Zsuzsanna Szelenyi
@ZSzelenyi
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Author of #TaintedDemocracy Director, Democracy Institute Leadership Academy, Frm Hungarian MP, Richard von Weizsäcker Fellow at RBA, Europe’s Future Fellow IWM
Budapest
Joined March 2016
Today is pub day for my book #TaintedDemocracy which tells a story of how from poster child of democracy #Hungary become the first autocracy within the EU. Thank you @CasMudde, @NickThorpe @RosieWhitehouse @RebeccasBooks @MichaelDwyerMike for the wonderful tips & all your help!
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💣💥 Another bombshell poll from Hungary: Péter Magyar’s opposition TISZA party leads Orbán’s Fidesz-KDNP 51–36 — a 15-point gap. Under Orbán’s own gerrymandered system, this could mean a two-thirds majority for TISZA. Poll by Medián, Hungary’s most trusted pollster, for HVG.
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For months, Hungary's propaganda launched attacks against judges. Last week at the EPC, PM Orbán called for a rebellion against "judicial activism". Now Trump is harassed by the judiciary. All within a year of unlocking €10.2 billion EU funds for fulfilling judicial reforms.
I could not believe yesterday’s news about @MLP_officiel. Marine, please remember we are with you in this battle! And don’t forget: being harassed by the judiciary was a crucial step towards victory for President @realDonaldTrump.
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My latest piece at Carnegie Europe
🇭🇺 | Emboldened by Trump's win, Orbán is determined to place #Hungary at the center of European—even global—decisionmaking. European leaders must think creatively & strategically to manage his disruptive influence. New by @ZSzelenyi on #StrategicEurope: https://t.co/nX1zKuWwpJ
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My latest appearance, now in the Dutch public TV news
De Hongaarse premier Viktor Orbán is Donald Trumps grootste vriend in de EU. Wat zou een overwinning van Trump betekenen voor de positie van Orbán in Europa? #Nieuwsuur
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De Hongaarse premier Viktor Orbán is Donald Trumps grootste vriend in de EU. Wat zou een overwinning van Trump betekenen voor de positie van Orbán in Europa? #Nieuwsuur
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Long interview at the beggining of the political season in Hungarian about many things I find important in politics:
24.hu
Interjú egy ősfideszessel, aki kétszer próbált megkapaszkodni a nagypolitikában, ma a CEU Demokrácia Intézet kutatója és programigazgatója és aki most egyebek mellett az mondja: Orbán Viktor fő riváli
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I should be used to it by now, but every time I see a photo of a Hungarian cabinet meeting, I can’t get over the fact that I am represented by a male only club.
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I am thrilled to share David Edgar’s great review of my book TaintedDemocracy.
‘In 2014, the year of his second landslide election victory, Viktor Orbán announced his ambition to turn Hungary into an “illiberal state”.’ David Edgar in our new issue: https://t.co/oGKMTz4JWE
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ICYMI: While the Orbán government is very sensitive to its own sovereignty, it has also been running serious advertising campaigns in Slovakia and Poland during the elections there - plus in 🇩🇪🇮🇹🇨🇿🇦🇹🇧🇪. 🔎New investigation by @direkt36 @VSquare_Project 👇 https://t.co/mrRVwMNkT7
direkt36.hu
While the Hungarian government is very sensitive to its own sovereignty, it has also been running serious advertising campaigns in Slovakia and Poland, among others, during the elections there....
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'Szelényi’s detailed and authoritative study... examines [#Orbán's] transformation, drawing on her own involvement in #Hungarian politics.' Read @DavidBEdgar's review of @ZSzelenyi's #TaintedDemocracy in the @LRB. ✒️ Available in hardback. 📖 https://t.co/huNu7Vhwzz
lrb.co.uk
‘Make Hungary Great Again’ is an effective summation of Orbánism; many Hungarians would like back the tracts of...
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📢📚 We are happy to share that Tainted Democracy, a book by @ZSzelenyi, Program Director of the CEU Democracy Institute Leadership Academy, was named by @ForeignAffairs as one of the best books of 2023 in the Western Europe category. Details: 👉 https://t.co/0zO875Lk6D
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🔦FACT CHECKING Last year #Hungary received four times as much from the EU budget as it paid in. This year, too, the grants could be at least twice as much as the national contribution. (During 2014-2021 🇭🇺received on average 5.6 times more EU funds than it contributed to the EU)
#Hungary has become net contributor to the #EU in the last 2 years because we don’t have access to the EU money, @PM_ViktorOrban political advisor @BalazsOrban_HU told journalists Is it true @JHahnEU ?
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"For those who are less diligent, lacking common sense, or simply petty, this draft Directive could be likened to handing house keys to a burglar just days before the holidays." Sadly correct assessment and in current form, text would unlikely survive CJEU scrutiny
The Commission denies that its Directive on Transparency of Third Country Lobbying qualifies as a foreign agents law. EMILIA KORKEA-AHO (@EmiliaKorkeaaho) disagrees & identifies ”two significant risks, which the Commission should openly acknowledge”. https://t.co/xsjBZjewpj
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The Serbian opposition, along with a sizable cohort of citizens and activists, reject the rampant manipulations in Sunday's elections. Tonight, they're protesting again, vowing to persist until their concerns are heeded. My piece for @POLITICOEurope:
politico.eu
Several thousand people took to the streets to rally against what they called a rigged election.
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Good morning from Rome. Learning the latest from Brussels. A first impression on the big EU asylum reform compromise. 1. This is a huge and complicated reform, and a lot of what it means will still need to be worked out. But the big picture is clear, and troubling. 2. No real
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My book ‘Tainted Democracy, Viktor Orbán and the Subversion of Hungary’ listed by @ForeignAffairs among best books in 2023! What a joy!
Check out our editors’ and book reviewers’ top picks from 2023, including titles by @RebeccaAHerman, Jack Snyder, @crmiller1, @shertog1, and many more. https://t.co/CRCS3ZuSSP
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🇷🇺🤥Rate of pro-Kremlin and ‘illiberal’ (anti-migrant, anti-LGBTQ etc) disinformation content peddled by Viktor Orbán’s propaganda media for Hungarian minorities abroad is highest in Slovakia, @Pol_Cap’s new study finds. 🔗Read more on @VSquare_Project: https://t.co/Qso3x6cHbK
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He is doing absolutely everything to get the money from Brussels.
#Hungary will not veto Ukraine's EU accession, because it does not even support to put it on the agenda, said Viktor Orbán on state radio. The Hungarian PM added: Ukraine can't be an EU member, because “we do not even know how big its territory is and how many people live there”.
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