Latest news with #Orban
Bloomberg
13 hours ago
- General
- Bloomberg
Hungary's Top Court Strikes Down Police Ban on LGBTQ Gathering
Hungary's top court struck down a police ban of a pro-LGBTQ gathering in Budapest, in a test of Prime Minister Viktor Orban's escalating culture war before elections next year. Police failed to adequately justify why a constitutional amendment approved in April — which Orban had said would create legal grounds for banning LGBTQ-themed events in public — applied to one planned for Sunday, the court, known as the Kuria, wrote in a ruling. It was the first time authorities had tried to use the legislation for this purpose.
Indian Express
2 days ago
- Politics
- Indian Express
What the European right can learn from India
Earlier this week, I was in Budapest to address the annual conference of the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC), a prestigious US-based group. It is influential in US politics and has close links with President Donald Trump and other Republican leaders. In Europe, CPAC also has an important role in creating a unified voice for conservative parties and leaders. This year's conference attracted major right-wing leaders from various countries in Europe and Latin America. Viktor Orban, the host country's Prime Minister, was there along with the Prime Minister of Georgia, several former prime ministers — including from the UK and the Czech Republic — several serving ministers, Members of the European Parliament (MEPs), MPs and commentators. President Trump delivered a brief video message. As one of the speakers, an Arab-origin Congressman from Arizona, US, commented, the CPAC has become the Mecca of European conservatism. Through two days and dozens of speakers, the agenda of the conference revolved round the challenges faced by the European right from the opportunistic rainbow alliances that comprise traditionally centrist parties and liberal and left parties, whose sole aim is to prevent the rise of conservative politics on the continent. The last decade witnessed the unprecedented rise of right-wing parties in several European nations, including Italy, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Sweden, Austria, Slovakia and the Czech Republic. Hungary has been under the rule of Orban's right-wing Fidesz party for the past 15 years. In 2024, many political observers had predicted a right-wing-dominated European Parliament. However, the election results on June 6, 2024, did not provide that opportunity to the right-wing parties. They registered significant gains, but failed to emerge as the dominant force. They emerged as a strong voice and formed a pressure group called Patriots for Europe (PfE), which today boasts a membership of close to 100 MEPs. The rise of the right seems to have rattled the liberals who control the EU. Leaders like Orban have been subjected to severe criticism and his government was denied legitimate financial support from the EU on the flimsy grounds of citizens' rights and democratic downslide. When Orban took a firm stand against immigration, tightening borders and asylum laws, the EU leadership took the unusual measure of slapping a penalty of 1 million euros per day on his government. If the enthusiasm at the Budapest conference is any indication, such undemocratic and coercive measures by the EU, dominated by liberal groups, seemed to have had the opposite effect. A renewed vigour and determination to take on challenges like illegal immigration, radical Islam, globalism and woke forces was palpable through the conference, which had the 'Age of Patriots' as its main theme. Speaker after speaker reiterated their determination to fight back against what many described as 'liberal fascism'. Incidentally, I was the only non-Western speaker at the conference — this highlights the fact that while Western liberals have reached out systematically to all corners of the world, Western conservatives have limited their activism to Europe and the Americas. I told the conference that while our politics may not be the same, we, too, share some of the conservative values like God, religion, family, sovereignty and patriotism. Like the Western conservatives, the Indian right, too, sees illegal immigration as a threat to national sovereignty and woke liberalism as a danger to tradition and family values. Unfortunately, in India, the initial decades after Independence witnessed the dominance of Western liberal political ideas like socialism and globalism. A Nehruvian consensus was created, championing these ideas through not only state institutions but also the media and academia. Religiosity, cultural values, and national identity faced serious threats. Over several decades, a relentless battle was waged at the grassroots level to unshackle the country from left-liberal influence and build a strong cultural nationalist politics. It culminated in the election of the Narendra Modi government in 2014. In the last decade, the cultural nationalist project in India achieved significant successes. The Ram Temple in Ayodhya symbolises the defeat of pseudo-secular politics in the country, while the demise of Article 370 signified the death of liberal appeasement of separatism and radicalism. While Modi's market-friendly policies have catapulted India in just 10 years from the 11th biggest economy to the cusp of being the fourth biggest economy in the world, his zero tolerance for terror has resulted in the decimation of radical Islamist forces. The government has also clamped down on illegal immigrants. Indian media and academia, too, have turned nationalist and patriotic — substantially but not in full measure — pushing left-liberals to the fringe. In the wake of the recent terror attacks in Kashmir, Modi successfully mobilised the support of some liberals, who had been apologists for radical Islamists, in the war on terror. Understanding the nuances of India's experience in the revival of cultural nationalist politics can help the Western conservative movement in its struggle against the left liberal onslaught. The Indian right may not fully subscribe to the agenda of their counterparts in the West. European conservatives use God and religion in the singular, while Indian nationalists use them in the plural. Indian nationalists believe in values like pluralism, statism and environmental activism, which may sound very much like the liberal agenda to the right in the West. Yet, there is enough ground for engagement and dialogue. If the Western conservatives secure support from a big country like India, their power is bound to multiply manifold. Having India on their side is akin to having two Europes, four USAs or 140 Hungarys with them. The writer, president, India Foundation, is with the BJP
Washington Post
2 days ago
- General
- Washington Post
How voting for judges erodes democracy
Throughout history, authoritarian rulers have done all they can to bring judiciaries to heel. In Latin America, the governments of El Salvador, Bolivia and Nicaragua have moved to take over the courts. In Turkey, Recep Tayyip Erdogan has purged thousands of judges and prosecutors. Rodrigo Duterte of the Philippines removed his country's chief justice and packed the Supreme Court with his allies. President Emmerson Mnangagwa of Zimbabwe gave himself unchecked authority to appoint the most senior judges in the country. In Hungary, Viktor Orban took control over judicial appointments.
