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    Pest’s secret garden

    Eötvös Loránd University’s botanical garden – an oasis of peace and quiet in the rough and tumble of District VIII – provides a perfect place to spend an hour or two enjoying a collection of plants from around the world. At present the garden is home to some 7,000 species of flora including 800 varieties of cactus. The collection ranges from more mundane plants like everyday herbs found in any supermarket to exotic and rare tropical plants. The largest plant in the collection is the Roystonea (Royal Palm) – the top of which had to be cut off to prevent it from growing through the roof of the Palm House.

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    Analysts watching, waiting & divided

    MNB Monetary Council proving itself with steady approachIt is two weeks since the central bank rate decision on 22 May and the National Bank of Hungary (MNB) inflation report published on the same day, yet the development of monetary policy and related expectations are still the main driving factors on the forint and bond markets. This should give no cause for surprise. Firstly, market surveys carried out prior to the decision reflect the division of opinion among analysts, and, secondly, the latest inflation forecast of the MNB caused a negative assessment.

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    Gov’t ‘playing with fire’

    Gov’t ‘playing with fire’The freshly-appointed Justice and Law Enforcement Minister Albert Takács last Friday evening faced a literal baptism of fire as he received a petition from several thousand torch-carrying demonstrators. The Armed Services and Civil Defence Workers’ Interest Association, FRDÉSZ, called the torch-lit demonstration to complain about working conditions, including pay, overtime and pensions. People from the fire brigade, police, army, prison guard, customs and border guard as well as the disaster management agency stood in regimented ranks and waved torches outside Parliament while union leaders warned that the government was “playing with fire” by ignoring their demands.

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    Promised bike paths excluded

    The bike protests of civil organisation Critical Mass may have met with increasing approval among politicians, yet they appear to have little actual influence on politics. “We have received the promise that the construction of cycle paths will be considered from now in all road renovation projects. That’s true on paper, but in reality there is little sign of that happening,” complained János László from the Hungarian Cycling Club (MKK) last week.

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    Mongols: destructive, but culturally important

    Genghis Khan travelling exhibition comes to Hungarian National MuseumSeven hundred and sixty years ago the Mongols ravaged Asia and half of Europe, thereby creating one of the great empires in history. Genghis Khan, the “scourge of humanity” was both notorious for his cruelty and famed for his diplomatic skill. The travelling exhibition, which opened in Budapest last Wednesday, aims to present the good side of the leader.

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    Gov’t quiet over allegations that one of its own avoided paying VAT

    Hunt on for tax-dodging politicianFollowing the publication of an editorial in the May edition of Manager Magazin that contained allegations of financial impropriety by an unnamed government politician, the deputy leader of the conservative Hungarian Democratic Forum (MDF) has called for the Prime Minister to deal with the case and name the politician in question.

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    Records fall

    Acres of flesh, gallons of sweat and buckets of sunscreen were the order of the day last Tuesday as Hungary sweltered in a heat wave that saw both the national and Budapest records broken.

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    Top cops dropped

    PM nominates new Justice Minister in wake of police scandalsThe PM last Thursday nominated Albert Takács, former deputy ombudsman for Citizens’ Rights, as Minister for Justice and Law Enforcement following his predecessor stepping down after a string of scandals. József Petrétei resigned the previous Sunday after a week in which an alleged rape by on-duty officers, a cop stealing cash from a crime scene and allegations of motorway police taking kickbacks made headlines. National Police Chief László Bene and Budapest Police Chief Péter Gergényi both quit at the same time, although PM Ferenc Gyurcsány effectively sacked them by calling for their resignations. As he asked the men to step down, the PM said he could defend the police from politically motivated accusations relating to last year’s anti-government riots, but that he “could not defend them from themselves”. Petrétei came under no public pressure to resign.

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    Opposition leader stays the course with populist politics

    Viktor? Victorious. The party? Faithful.The main message of Viktor Orbán’s congress speech was that Fidesz has a new programme, yet the words used by the re-elected party chairman contained few specifics or new elements. Instead, Orbán attempted to consolidate and mark out the framework of the party’s politics in a sweeping synthesis of its endeavours since 2002. For Orbán, the main question now is whether, after the party chairman elections, he can convince his own party that Fidesz actually has a programme, i.e. that he is a leader with a vision and concrete ideas, who is capable not only of lambasting the left, but who could also run the country.

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    Beyer, Thomas – CEO – Bosch

    Growth tied to ability to integrate new workersThomas
    Beyer, the CEO of Robert Bosch Kft., who has been in charge of the
    German engineering giant’s Hungarian activities for six months, last
    week spoke to The Budapest Times about the opportunities Hungary offers
    and the difficulties of doing business here as a result of the
    government’s austerity package.

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