Foreign Minister Janos Martonyi

Hungary refused to recall its Ambassador to Iran following a meeting of EU Foreign Ministers on Thursday, news-wire MTI reported, saying it would cripple normal day-to-day operations due to its limited staff.

Despite this the Hungarian Government joins is European allies in utterly condemning the attack on the Iranian British Embassy, Hungarian Foreign Minister Janos Martonyi told reporters in Brussels, after the meeting.

Iranian protesters on Wednesday stormed the British embassy in Tehran, smashing windows, hurling petrol bombs and burning the British flag in protest against sanctions imposed by London.

National Economy Minister Gyorgy Matolcsy

Arriving on the heels of embarrassing news about Hungary’s ‘new’ relationship with the IMF and the Government’s confusing PR campaign about “this time being different,” the Orban-cabinet was dealt another crushing financial blow on Friday morning.

For the first time in 15 years, Hungary’s credit rating was downgraded to ‘junk’ (Ba1) status by Moody’s Investment Service. The agency said that faith in the Government’s ability to consolidate the Hungarian budget and cut state debt (on the medium term) has dwindled, and a further downgrade could come if there is a significant decline in government financial strength due to a lack of progress on structural reforms.

The National Economy Ministry labeled the move as being part of a series of financial attacks against the Hungarian government, saying the economy has improved in several key areas. “Budget deficit will be pushed below 3 percent for the first time in 7 years,” a statement revealed, adding that only 6 out of the 27 other EU member states will achieve this with their current budget.

Budapest's Szabadsag Hid engulfed in smog

A warning has been issued in Budapest, after a leading paediatric hospital (Svabhegyi Gyogyintezet) reported an alarming increase in the number of children with respiratory complaints due to excessive smog levels.

Patient numbers could double in the coming days, the center said in a press release, as even children with no previous history of respiratory disorders are affected.

According to Dr. Andrea Banfi, those suffering from symptoms are advised to remain indoors or visit high altitudes. A child showing early signs of respiratory illness should immediately be taken to the appropriate healthcare professional, she added.

At a news conference on Tuesday, PM Viktor Orban announced that his cabinet has reaquired 21.2 percent in the oil giant MOL for EUR 1.88 billion – a package previously owned by Russian Surgutneftegas.

Orban’s statement comes after a year-long string of negotiations, that he said “secured” the Hungarian oil company and described as a move “defending the interests of Hungarians.”

Surgutneftegas was created in 1993 by merging several previously state-owned companies with large oil and gas reserves in Western Siberia. The company’s headquarters are located in Surgut, Tyumen Oblast.

Charles Zentai, a Hungarian-born Australian who was set to appear at a court hearing to appeal against extradition to Hungary for alleged war crimes lost his ability to speak due to a stroke suffered on Friday, according to the Australian Associated Press.

Zentai’s son Ernies Steiner said a successful extradition procedure would kill his father. The Hungarian Military Attorney General’s Office intends to question Zentai over the alleged murder of Jewish teenager Peter Balazs in Nazi-occupied Budapest in November 1944. He has been fighting extradition since July 8, 2005 when he was arrested by the Australian Federal Police to await an extradition hearing.

Several extreme right-wing nationalists in Slovakia have emerged since the recent major events unfolding in Hungary, to harness the political implications and further their agenda related to Slovakian Hungarians in minority.

Jan Slota, the co-founder and President of the Slovak National Party (an extremist chauvinist party) said the Hungarian Government renamed the country from The Republic of Hungary to Hungary as part of a scheme to restore Greater Hungary (which included modern-day Slovakia). Slota claimed this is made possible by lifting the democratic restrictions provided by a republican form of state.

Allegedly Slota had illegally emigrated to Austria in 1971, where he participated in multiple auto thefts, until he fled Austria fearing prosecution. He went back to Czechoslovakia, where he committed some store robberies in the Prievidza region before fleeing the country. After returning, his father, Milan, voluntarily entered the Czechoslovak communist secret police, the StB to save his son from prison.

The Goulash Nation was recently shocked by weekly Heti Valasz after the paper revealed that the wife of Muammar Gaddafi has Hungarian roots – a secret that has been closely guarded by the blood-drenched Libyan dictator.

The paper said Safia Farkash (nee Zsofia Farkas) could even apply for naturalization under the new expedited citizenship law, if she spoke Hungarian at an acceptable level.

Farkash’s grandfather Janos Farkas lived and worked as a school inspector in Mostar, a city and municipality in Bosnia and Herzegovina, and the largest and the most important city in the Herzegovina region and the center of the Herzegovina-Neretva Canton of the Federation.

