Sign in

Luis G. Prado

@luisgprado.bsky.social
160 followers 144 following 295 posts

Author of "Budapest Twilight: Hungary in the Time of Orbán" tienda.cyberdark.net/budapest-twili…

PostsRepliesMedia
Reposted by Luis G. Prado
Tibor M. Kalman @kalmantibs.bsky.social · 10/10/2026
Budapest’s inimitable Matthias Church traces its origins to Saint Stephen in 1015, then a 14th-century Gothic basilica turned into an Ottoman mosque, and finally reborn in the 19th-century with its iconic Zsolnay tile roof. 🙏🏼🌍🕊️ 📷 © Norbert Lepsik | Architecture & Design
2336
Reposted by Luis G. Prado
Tibor M. Kalman @kalmantibs.bsky.social · 09/10/2026
Delighted to see Princeton professor and legal scholar @kimlanelaw.bsky.social back in Budapest for the Democracy Institute Budapest Forum. Nobody spoke with more courage, clarity, and conviction during the Orbán regime's chokehold on power over the past sixteen years. ⚖️🇭🇺📢 📷 HVG.hu
1203
Reposted by Luis G. Prado
Peter Ellis @almostconverge.kozterulethasznalatienge.day · 09/10/2026
#MiniHungarianLanguageLesson: friday idiom today's idiom is "örülj, hogy lyuk van a seggeden", or in english "be glad/grateful that you've got a hole in your arse" it's how we express that things could be a whole lot worse
11810
Reposted by Luis G. Prado
Jakub Jaraczewski @jakubjaraczewski.bsky.social · 08/10/2026
I forgot that Ragozin had great pro-Kremlin takes on Hungary, too.
3266
Reposted by Luis G. Prado
@petoandrea @petoandrea.bsky.social · 06/10/2026
Today is the 60th anniversary of the reburial of Làszló Rajk. Here is my take @verfassungsblog.de about the illiberal Take over of the memory of the 1956 Revolution 🔗 verfassungsblog.de/four-reasons...
022
Reposted by Luis G. Prado
Alex Faludy @alexander-faludy.bsky.social · 05/10/2026
Fr. Osztie has previously described #Hungary’s new Prime Minister, Péter Magyar as “an instrument of Satan” —My reporting for THE TABLET www.thetablet.co.uk/news/budapes...
thetablet.co.uk
Budapest archdiocese warns priest off politics after PM’s complaint - The Tablet
The Archdiocese of Esztergom-Budapest warned a priest against political interventions after the Hungarian prime minister’s public call for the hierarchy to
066
Reposted by Luis G. Prado
@petoandrea @petoandrea.bsky.social · 05/10/2026
@bylinetimes.bsky.social coverage of how the illiberal Hungarian government used public money in the UK. (It explains the meteoric rise of some Hungarian universities in THE ranking.) 🔗 bylinetimes.com/2026/09/30/t...
034
Reposted by Luis G. Prado
Szabolcs Panyi @szabolcspanyi.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
💥"Ukraine and Hungary reached an agreement (...) There was a Zoom call last night. The minister, the deputy prime minister, all the factions were there. We talked literally until late at night. There is a strong chance that on Monday we will pass the draft law." @gonzotusk.bsky.social
liga.net
"We were still drafting late into the night": How Kyiv and Budapest finally reached a deal on Transcarpathia
Kyiv and Budapest have been speaking different languages for years. What changed in the past two days – and is this really a new beginning?
05111
Reposted by Luis G. Prado
Matt Steinglass @mattsteinglass.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
Budapest seems to have very unfair ideas about wrestling
2141
Reposted by Luis G. Prado
Joost @almodozo.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
Hungary is about to publish 50,000-60,000 records "that identify people listed by the Communist-era state security services as officers, informants, collaborators or recruitment targets," which were previously only available to close relatives and researchers, in a searchable online database.
thehill.com
Hungary prepares to release Communist-era records revealing state security agents and informants
BUDAPEST, Hungary (AP) — Hungary will soon release tens of thousands of records previously restricted to broad public access that identify people listed by the Communist-era state security services…
012
Reposted by Luis G. Prado
Gabriela Greilinger @gabrielagreilinger.com · 30/09/2026
Excited to share our new working paper with @benyoel.bsky.social: we analyse public opinion dynamics around the consequential election in Hungary last April and specifically look at (anti-)democratic attitudes in the aftermath of Orbán's defeat. Available here: papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....
