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The Canadian author received a state honor from the Hungarian President
President of Hungary Katalin Novak awarded Jordan B. Peterson with the Order of Merit.“In recognition of his distinguished scientific work in the field of clinical psychology and his exceptional commitment to protecting the freedom of creativity and education of young people”.
The Canadian psychologist and writer gave a lecture at the office of Novak this week. The President praised the conservative figure on her Facebook: “Jordan B. Peterson, a world-renowned thinker, and clinical psychologist gave an exciting lecture in our midst today. The Sándor Palace is more than an office. It is a symbolic place that also provides space for thinking. And building a broad-minded community that understands each other.”
The National Judiciary Office has classified the results of the Schadl investigation
The National Council of the Judiciary, the independent body that oversees the administration of the courts in Hungary, held a meeting on Monday. The President of the National Judiciary Office, György Senyei was present to report the outcome of the investigation on the case of the Hungarian Judicial Executive György Schadl, who was accused of criminal offenses.
As 444. hu earlier reported, that last year in June, György Schandl tried to undermine a judge that was in his way, so he approached Senyei for help. The National Judiciary Office issued a statement, that Senyei had indeed put Schadl in touch with the president of the Budapest High Court, Péter Tatár-Kis and that they've met.
The question of what the result of this meeting was, and whether it was under the rules remain unanswered. The report was classified by Senyei - according to the summary of the National Council of the Judiciary meeting.
The summary doesn't include information on whether the report was damning or whether Senyei has filed a complaint. It is also not clear what justified the classification of the entire report.
Most popular pro-government news site hits pro-Kremlin tone
The most popular pro-government portal, Origo reported objectively on the war when it started, however, the tone has changed as the day Hungarian elections arrived – Hungarian fact-checking site, Lakmusz reports. Putin was increasingly portrayed as a strong leader and the Ukrainians as the aggressor. By June, Origo had reached a point where they gave headlines such as "World War III had begun".
Origo, which is owned by the Central European Press and Media Foundation (KESMA, which the government created in 2018), is currently one of the most read online news sites, even though it did not see a surge in readers, unlike other news outlets at the beginning of the war. However, their readership has increased since, becoming the second most popular news site after the tabloid, Blikk in terms of average daily hits.
Origo’s pro-Kremlin tone resonated with their readers. CEU Institute for Democracy’s post-election survey showed that Ukraine was the second least likable country after Russia among Hungarians. The research highlighted that those who justified their party preference in the elections with the Russia-Ukraine war were more inclined towards Russia and more negative toward the EU and the US. (Magyar Jeti Zrt. publishes both 444.hu, and lakmusz.hu.)
Ryanair CEO calls Hungarian minister an ‘idiot’ over windfall tax
CEO of Ryanair Michael O'Leary gave an interview to the Hungarian news site HVG where he called Hungarian minister for development Marton Nagy a ‘ complete idiot’ over the windfall tax Hungary recently imposed on large private companies. The new tax is set to go into effect in July.
“At a time when many other EU countries are lowering taxes and fees to recover traffic, tourism, and jobs, the Hungarian government is doing the opposite by making air travel to Hungary more expensive and less competitive”- O'Leary said.
The tax would cost passengers an extra 10-25 Euros when departing from Hungary, and the low-cost airline has announced that it is going to be added as an additional cost for customers when they purchase a ticket. Last week the Irish airline company urged Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban to scrap the windfall tax on departing passengers.
“It is beyond stupid that the Hungarian government is imposing an ‘extra profits’ tax on the airline industry when profits are non-existent,” - the statement reads.