The Hungarian Socialist Party is anticipating snap elections, based on intelligence gathered from Fidesz circles, President Attila Mesterhazy said on Monday, according to daily Nepszava. To prepare, the party has launched a new initiative – Mestarhazy says a network of several thousand socialist activists will be the new reality in Hungary. “Fidesz will be confronted in every town by the resistance of our local activists, ” the President claimed.

The Socialists are also boycotting the drafting of the constitution, to be adopted on April 18, saying it is based solely on the values of the governing parties and lacks broad social support. Mesterhazy cited a recent poll showing that 62 percent of voters now believe the country is headed in the wrong direction. “Things are going badly in social and economic policy, democracy and political style,” he said.

According to Hungarian media several thousands of the world’s skyscrapers, including those in Japan that resisted the monstrous 9.0 earthquake, employ safety systems invented by a Hungarian. Sandor Tarics (born September 23, 1913) created the technology in the 70s, which works the same way as the shock absorbers in your car’s suspension. The building will sway drastically like the ones in Japan, but will not collapse.

Tarics is a former Hungarian water polo player who competed in the 1936 Summer Olympics. Born in Budapest, he was part of the Hungarian team which won the gold medal. He played two matches, and scored two goals. He went on to establish and grow a successful architecture and engineering practice in San Francisco, California. He now lives in Belevedere, California and is a member of the Belvedere Tennis Club.

The Robin Hood Action Squad, formed on Monday by the NGO group ‘White Chimney Sweepers’ (WCS), pledged to put an end to evictions of families in Hungary due to (allegedly) fraudulent mortgages, daily Magyar Hirlap reported.

WCS President Tamas Dabasi claimed that Hungarian authorities have so far failed to put an end to “white collar crime.” Dabasi warned those involved in unlawful evictions: the new action squad will stand up to anyone harassing Hungarian families, including debt collectors and “professional” eviction groups.

He added that the Action Squad will go to any length within legal boundaries to reacquire confiscated property.

According to government sources undisclosed by origo.hu, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s trip to Egypt just days before the uprising was “hurried” by EU foreign policy leaders, although none foresaw the coming domestic crisis.

The sources, close to the Hungarian Government and the Foreign Ministry, said Brussels has not criticized Orban due to the timing of his visit. Orban, who was Mubarak’s last European diplomatic guest before the crisis, left Cairo on Tuesday morning – followed immediately by the uprising in the afternoon. During the visit, Orban had unveiled a plaque honoring Ferenc Puskas and met with several political and religious dignitaries.

In the meantime, international media such as Al Jazeera have compared the wave of protests in the Middle East to the Revolutions of 1989 (also known as the Fall of Communism or the Collapse of Communism) where the revolutions overthrew Soviet-style communist states in Eastern-bloc European countries.

The news network said the removal of Hungary’s border fence with Austria in May 1989 was a historic contribution to the fall of communism.

Leading real estate developer (and allegedly the richest man in Hungary), Sandor Demjan, said the “international environment” could assimilate Hungary soon without improvement in employment and production statistics. This could mean the disappearance of the country as we know it, he said.

Demjan said the new development scheme named after the greatest Hungarian, Count Szechenyi, will play a key role in whether the necessary measures can be taken, although a quick execution in necessary.

Regarding the pressure placed on multinationals in Hungary, he said the steps taken by the Orban cabinet have been appropriate. “They won’t leave because of the crisis taxes,” he argued, although adding that boycotting multinational retail giants (an initiative of the radical right) is “silly.”

He also called for reduction of ineffective social expenses and the execution of structural reforms, both of which are controversial measures on the political right and have attracted critical remarks from economists such as Laszlo Bogar, who argues that structural reforms would benefit corporate interests instead of the Hungarian population.

State prosecution on Thursday filed charges against former communist Interior Minister Bela Biszku, for “denial of the crimes of national socialist and communist regimes.” The charges are based on an August interview with Biszku, where he denied the ’56 Hungarian Revolution and claimed that he had personally “restored order” during his term as Minister, following the crushing of the Hungarian uprising against communism.

Previously, state prosecution rejected a complaint filed against the former Minister for orchestrating retribution against Hungarian Revolutionaries, saying the alleged crimes have expired. Biszku could face a 3-year sentence at most, according to a June 8 amendment to the criminal code.

Concerning developments in the state of Hungarian democracy, human rights and rule of law are set to be scrutinized by the European Council’s regular ‘current affairs debate’ session on Wednesday, according to Hungarian media, despite the fact that the Goulash Nation is the currently acting President of the the European Union.