papers.ssrn.com
Democratic Attitudes When Backsliding Reverses: Evidence from Hungary
Increasingly, opposition actors in settings undergoing democratic backsliding have been able to unseat anti-democratic incumbents. But unseating an anti-democra
12711
Reposted by Luis G. Prado
Aidan O’Brien @aidanobrien.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
Viktor Orban travelled to Belfast yesterday, appearing alongside the Northern Irish anti-abortion group Precious Life, "celebrating" preventing Belfast City Hall from joining"International Safe Abortion Day" Precious Life's former director, Jim Dowson, is a far-right extremist with ties to Hungary.
Catholic Arena
@CatholicArena
Viktor Orban was in Belfast last night at City Hall

Precious Life and other prolife groups were celebrating after successfully preventing City Hall from being lit up to celebrate 'International Safe Abortion Day' 

📸 Precious LifeAnti-abortionist resigns from job
Anti-abortion poster The anti-abortion campaign has come in for criticism

The leader of the controversial anti-abortion group Precious Life is reported to have quit his job because of his views.

Jim Dowson, 33, who has admitted previous involvement with hard-line loyalist groups in the west of Scotland, was told he should curb his activities or face dismissal. Notorious far-right extremist returns to Scotland to fund growing anti-immigration protests
Jim Dowson has spent the last 20 years fundraising for the far-right in ­Scotland, Northern Ireland, Hungary and the US.
316170
Reposted by Luis G. Prado
Tibor M. Kalman @kalmantibs.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
Built in 1896 on Kossuth Square to represent the independence of Hungarian law, Budapest’s Palace of Justice shines under new lights. Now reconstructed, it will once again serve as Seat of the Supreme Court. The timing is impeccable, given recent events. 🇭🇺🏛️⚖️ 📷 Sándor Csíki
2315
Reposted by Luis G. Prado
Peter Ellis @almostconverge.kozterulethasznalatienge.day · 27/09/2026
#MiniHungarianLanguageLesson: names i know i've already talked about this once but i was inspired by this @robwords.com video about how the "english" system of names is by far not universal in hungarian you can have no given name and it was quite widespread too www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Wx_...
youtube.com
The rest of the world does names differently.
YouTube video by RobWords
462
Reposted by Luis G. Prado
Nicolai von Ondarza @nvondarza.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
Fast forward less than a month, and MCC Brussels is relaunching itself re-branded as "FSI Freedom & Sovereignty Initiative". Again under the leadership of Frank Füredi, with much of the same people, and clearly looking for funding in the far-right media ecosystem.
12314
Reposted by Luis G. Prado
Olivier Hoedeman @olivierhoedeman.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
The Orban-linked think tank MCC Brussels (which attacked the freedoms of NGOs, independent media, women, the LGBTQ+ community, etc) is rebranding itself with the Orwellian name 'Freedom & Sovereignty Initiative' 😬 Let's see how long it takes them to disclose their new funding sources this time.
046
Reposted by Luis G. Prado
Gabriela Greilinger @gabrielagreilinger.com · 24/09/2026
Remember Orbán's MCC and its Brussels outpost? Well, looks like the people at MCC Brussels simply started something new after MCC ceased operations due to a lack of funds, because the Magyar government stopped bankrolling it.
"Freedom & Sovereignty Initiative Europe" website
A Brussels team with a proven record of impact.
Launched by the team behind MCC Brussels — the people who exposed EU election interference, defended NatCon Brussels in court and uncovered the EU's NGO industrial complex.
11910
Reposted by Luis G. Prado
Szabolcs Panyi @szabolcspanyi.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
👮🔎 Hungarian police are searching a publicly funded company linked to the pro-Orbán Center for Fundamental Rights over paying a wanted former official more than HUF 3.5m (€9,700/PLN 42,000) a month for little work. The description only fits fugitive 🇵🇱 ex-deputy justice minister Marcin Romanowski.
