The Budapest Times is unrivalled among English-language print publications in the capital for its coverage of the week’s most important national stories, whether they be economic, political, cultural, sporting or among the hundreds of other happenings that go on daily in a major European city. Here, in one concise package, we present some of the important and fascinating news developments of the past seven days.
It’s not quite curtains for contested Horthy painting
Curtains can be politically expedient, as anyone who has visited the Royal Gallery in the Palace of Westminster knows: murals depicting the defeat of Napoleon are covered up whenever French dignitaries visit. Curtains are at the centre of the latest saga involving a painting depicting Miklós Horthy, Hungary’s interwar regent, in the city assembly in Kecskemét, painted in 1944 to memorialise the regent’s visit in 1920. It was painted over in 1945 but restored under the hall’s renovation in 2013. The mural is normally concealed, city notary Mária Határ said. But when groups visit the assembly the curtains are drawn open. József Király, a local opposition Socialist lawmaker, is demanding that paint instead of curtains should cover up the controversial leader’s image. Gábor Zombor, the city’s outgoing mayor (Fidesz), told MTI state news agency that the mural is part of the hall’s history and should stay put, but curtained off.
Hungarians live longer but in worse shape
Life expectancy at birth in Hungary has increased by 2.7 years during the past decade, similarly to the rest of the European Union, according to the Central Statistical Office (KSH). But both children and adults are in worse physical condition and the health-care system is more and more overburdened. KSH says Hungarians born in 2012 could expect to live 75 years on average – men 71, women 79 – a year longer than in Lithuania and Latvia but seven years shorter than the Spanish, the longest-lived people in the European Union. Hungary’s health-care spending is half of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development average, putting it 29th in a list of 34 countries.
Plaque honours Chain Bridge designer
A memorial plaque for Széchenyi Lánchíd (Chain Bridge) designer William Tierney Clark (pictured) has been unveiled at the northern candelabra of the Pest bridgehead. Tierney Clark is internationally revered for his design of the Chain Bridge, for which Marlow Bridge – a suspension bridge across the Thames in Marlow, Buckinghamshire, UK – was a nearly identical but smaller prototype. The first bridge linking Buda and Pest, Széchenyi Lánchíd was designed in 1839, with construction supervised locally by Scotsman Adam Clark (no relation).
Biometric sports ID plan Orwellian: Jobbik
A government proposal to require biometric ID for entry to high-security sports events is “Orwellian”, radical nationalist party Jobbik says. The idea of restricting access to certain events to carriers of club cards containing biometric information would make it impossible to turn up to matches and would “kill off soccer”, MP György Szilágyi said. The proposal discussed in Parliament raises serious constitutional, professional and moral concerns, and the current law already contains sufficient measures for preventing spectator violence, he said. Allowing clubs and security companies to handle sensitive personal data would raise further concerns. Róbert Simon, the sponsor of the proposal for ruling Fidesz, said the bill would not allow abuse of biometric data, only to check it against club card numbers. The aim is to ensure a civilised and family-friendly environment for fans, he said. Deputy Prime Minister Zsolt Semjén said the government saw the proposal as a way to protect well-intentioned fans from insults. László Varga, of the opposition Socialists, said the proposed restriction was needless because no incidents had occurred in stadiums since the new sports act was enacted in 2009. András Schiffer, a co-chair of opposition LMP, said it would deter fans and it raised personal data protection concerns.
Mayflies stage their annual spectacular
The “blooming of the Tisza” began and quickly ended as usual this month when thousands of long-tailed mayflies hatched and began the mating ritual of their short life. Also known as the Tisza mayfly – now extinct in many European countries but found in Serbia and Hungary on the Tisza River – the adults of this mayfly variant never leave the water, which is made possible by the slow-moving river and absence of surface-feeding fish. After hatching the adults only have a few hours to mate before they die. Consequently groups of males will frantically try to mate with a female. Females will fly upstream one to three kilometres before laying their eggs on the river. The larvae develop in the mud for as long as three years before hatching. The Tisza mayfly is highly protected. They have a nominal value of HUF 10,000 apiece and even disturbing their ritual, let alone using them as fishing bait, is a felony.
Orbán heading to Rio for World Cup climax
Prime Minister Viktor Orbán will attend the World Cup soccer final in Brazil on 13 July and possibly the semi-finals on 8 and 9 July, time permitting. His spokesman said Orbán will bear all the costs. He has attended every World Cup final since 1988 as a guest of organising body FIFA.
Ad tax fears taken to Brussels
The opposition E-PM alliance has told the European Commission that Hungary’s new ad tax contravenes European Union laws which ban taxes targeting or discriminating against an individual or group. Media companies, publishers, outdoor ad firms and publishers of online ads will be taxed on ad revenues. The law sponsored by an MP of the ruling Fidesz party was approved in a fast-track procedure in Parliament this month by 144-30 votes. It introduces a graduated tax on consolidated annual ad revenue starting at 1% between HUF 500 million-5 billion, with tax bands up to HUF 20 billion. Anything above that is taxed at 40%. This year’s tax base can be reduced by 50% of losses deferred from earlier years in corporate tax or personal income tax under an amendment to the original bill. The amendment was criticised by opposition parties, who said it favoured pro-government commercial broadcaster TV2. The law will take effect 31 days after its publication, and companies will pay the tax in 2014. The tax has raised strong protest among opposition parties, media outlets and professional organisations that worry it will curb press freedom. RTL Klub fires back, page 11
Golden Team goalkeeper Grosics dies
“Golden team” goalkeeper Gyula Grosics died last Friday aged 88. Over nearly two decades Grosics played in 390 first-division matches to win three championship titles and become a stalwart of the national team that was unbeaten for 32 consecutive games between 1950 and 1954.
