ON THE RECORD

NATIONAL HOLIDAY IN THE SPIRIT OF NEXT YEAR'S ELECTIONS

October 23 is a national holiday in remembrance of the outbreak of the uprising against the Stalinist style regime on this day in 1956 and the ensuing revolution. Speakers at different rallies used the occasion to speak to their supporters with view to the parliamentary elections due next spring. Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, President of the ruling Fidesz party, wasted little time talking about the revolutionary events of 65 years ago, but spoke rather about the events of 15 years ago. In 2006, police were needed to control the rioting protesters who had also invaded the headquarters of Hungarian Television. In Viktor Orbán's interpretation, "in this place where we are standing, 15 years ago, the streets were covered with violence, blood and tears, we will never forget them". In his speech, Orbán also compared Ferenc Gyurcsány, who was prime minister in 2006, to the wolf in sheep's clothing. According to Orbán, the left is now "plotting and scheming." The prime minister claimed that it has been his government in the past 11 years that helped Hungary recover from the destruction of the country by left-wing governments before 2010. The other major speaker of the day was opposition prime ministerial candidate for next year's parliamentary elections, Péter Márky-Zay. He began his speech by saying that Hungarians in 1956 were fed up with wiretapping, surveillance, mock-up trials, Russian influence, and – referring to present-day politics – he said "we have had enough of that now". Later, he spoke about the revolution of the little ones, about accountability, and he said that the only question at the elections will be “Fidesz or not Fidesz.”

OPPOSITION CHOOSES TOP CANDIDATE FOR 2022 ELECTIONS

Péter Márki-Zay won the opposition primary election for prime minister this October. The mayor of the southeastern Hungarian town of Hódmezővásárhely, President of the All Hungary Movement received 56.71% of the votes, while his opponent, Klára Dobrev, Member of the European Parliament for the Democratic Coalition (DK) party, received 43.29%. In the second round to decide who will lead the unified opposition against the currently ruling Fidesz party in the parliamentary elections expected to be held in the spring of 2022, 662,353 people participated in person or online. Six opposition parties (DK, Jobbik, LMP, Momentum, MSZP and Párbeszéd) had decided to run jointly in the 2022 parliamentary elections, with the joint opposition candidate for prime minister and individual MPs being elected in a primary election. In the first round of the primaries, the highest number of votes was cast for Klára Dobrev. Budapest mayor Gergely Karácsony, the candidate of MSZP, Párbeszéd and LMP, came second, while Péter Márki-Zay came third with 123,453 votes (20.02%). In the second round, only two candidates took part, as the mayor withdrew.

MASK WEARING COMPULSORY, EMPLOYEE VACCINATION MANDATORY

As of November 1, the wearing of a face mask is again required on public transport, and employers may require their employees to be vaccinated to increase vaccination coverage. In the public sector, vaccination is mandatory, while in municipalities it is up to the mayors to decide. The relevant government decree states that masks have to be worn on public transport, at stations and stops, as previously. Children under the age of six years, people with intellectual or psychosocial disabilities and people with autism spectrum disorders are exempted from wearing masks. To increase vaccination coverage and protect workplaces, the government will allow employers to require their employees to be vaccinated against coronavirus as a condition of employment, either as a standard working condition for all employees or as an individual working condition, depending on the job. For workers who have not yet been vaccinated, employers may set a 45-day deadline for the first vaccination. If the worker fails to take the vaccination within the time limit set by the employer, the employer may order unpaid leave and, if the worker still fails to take the vaccination within one year, may terminate his/her employment with immediate effect by dismissal or resignation.

KYRGYZSTAN OPENS EMBASSY IN BUDAPEST

The Hungarian Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Péter Szijjártó and Kyrgyz Foreign Minister Ruslan Kazakbayev jointly opened the Embassy of Kyrgyzstan in Budapest this October. In the context of the relations between Hungary and Kyrgyzstan, the Hungarian minister said it was important that there were no outstanding political issues between the two governments and that the reciprocal opening of the embassies meant that personal presence was already a given. He also mentioned the stable financial background: a financial fund has been established to support bilateral trade. He said that with a huge oversubscription, 150 Kyrgyz students arrive in Hungary on scholarships every year. Together with his Kyrgyz counterpart, the minister also attended the celebration of the Day of Turkic Cooperation and Unity at the Turkic Council's representative office in Budapest.

UPCOMING NATIONAL DAYS November 1 Algeria 11 Poland 11 Angola 15 Belgium 18 Latvia

December 18 Morocco 19 Oman 22 Lebanon 28 Albania 1 Romania 2 Laos 2 UAE 5 Thailand 6 Finland 12 Kenya 13 Malta 16 Kazakhstan 16 Bahrain 18 Qatar 24 Libya 29 Mongolia National day Independence day Independence day National day Independence day National day National day Independence day Independence day National day National day National day National day National day Independence day National day Independence day Independence day National day Independence day Independence day

WORLD-RENOWNED HUNGARIAN ECONOMIST, 94, PASSES AWAY

János Kornai, Széchenyi Prize-winning economist, member of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, professor emeritus at Harvard University and Corvinus University, recipient of the French Order of Honor, honorary member of the Swedish, American and other academies, passed away in the middle of October in the 94th year of his life. János Kornai was born in 1928 in Budapest. He graduated from the Budapest University of Sciences, was the economic editor of the daily Szabad Nép from 1947 and became a staff member of the Institute of Economics of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences in 1955. In 1966, he was awarded the title of Doctor of Economic Sciences, in 1976 he was elected a Corresponding Member of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences and in 1982 a Full Member. He was invited to be a visiting professor by several foreign universities: the University of Sussex in 1966, Stanford in 1968 and 1973, Yale in 1970, Princeton in 1972 and 1983, Stockholm in 1976-77 and Harvard in 1984-85. He was Vice-Chairman of the United Nations Development Planning Commission from 1972 to 1977. He served as Head of the Department of Economics at the Institute of Economics of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, and was also a professor at the Collegium Budapest, the Budapest University of Economics and Business, and from 1986 at Harvard University in the USA. His main research interests were mathematical methods of design, the economic application of mathematics and computer science, and the theory of economic mechanisms. His works on economics are available in ten languages. His best-known work is ‘The Deficit’, published in 1980.