal of a landing permit for the Hungarian President's plane, MP Zsolt Nemeth told reporters on Monday.... [read complete entry]
March 16, 2009, 09:26 CET
Romania denies landing permit for Hungarian president's plane
President László Sólyom and his entourage drove from Budapest to the Székely region of Transylvania on Sunday after Romanian authorities failed to issue a permit for his plane to land at Tirgu Mures on Sunday.... [read complete entry]
March 11, 2009, 08:00 CET
All Hungarian politicians have negative ratings in new poll
Szonda Ipsos's latest political beauty contest awards top prizes to Hungary's president, its house speaker, the main opposition leader and the head of a small conservative opposition party whose parliamentary group has just disintegrated, Nepszabadsag daily said on Tuesday.... [read complete entry]
March 10, 2009, 08:58 CET
Parliament again rejects President's nominee for Supreme Court chief
Hungary's Parliament on Monday rejected for the second time President Laszlo Solyom's nominee for the Supreme Court president - Maria Orban Havasi.... [read complete entry]
March 02, 2009, 07:38 CET
President says "political correctness" holding Hungarian Roma back
Hungary's Roma are victim to a politically correct culture, a road which is paved with good intentions but leads nowhere; the Roma issue is something which must be spoken about openly and honestly, President Laszlo Solyom said in an interview... [read complete entry]