Straits Times
3 days ago
- Politics
- Straits Times
Human rights groups challenge Hungary's anti-Pride law in court
BUDAPEST - Five human rights groups including Amnesty International challenged in court Hungary's legislation that created a legal basis for police to ban Pride marches by the LGBTQ community, the groups said in a statement on Friday. Hungary's parliament, where the ruling Fidesz party has a big majority, passed legislation in March that creates a legal basis to ban LGBTQ marches and lets police use facial recognition cameras to identify people who attend. It also approved constitutional changes in April stipulating that Hungary recognises only two sexes, male and female. Activists say the measures amount to a de-facto ban on Pride marches. Prime Minister Viktor Orban - whose ruling party has a Christian conservative agenda - has said organisers "should not even bother" organising Pride in Budapest this year. Orban, who has been in power since 2010, faces elections in 2026 where a new opposition party is mounting a serious challenge to his rule. Five groups including Amnesty and leading LGBTQ rights groups Hatter Tarsasag and the group that organises Pride, said in their statement that the march planned for June 28 will go ahead in Budapest irrespective of the court ruling, which is expected next week. "Organisers are preparing for the biggest Pride march Hungary has ever had," their statement said. Government spokesman Zoltan Kovacs did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment. The groups launched the legal challenge on Thursday after police banned a smaller march planned for June 1. They said when police banned the event, it cited the new legislation, which says assemblies that are considered harmful to children cannot be held, and that protecting children would supersede the right to assemble. "Police did not provide evidence on why the (June 1) march or the Pride march that is considered similar could amount to a violation of children's rights," the statement said. On Tuesday, seventeen European Union countries accused Hungary of contravening fundamental EU values by passing laws that target LGBTQ+ people, as tensions deepen between Budapest and a majority of member states. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Yahoo
3 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
Human rights groups challenge Hungary's anti-Pride law in court
BUDAPEST (Reuters) -Five human rights groups including Amnesty International challenged in court Hungary's legislation that created a legal basis for police to ban Pride marches by the LGBTQ community, the groups said in a statement on Friday. Hungary's parliament, where the ruling Fidesz party has a big majority, passed legislation in March that creates a legal basis to ban LGBTQ marches and lets police use facial recognition cameras to identify people who attend. It also approved constitutional changes in April stipulating that Hungary recognises only two sexes, male and female. Activists say the measures amount to a de-facto ban on Pride marches. Prime Minister Viktor Orban - whose ruling party has a Christian conservative agenda - has said organisers "should not even bother" organising Pride in Budapest this year. Orban, who has been in power since 2010, faces elections in 2026 where a new opposition party is mounting a serious challenge to his rule. Five groups including Amnesty and leading LGBTQ rights groups Hatter Tarsasag and the group that organises Pride, said in their statement that the march planned for June 28 will go ahead in Budapest irrespective of the court ruling, which is expected next week. "Organisers are preparing for the biggest Pride march Hungary has ever had," their statement said. Government spokesman Zoltan Kovacs did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment. The groups launched the legal challenge on Thursday after police banned a smaller march planned for June 1. They said when police banned the event, it cited the new legislation, which says assemblies that are considered harmful to children cannot be held, and that protecting children would supersede the right to assemble. "Police did not provide evidence on why the (June 1) march or the Pride march that is considered similar could amount to a violation of children's rights," the statement said. On Tuesday, seventeen European Union countries accused Hungary of contravening fundamental EU values by passing laws that target LGBTQ+ people, as tensions deepen between Budapest and a majority of member states.
