Global Voices Online

Remainder of Budapest writes about the social media aspect of the upcoming parliamentary elections in Hungary.

Hungarian Spectrum reports that Victor Orbán, leader of the opposition party Fidesz, now has a Facebook page - and nearly 8,000 fans: “By the way, I'll bet that as soon as Orbán wins the elections this whole flirtation with the Internet will come to an abrupt end.”

Hungarian Spectrum writes that “the Roma (Gypsy) situation is the gravest social problem today in Hungary” and in “the whole region,” points out to similar problems in the United States in the 1960s, and describes a successful re-education project for some 60 Roma families living in the town of Monor.

Hungarian Spectrum writes about nationalism, assimilation, open borders, Hungary's minorities and the Hungarian diaspora in the neighboring countries.

This month's updates on the 2009 Greek fiscal deficit - by Edward Hugh at A Fistful of Euros: here, here, here, here, and here. And a warning to Hungary - here: “So, Hungarian politicians be warned - You are not Greece right now, but you could so very easily end up where that poor, unfortunate country finds itself, and especially so if you make wildly optimistic growth scenarios, and debt to GDP forecasts, and doubly so if you think that coming out of the loving arms of the IMF will leave you free to go about your business as you see fit.”

BudapestZin writes about the renovation of Faluház/”Village House,” Budapest's largest apartment building: “In 844 apartments, more than 3000 people live in this building. That is approximately the population of an average Hungarian village.”

Belatedly, links to Marietta Le's posts on a recent environmental rally against construction that would destroy the Dunakeszi marsh, and on the Hungarian slam poetry.

Hungarian Spectrum writes about the Hungarian minority politics of the recent presidential election in Romania.

Some of the posts that have appeared on Hungarian Spectrum in the past ten days: “corruption and the unfriendly attitude toward foreign investors“; the Hungarian opposition leader's meeting with the Russian PM and the future of the Russian-Hungarian relations - here and here; murder at the University of Pécs - here and here; scandals surrounding the public television company of Hungary, MTV; politics and the H1N1 vaccine.