03713
Reposted by Luis G. Prado
Review of Democracy @revdem2020.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
Why was Hungary’s liberal democratic transition of the late 20th century followed by sharp de-democratization, and why has illiberal regime-building crumbled unexpectedly too? 🇭🇺🇭🇺 ✍️ Ferenc Laczo explores these questions in his op-ed. 🧑‍💻 Read it now: 👉 tinyurl.com/587u6w6s
011
Reposted by Luis G. Prado
Lyndsey Stonebridge @lyndseystonebri.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
Great piece by my friend Brian Goodman. The Last Days of the Danube Institute www.thedriftmag.com/the-last-day...
thedriftmag.com
The Last Days of the Danube Institute | A Report from Postliberal Budapest
By Brian Goodman. In the wake of Viktor Orbán’s defeat, Budapest’s postliberals face end times.
1165
Reposted by Luis G. Prado
Ákos Keller-Alánt @kelleralant.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
#Hungary, although it has been invited, is not a member of the C8, Carpathian Eight, which was launched by Volodymyr #Zelenskyy, PM Péter Magyar said. telex.hu/belfold/2026...
021
Reposted by Luis G. Prado
Erika Schlager @erikaschlager.bsky.social · 20/09/2026
"A new 220-page document revealed that conditions seriously deteriorated during the previous government’s 16 years in office, with some children literally starving in some state-funded children’s homes, where physical and sexual violence were widespread." balkaninsight.com/2026/09/18/d...
balkaninsight.com
Democracy Digest: Hungary Opens Way for Adoption by Gay Couples
Elsewhere, Poland and Russia trade threats after drone strike on Ukrainian train bound for Warsaw; Slovak Defence Minister under pressure to explain dealings with Czech arms tycoon; and Czech PM float...
001
Reposted by Luis G. Prado
Katalin Halmai @eublogo.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
@vonderleyen.ec.europa.eu: “Nothing is inevitable. Just look at Hungary. The date of 12 April will stay in our memory for a very long time. The day the Hungarian people took their future into their hands. They chose democracy. They chose Europe. They brought HUN back to the heart of our Union. 3/1
12310
Reposted by Luis G. Prado
James Kanter @jameskanter.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
Von der Leyen rightly celebrates 12 April as the "day the Hungarian people took their future into their hands" by evicting Viktor Orbán from power in Hungary but overlooks the way her own EPP group waited until 2019 to suspend Fidesz's membership. Europeans could use an apology. #soteu #epp #fidesz
3245
Reposted by Luis G. Prado
Daniel Kovarek @kovarek.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
Everyone studies how populists deform the administrative state. But what happens after they lose? In a new 🔓 OA piece in PAR, w/ Bauer, Motta & Schultz we compare bureaucratic repair in 🇭🇺 #Hungary, 🇧🇷 #Brazil & 🇵🇱 #Poland — and why undoing the damage is harder than doing it. doi.org/10.1111/puar.70186
042
Reposted by Luis G. Prado
Katalin Halmai @eublogo.bsky.social · 07/09/2026
‼️There is an EU rule-of-law case that seems to have been almost forgotten. It shouldn’t be. If the Court of Justice follows the Advocate General’s opinion, the consequences for Hungary’s access to EU funds could be significant. And there is a remarkable twist: HUN now has a different government.🧵
1126
Reposted by Luis G. Prado
軽laura @keilaura.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
oh speaking of things happening in hungary, happy no more vármegye and főispán day for all who celebrate (Fidesz decided to revive a bunch of medieval administrative terms for larp a few years ago and we just undid tbem)
1123
Reposted by Luis G. Prado
Szabolcs Panyi @szabolcspanyi.bsky.social · 04/09/2026
💥SCOOP: Hungary calls him back from retirement, and sends Václav Havel's old friend and translator, György Varga, back to Prague as ambassador. He has already served there as ambassador in 1990–1995. Havel called Varga his “window into Hungary.” 🔗More in our newsletter: vsquare.org/goulash-hung...
