Source: Attila Ara-Kovács, Élet és Irodalom, in EuroTopics, May 30
Disillusionment with the policies of Victor Orbán’s government is leading to a wave of mass emigration the likes of which Hungary didn’t even experience after 1956.
The hate campaign against the EU and the banks, as well as the government’s malicious, whispered anti-Semitic propaganda, are not a recent phenomenon but began at the time when the radical supporters of the government first started inciting hatred against the left and then against the Gay Pride events….
During the revolution of 1956 around two hundred thousand people left Hungary, most of them young. They set their sights above all on Europe and the West….
Since 2010 three times as many people, around six hundred thousand, have left the country, in particular well educated, young members of the labour force. A government that not only signed a secret pact with the Nazis [the far right Jobbik party] but also created a mafia state deprived them of their hopes. Hungary is moving further and further away from Europe.”
Eric Koch’s new book, New Beginnings, was launched on September 20. The book is available from 
Is there anywhere one can find indicators for pro and anti European sentiment for all the former Soviet Bloc satellites?
Canada benefitted enormously from the Hungarian immigrants of 1956. Do you suppose the present government is reaching out at all to the current wave leaving Hungary?
From an anonymous correspondent in Budapest:
There is some truth in the article although it sounds too vehement and extreme. Hungary is on the outskirts of the European government because the EU is falling apart and not really protecting the interests of the smaller nations who have major issues within their borders. It is also quite ineffective against the new push from Russia who is trying to align itself with Germany (strange yet dangerous combination if history is anything to go by).
Orban is trying to protect Hungarian assets from this onslaught and thus is seen as “anti-European”. As for the young educated moving - it is not just happening here in Hungary, it is happening everywhere in Europe for example from Spain, Portugal, Romania and everywhere else where the pay does not resemble that of their contempories in richer countries - it is for economic betterment unlike in 1956 when they were forced to leave for political reasons - totally different situation. The writer seems to have an axe to grind and is probably being fed the info by anti-government supporters.
We need a new infusion of Hungarian coffee houses and restaurants in Toronto. The ladies at the Coffee Mill in Yorkville are getting on and Country Style is the last Hungarian resto on Bloor Street. The giant Wiener schnitzel is excellent but for how long?
Montreal’s PamPam is long gone.