PRESS REVIEW – Monday, April 6: Ahead of the Hungarian elections, we take a look at the satirical "Two-Tailed Dog Party", who are promising free beer for all while demanding anti-corruption measures. Meanwhile, the police have finally caught up with a French academic who earned prestige and recognition for an award he made up – one he then awarded to himself! And, as Easter Monday approaches, we explore how the resurrection of Christ, millennia on, continues to inspire cartoonists.
As Hungary prepares to go to the polls, a journalist from Politico joined members of the Two-Tailed Dog Party on the campaign trail. While their campaign promises may seem lighthearted – such as free beer for everyone – their critiques of Viktor Orban’s government are far more serious. On their campaign bus, filled with arcade-like games, visitors can steer a well-known Orbán associate around a course, collecting coins, or race one of his aides to parliament while dodging homeless people along the way. The activists strongly denounce corruption under the current leadership and are calling for more redistributive politics, as well as measures to tackle corruption in public procurement.
Prime Minister Orban is trailing in the polls ahead of Sunday’s vote, having suffered a significant setback last week from an investigation published by Polish news site VSquare. Leaked audio and transcripts of phone calls between Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto and Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov reveal Hungary’s efforts to act in Russia’s favour – seeking, and at times successfully obtaining, the de-listing of Russian oligarchs and entities from EU sanctions.
In France, Le Monde has uncovered the dubious story of Florent Montclair, the academic who was awarded the so-called "Philology Gold Medal" in 2016 at a ceremony held at the French National Assembly. Previous laureates of the award include renowned linguist Noam Chomsky, who travelled to Paris the following year to collect the prize in front of a 200-strong audience. However, when a Romanian academic was nominated for the award in 2018, journalists discovered that the prestigious medal – which purportedly dated back to 1967 and was supposedly affiliated with Delaware University – was a complete fabrication. Montclair had created the award, and he is now under investigation by French prosecutors for using a false title.
Lastly, this Easter weekend, The Week features cartoons poking fun at the policies of Donald Trump’s Christian nationalist regime, as Christians around the world celebrate the resurrection of Christ. Meanwhile, cartoonist Martin Perscheid offered a humorous take on a priest regretting the purchase of an IKEA crucifix – requiring him to nail Jesus to the cross himself.
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