Tuesday 18 December 2012

Hungary - more (one-sided) culture wars



Hungarian National Theatre, Budapest


From a friend in Hungary

via Népszava - Hungary

Orbán influences National Theatre appointment.

Róbert Alföldi, the current director of the Hungarian National Theatre, will be replaced by the pro-government appointee Attila Vidnyánszky in mid-2013.

The left-leaning daily Népszava denounces the fact that the appointment was clearly influenced by the right-wing conservative government of Viktor Orbán:

"Pluralism in Hungary looks somewhat different than it does in Western Europe. For example it was clear right from the start that Attila Vidnyánszky would be appointed director of the National Theatre. ... Under normal circumstances Róbert Alföldi would have had a good chance of continuing his successful work at the theatre. ... But those in power put together the 9-member committee charged with deciding who would be director in such a way that practically all of its members were pro-government. So the writing was very much on the wall." (17/12/2012)



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