The probe was proposed by Swiss MEP Andreas Gross, a democracy expert and member of the Swiss EC delegation since 1995.

According to index.hu, Gross’s proposal was slammed by several MEPs, including Polish Dariusz Lipinski, who argued that Hungarian democracy is in a “good state.” Lipinski suggested that the EC should focus on more urgent issues at hand, such as Belarussia and Tunesia.

The European Council is the regular meetings of the heads of state in the European Union, responsible for defining the general political direction and priorities of the Union.

Liberal economist and MEP Lajos Bokros on Thursday ‘renounced’ the Hungarian Democratic Pary (MDF – now outside the parliament and in shambles) saying he is only accountable directly; to his voters. The statement follows a warning from MDF President Zsolt Makay, who told Magyar Hirlap that the party will be considering recalling Bokros from the European Parliament in February.

Makay pointed out: Bokros has neglected the party since his election last year, and has failed to approve a single one of his parliamentary speeches with party officials. The President confirmed Bokros’s claims, saying the MEP will keep his mandate, despite the possible disciplinary procedure against him.

Bokros was also the MDF’s candidate for the position of Prime Minister of Hungary during the 2010 Hungarian parliamentary elections. He was Minister of Finance between 1995–1996.

Amid painful criticism from international media targeting recent reforms, the Hungarian Government on Monday launched its term as President of the Council of the European Union. After a preliminary festivities, more celebrations are scheduled for Jan 6 in the Parliament despite negative international “PR” recently attracted by pension, tax, constitutional and national bank reforms.

Shouldering the harshest criticism, the new media law has come under fire from German, UK, Polish, Spanish, Slovak and Czech media. Luxemburg Foreign Minister Jean Asselborn slammed the new law, saying the legislation put Hungary on par with Belarus and that it raised the question of whether Hungary was worthy of holding the rotating presidency of the EU. “The plans clearly violate the spirit and the letter of EU treaties,” Jean Asselborn told newswire Reuters.

The Hungarian Government refuted the claims, saying that the criticism directed at the media law are vague generalizations. The Government communication portal kormanyszovivo.hu has published and extensive response to international media in English.

Hungarian state prosecution on Monday has initiated the release of home birth activist Agnes Gereb, from police custody. Imprisonment is to be replaced by home confinement, during the pending legal procedure for the death of an infant allegedly strangled by Gereb.

Gereb has been under preliminary police custody since October, after an incident resulting in the near-death of an infant being delivered in her “Birth House.” According to Blikk, she has previously faced police procedures several times.

Civil rights groups have protested on several occasions against her imprisonment. The latest demonstration is scheduled for Monday evening, according to Hungarian media.

Several NGOs protested on Sunday against pension reform saying the Government is desperately forcing its citizens to leave their private pension funds for a state account so the budget can be sustained, despite officials claiming that the move is voluntary.

PM Viktor Orban in a Facebook video message reacted that the move intends to alleviate excessive state debt. Orban claimed that citizens’ pension security will increase under state administration. He added that Hungarians should have faith in the Government, which intends to shed excessive state debt by enacting its current economic policy, and provide assurances for an adequate pension plan for current workers.

According to the proposal, transferees to a state pension account will compensated for any losses incurred at their private funds, while those with excess savings can withdraw their funds tax-free.

Hungary’s sovereign credit rating on Monday was reduced to Baa3 from Baa1 by Moody’s Investors Service, according to Bloomberg.

Baa3 is the lowest investment grade, and one step away from speculative, or “junk” category. The Hungarian Forint weakened after the announcement.

“Today’s downgrade is primarily driven by the Hungarian government’s gradual but significant loss of financial strength, as the government’s strategy largely relies on temporary measures rather than sustainable fiscal consolidation policies,” Moody’s said, according to Bloomberg.

The rationale resonates with Standard & Poor’s November verdict, which called the Hungarian Government’s measures ad-hoc and lacking structural reforms.

Continued support post-election is virtually unheard of in Hungary, according to analysts, but the Government has kept its two-thirds majority fully intact, several recent polls show.

It’s no surprise, according to Government Spokesperson Anna Nagy who on Tuesday said the cabinet’s first “semester” has been characterized by dynamic decision making including 80 decrees, 131 rulings and 70 laws. “The goal was to put the economy back on its feet,” Nagy said, highlighting the corporate tax cut, the Szechenyi card and new employment initiatives.

The latter will include up to 8 months’ tax and social security cuts for companies employing “disadvantaged” workers on a 12 month contract, Junior Minister for Employment Policy Sandor Czomba said. He added that employers can now turn to state employment offices, where up to 10,000 employees are available – supported financially and through training.