1529
Reposted by Luis G. Prado
Tibor M. Kalman @kalmantibs.bsky.social · 03/09/2026
What a powerful moment. World-renowned Hungarian-British classical pianist and conductor Sir András Schiff returned to his homeland after a 16-year self-imposed exile, having fiercely boycotted performing during nearly two decades of the Orbán regime. 🙏🏼🌍🕊️ 📷 Prime Minister Péter Magyar
69623
Reposted by Luis G. Prado
Katalin Halmai @eublogo.bsky.social · 02/09/2026
Péter Magyar clarified in a video message today that his party accession to the the EPP is contingent not only on the conclusion of the Article 7 procedure against Hungary, but also on the reimbursement of the daily fine of one million euros imposed for not complying with the EU asylum rules.
1109
Reposted by Luis G. Prado
Szabolcs Panyi @szabolcspanyi.bsky.social · 02/09/2026
📸 Viktor Orbán’s daughter Ráhel and son-in-law István Tiborcz – who officially head the family’s vast business empire – were spotted yesterday on Tavistock Street in London, getting out of a Hungarian-plated Mercedes G-Class. DM me if you have tips on what they were up to there.
37337
Reposted by Luis G. Prado
visegradinsight.bsky.social @visegradinsight.bsky.social · 02/09/2026
How long can Péter Magyar’s public-support honeymoon last? What comes after it? @wojciechprzybylski.bsky.social speaks with Péter Krekó, assessing the TISZA government's first 100 days in office and the limits of what a new government can achieve in such a short period: shorturl.at/C0ruh
visegradinsight.eu
Is Hungary a Spin Democracy? – CONVERSATION
Péter Magyar's first 100 days in office brought a wave of change. But how long can the honeymoon last? Wojciech Przybylski & Péter Krekó
001
Reposted by Luis G. Prado
shd @shd262623.bsky.social · 30/04/2025
Meanwhile in #Budapest
Photo of a Fiat 500 on the streets of Budapest. The car is covered in leopard print and looks very Peg Bundy.
3132
Reposted by Luis G. Prado
Katalin Halmai @eublogo.bsky.social · 02/09/2026
Hungarian PM Péter Magyar just dropped a press release after meeting EPP President Manfred Weber in Budapest. It signals a massive shift in how Budapest plans to deal with Brussels, but his strategy raises serious questions. Let’s break it down. 👇 4/1
33714
Reposted by Luis G. Prado
Die Capuccinogruft @thomas.escritt.eu · 01/09/2026
Sad fate for this scourge of untransparent funding
141
Reposted by Luis G. Prado
Tibor M. Kalman @kalmantibs.bsky.social · 01/09/2026
Amazing capture of last night's storm near Petőfibánya, Hungary, roughly 60 kilometers northeast of Budapest. 🙏🏼🌍🕊️ 📷 Photo by Norbert Nógrádi©
77922
Reposted by Luis G. Prado
Katalin Halmai @eublogo.bsky.social · 01/09/2026
Hungary’s government has declared that it has met all 27 EU rule-of-law and anti-corruption milestones to access certain EU funds. But as @danielfreund.bsky.social points out, the reforms still need to be carefully assessed in Brussels to see whether they actually meet the conditions.
0194
Reposted by Luis G. Prado
Toby Vogel 🇪🇺 @tobyvogel.bsky.social · 01/09/2026
Calling BS on this framing (by Springer-owner Politico). A think tank losing a source of income is not "being silenced."
3134
Reposted by Luis G. Prado
Katalin Halmai @eublogo.bsky.social · 01/09/2026
😮Foreign funding is a threat to Hungarian sovereignty — unless it goes to people on the right side of the political spectrum? 👇 Frank Füredi, leader of the MCC Brussels, a pro-Orbán NGO, says he is “happy to get money from anywhere, Americans included,” as long as there are no strings attached. 3/1
2159
Reposted by Luis G. Prado
Ákos Keller-Alánt @kelleralant.bsky.social · 01/09/2026
🇭🇺🇪🇺#Hungary has fulfilled all the milestones required to receive the full €10 billion in post-coronavirus recovery funds earmarked for the country 👇 www.euronews.com/my-europe/20...
euronews.com
Hungary meets deadline to unlock full €10bn EU Recovery Funds
The release of post-pandemic recovery funds adds to Magyar's effort to draw a line under the Orbán era. #EuropeNews
011
Reposted by Luis G. Prado
Jakub Jaraczewski @jakubjaraczewski.bsky.social · 31/08/2026
🇭🇺🇪🇺 Pretty safe to say that we won't be hearing any more from the "Democracy Interference Observatory" that MCC Brussels set up to "monitor Brussels-backed attempts to interfere in European democracy" after my organisation sued X over access to data ahead of the Hungarian elections.
