Budapest Beacon

Graphisoft founder Gábor Bojár joins us in the studio to discuss Hungary's upcoming general election, how Fidesz came to power, and Lajos Bokros' decision to go at the elections alone.

(photo: Ivola Bazánth, 168 óra)

Márta Pardavi speaks to us about the government's "Starve and Strangle Bill." We discuss what NGOs like the Hungarian Helsinki Committee are going through and how the EU has responded to the crisis of negative trends in Hungary. Pardavi tells us the HHC would provide legal aid to the prime minister's son-in-law if...

Anton Shekhovtsov joins Ben Novak in the studio to discuss his new book, Russia and the Western Far-Right: Tango Noir.

- How long has Russia been in contact with the western far-right?

- Why is this good for Russia?

- What can the west expect in the future?

- How can the west protect itself from becoming Putinized?

Péter Krekó of Political Capital joins Ben Novak in the studio to discuss five important topics:

- Misleading polls in Hungary,

- George Soros on Orbán having bought up MSZP,

- Political anti-Semitism in Hungary,

- Russian relations with Hungary — united in the fight against Ukraine, and

- Krekó's new book, "The Hungarian Far Right: Social Demand, Political Supply, and International Context"

MoMA chairman Lajos Bokros swings by the studio to discuss the break-up between his party and Ferenc Gyurcsány's Democratic Coalition and other news.

Dean Starkman is a fellow at Center for Media, Data and Society and a visiting lecturer at the School of Public Policy at Central European University, Budapest. He and Ben Novak discuss the challenges facing public interest journalism, the transformation of journalism as whole, and where things are going from here.

Independent MP Zoltán Kész broke Fidesz's two-thirds supermajority in a by-election in 2015. He says the only way to defeat Fidesz in the 2018 national elections is with the "Highlander Plan." (The plan does not involve separating anyone's head from their body.)

Ben Novak speaks to Benedek Jávor MEP about efforts in the European Parliament to shine light on the Azerbaijani laundromat, a slush fund reportedly used to buy influence from European politicians and journalists.

Momentum executive board member Anna Orosz joins Justin Spike and Ben Novak in the studio to discuss her party's push for a referendum on the NGO-stigmatizing bill adopted by Fidesz in June.

Ben Novak is joined in the studio by Momentum politicians Márton Benedek and Daniel Berg to discuss the upcoming election, why they chose to run in their respective electoral districts, and whether it's worth it to coordinate the fielding of candidates with other opposition parties.