Breaking NewsHungary’s national airline ceases operationsAs of Friday morning no Malév flights are taking off from the Budapest Liszt Ferenc Airport. Without prior warning, the airline grounded its aircraft on 3 February after 66 years of operations. Hundreds of passengers only learned that Malév was no longer flying when they reached the airport. The Budapest Times was informed of the development by stranded readers. more
NewsWhiskey Robber silent as he walks freeAttila Ambrus, alias the Whiskey Robber, was released from prison before dawn on Tuesday after serving 12 years of a 17-year sentence for armed robbery. Ambrus achieved celebrity status in the 1990s for a six-year spree of audacious bank robberies, and has been the subject of biographies, a picaresque caper novel and even a cabaret show. more
PoliticsVox populiGovernment asks its subjects for advice on running thingsThe government has set up a website on which the hoi polloi can voice their thoughts on the way the country is being run. The introduction is given by Deputy Prime Minister Tibor Navracsics and Dr Levente András Gál, whose job title – Government Commissioner Responsible for the Harmonisation of the Implementation of the Good State Development Concept – is worthy of a pithy comment or two on its own. The initiative is modelled on the UK’s public sector Spending Challenge in 2010, in which citizens were asked to say how they thought public funds should be allocated. more
EconomyNational interest persuades Orbán to sign EU treaty A major step towards closer fiscal and economic integrationThe European summit on Monday that ratified the EU's new treaty on fiscal discipline closed without a unanimous vote after the Czech Republic joined the UK in opposing the treaty. Poland and Hungary, two former possible opponents, voted to join the pact. more
CultureBad night out guaranteedBad Boys – Bryn Terfel Aria on Saturday The rock-hewn physique looming out of the posters, coupled with a title that rings of evildoing, might make one think twice before heading to the Palace of Arts this Saturday for Bryn Terfel’s Bad Boys Aria Evening. That would be unfortunate, because the 46-year-old bass-baritone is among Wales’ most famous exports in the musical domain. more
Eating OutHigh splendour, commensurate costReview: New York Café, District VII New York Café, on the stretch of Erzsébet körút closest to Blaha Lujza tér, takes its name from the New York Insurance Company in whose building the Café once occupied the ground floor. It has gone down in Budapest lore as the haunt of artists and writers, to whom staff doled out platters of cold cuts and cheese whose pricing reflected the recipients’ impecunious state. more
EssayPawn on the chessboardHungary suffers under the decline of its geopolitical importanceIn previous decades Hungary was celebrated as the “happiest barracks in the Eastern Bloc” and as the model pupil of the free market economy. Today the country is under constant fire in the press and political arena alike. This is related not only to the economic difficulties and Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s “shift to the right” but also to the decreased geopolitical significance of the country. more
Corporate Finance / M&A CornerMergers as an alternative to acquisitionsBusinessmen frequently talk of Mergers & Acquisitions (M&A), but the emphasis is usually on acquisitions, with relatively little thought given to mergers. Yet in today’s financial markets, it may make even more sense to consider mergers. more
Letters to the EditorHungary isn’t blameless but EU is biasedDear Editor,It is amazing how many international observers seem to have joined a race these days to show they are the boldest of all in attacking a Hungarian government that is pushed into the corner for reasons largely out of its control. Setting out to write a piece in defence of Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s government, I must expect to imminently be attacked too. Well, so be it. more
Faith MattersThe little universe around the cornerWhat is really real?The wonder and beauty of Budapest is so beguiling. Even though I have only been here for just under half a year, I keep thinking that I will come to a point where I'm bored with the architecture or the city vistas or the cuisine or all the different people I meet from all over the world. But the truth is, every day I have to pinch myself to remind myself that I'm not in some wonderful dream, but that I am really here and that this city is just an amazing place. more
EducationHigher education lags despite clear plussesA smaller proportion of Hungarian students enters higher education than is the average in advanced economies. Only 25 per cent of the 25-34 age group enters uni-versity-level programmes, below the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) average of 37 per cent and European Union of 34 per cent. This compares with 63 per cent for the same group in Korea, 56 per cent in Canada and Japan, and close to half of the age group in Ireland, Australia or Denmark. more
