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David Cornstein recommends Orban strategist to Trump
Former US Ambassador to Hungary David Cornstein has urged the Trump campaign team to hire Orban's strategist, Arpad Habony, Axios reports. However, the former US president's team has no plans to hire Orban's spin doctor. While Mr. Cornstein was in Budapest during the Trump presidency, he frequently met with Habony despite the State Department's concerns.
Cornstein recently visited Budapest. He attended CPAC (Conservative Political Action Conference) Hungary and met Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban in his office.
Habony was famously behind the anti-migrant campaign in Hungary during the 2015 migrant crisis. During that time he founded a consulting firm with Orbán's other campaign strategist, Arthur Finkelstein.
Inflation in Hungary drops to 24 percent
Hungarian inflation rate dropped to 24% in April from 25.2% in March, bringing the central bank closer to cutting the bloc’s highest key interest rate, Bloomberg reports. Hungary has had the highest inflation rate in the European Union for the past months. Energy prices are 40 percent higher in the Central European country than a year ago.
Food prices have surged more than 45% over the year in Hungary, according to the EU statistics office Eurostat, surpassing the EU average of 19,6%. Hungary has the biggest spike in food prices in the EU. According to AP price surges are forcing consumers to 'change what kind of food they buy and how much of it they can afford, and leading businesses to rethink what they sell.
Critical EP report about Hungary mentions oligarchs and corruption
A delegation of the European Parliament's Committee on Budgetary Control is planning an official visit to Hungary in May. Members of the committee where will meet Tibor Navracsics, the Minister of Regional Development, László Windisch, the President of the State Audit Office of Hungary, Mayor of Budapest Gergely Karácsony, and several journalists, Hungarian daily Népszava reports.
The Commission's report on the European Commission's budgetary management is critical of the situation in Hungary. It recommends withholding funds from both Hungary and Poland due to rule of law and corruption issues. The text obtained by the daily paper says "[the Hungarian government] imposes strict conditions in order to economically weaken and hemorrhage certain foreign companies, until they are forced to accept that the Hungarian government or oligarchs making hostile acquisitions in whole or in part, at prices far below the true value of the company."
Hungarian far-right politician calls for Ukraine to give up territories
Vice president of the National Assembly and deputy chair of Our Homeland Party Dora Duro repeated Russian propaganda and conspiracy theories on state owned Russia Today.
The far-right MP said "Ukraine's accession to NATO poses a huge national security risk", and that the Hungarian government would only approve "if Putin did". She added that peace is the most important in these times, but she believes that hat against a great power like Russia, there is "no way to win".
According to Duro Ukraine hides "in the shadow to the US and the West" and it "cannot be seen as independent". And if Ukraine would be able to see "reality" it would "hand over all its occupied territories because it is the only way to achieve peace". At the end of the interview, Dúró also quoted the former Fox News host Tucker Carlson, saying that the Ukrainian president "anti-peace and anti-democracy."