621259
Reposted by Luis G. Prado
Journal of Democracy @jodemocracy.bsky.social · 28/08/2026
Viktor Orbán’s election defeat last month stunned many people. But in truth it’s not uncommon for would-be autocrats to lose at the ballot box. It’s a more hopeful picture than many people realize.
journalofdemocracy.org
How Aspiring Autocrats Exit | Journal of Democracy
Viktor Orbán election defeat last month stunned many people. But in truth it’s not uncommon for would-be autocrats to lose at the ballot box. It’s a more hopeful picture than many people realize.
022
Reposted by Luis G. Prado
Gabriela Greilinger @gabrielagreilinger.com · 28/08/2026
There is this narrative that far-right actors, when in power, will do certain things, but "through legal means". When they say they will act in line with the rule of law, that means they will change the law in specific ways beforehand to suit their interests. Ortbán is a prime example here too. 1/
13310
Reposted by Luis G. Prado
Katalin Halmai @eublogo.bsky.social · 28/08/2026
👀 Hungary is about to establish a new Office for Asset Protection and Recovery. Parliament elected its first president today. She says Hungary could set an example for the world, as nowhere, she argues, have those responsible for a corrupt criminal system ever been fully held to account.
03712
Reposted by Luis G. Prado
András Forgács W @andraswf.bsky.social · 28/08/2026
Oh no Anyway
57612
Reposted by Luis G. Prado
Szabolcs Panyi @szabolcspanyi.bsky.social · 26/08/2026
Founded 15 years ago, Hungary’s atlatszo.hu—whose name means “transparent”—grew into a leading investigative newsroom, exposing Orbán-era corruption while surviving raids, smear campaigns and threats. Founder Tamás Bodoky reflects on what comes next. VSquare.org
vsquare.org
Investigating the Orbán Era and Surviving Its Attacks: Átlátszó at 15 - VSquare.org
Fifteen years ago, Átlátszó began as a largely unfunded experiment: a nonprofit investigative newsroom designed to protect journalists from the political and business pressures constraining Hungary’s media.
04410
Reposted by Luis G. Prado
Tibor M. Kalman @kalmantibs.bsky.social · 26/08/2026
Congratulations to Swiss-Hungarian photographer Vincent Baumgartner; an exhibit opened today featuring his work. Many of the architectural photos I share come straight from his portfolio at buildingstelltales.com. Thank you, Vincent, for capturing the essence of this beautiful, timeless city! 🙏🏼🌍🕊️
3264
Reposted by Luis G. Prado
Szabolcs Panyi @szabolcspanyi.bsky.social · 25/08/2026
🇭🇺🇵🇱 Hungary’s government nominates Polish studies scholar and historian Miklós Mitrovits, a professor at Kazimierz Wielki University and fluent Polish speaker, as ambassador to Warsaw. Miklós has played a key role in efforts to repair Hungary-Poland ties in recent years.
2548
Reposted by Luis G. Prado
Damon Agnos @damonagnos.bsky.social · 25/08/2026
EDITOR: You get those photos of Leonard for the album cover? PHOTOGRAPHER: Sure did, boss—real mob hitman, just like you asked
Leonard Bernstein in Budapest album cover. Leonard is in a white tracksuit jacket with a monogrammed name I can’t quite read but I think days “Big B”, brown gloves, baby blue pants. He’s looking at you through the camera like your life means nothing to him
1133667
Reposted by Luis G. Prado
Tibor M. Kalman @kalmantibs.bsky.social · 23/08/2026
The hidden Neo-Renaissance elegance of a barrel-vaulted entryway in a residential building along Budapest’s historic Andrássy Avenue. 🙏🏼🌍🕊️ 📷 Buildings Tell Tales©
5414