“It's amazing to see the Hungarian government acting as a Kremlin-controlled media outlet.” Hungary's elections, seen from the radio station left unlicensed by the Orbán government

“I would say that 95% of the press in Hungary is controlled or owned by the government,” Mihály Hardy, editor of Klubrádió, which in 2021 lost its license, says in an interview with the HotNews audience, becoming a symbol of what critics have denounced as the Orbán government's attack on Hungary's inconvenient media.

In 2021, Hungary's last independent radio station, Klubrádió, which was critical of the government, was taken off the air by the regulator, with the authorities citing a number of irregularities to deny the license renewal.

Klubrádió continued to broadcast online, and after five years, in February this year, the Court of Justice of the European Union ruled that Hungary broke EU law when it refused the station's license.

The Hungarian authorities must now comply with the ruling – but they haven't yet, Mihály Hardy, publisher of Klubrádió and former deputy editor-in-chief of the station, explained to the HotNews audience.

The Klubrádió case, which five years ago sparked street protests and criticism from the European Commission, has become emblematic of what critics have called the Orbán government's attack on an inconvenient press — a charge the executive denies.

After 16 years with Orbán, on the eve of the April 12 election, there are still a handful of independent media outlets in Hungary, but when asked about the state of the media, Mihály Hardy has a clear position.

“It's not free at all. It's totally controlled by the government or the business circles that are owned by the government or very close to it,” he said.

“Hungary violated freedom of expression and information”

The issues cited by the Hungarian authority in 2021 related to the late submission of reports on the content of the programmes. Klubrádió admitted these delays, but noted that similar mistakes by other broadcasters did not result in their licenses being revoked.

In any case, the judgment of the EU Court of Justice of 26 February 2026 was clear: “The decision to invalidate the auction was disproportionate, as was the automatic exclusion of the renewal of the rights of use of frequencies”.

The Hungarian authorities “also violated the freedom of expression and information enshrined in the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the EU”, the EU court also established.

Mihály Hardy explained to HotNews that Klubrádió's problems with the government had already started years ago, when the advertising of state companies, from which the radio station was partly financed, was cancelled.

Later, he said, “private advertisers got the message and stopped advertising at Klubrádió as well.

The station continued, relying on the support of listeners, but in 2021 it was time to renew the broadcast license.

“Klubrádió had an automatic license renewal option and the government or government media authority decided to cancel Klubrádió's use of the frequency.

“Everything was illegal. According to the opinion of the European Court. And of course also according to our opinion,” said the journalist.

“95% of the press in Hungary is controlled or owned by the government”

Hungary has fallen in recent years in the ranking of media freedom, according to international organizations.

The press was one of the first targets of Prime Minister Orbán's Fidesz government after taking power in 2010.

One of the first bills was one aimed at redrawing the regulatory system in the mass media, then the government changed the structure of public media institutions, purging critics and appointing only loyalists.

In the second term, the expansion of control over the media was very relevant, Róbert László, an expert of the Political Capital think-tank, explained in an interview for HotNews last year.

“We are talking about the closing of Népszabadság, which since 1956 was the most famous and relevant newspaper. And the same happened with other news portals. Some of them were closed, others were captured, and they simply redesigned the editorial policy,” said László.

“The government wanted to seize all the mass media, which, by the way, they succeeded quite well. Because at this moment, and this is how things are in 2018, I would say that 95% of the mass media in Hungary is controlled, or owned by the government,” Mihály Hardy also said.

The journalist also mentioned the creation in 2018 of a huge media conglomerate that acquired all the local newspapers.

“And now the government controls, except for one national television station, all the television stations, all the major newspapers,” he said.

“Older people will understand how the press worked under Nicolae Ceaușescu. The same applies to Hungary now”

Is the Hungarian press still free?

“It is no longer free at all. It is completely controlled by the government or the business circles that are owned by the government or very close to it,” said Mihály Hardy.

A statement rejected by the authorities, but confirmed by other sources. In 2025, Hungary ranked 68th in the World Press Freedom Index, down from 23rd in 2010, when Orbán first became prime minister.

Mihály Hardy also stated that journalists from government-controlled institutions “are mere propagandists”.

“Maybe the older people in Romania will understand how the press worked under Nicolae Ceaușescu, what the government propaganda looked like. The same applies to Hungary now,” he said.

“It's exactly Putin's propaganda”

Things, he said, were visible in the election campaign, when the government accused a collaboration between Kiev, Brussels and the Hungarian opposition that was aimed at removing Orbán from the government.

The campaign was tense. In recent weeks, Hungarian investigative journalist Szabolcs Panyi has been accused of carrying out espionage actions in coordination with another country, Gergely Gulyás, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán's chief of staff, announced on Thursday.

The journalist has published extensive investigations detailing Russian influence operations in Hungary, as well as the relationship between Moscow and Hungary's foreign minister, Peter Szijjarto.

The scandal erupted after media reported that Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto had for years made regular phone calls during breaks in EU meetings to update his Russian counterpart, Sergei Lavrov, with “live reports of what was discussed”.

During this time, “the controlled press exclusively picked up the government's messages. And, by the way, these messages, especially regarding the Ukrainian issue, are fully consistent with Moscow's position,” said Mihály Hardy.

“It's exactly Putin's propaganda. So it's amazing to see the Hungarian government acting as if it were a Russian media outlet under the total control of the Kremlin,” he added.

“All people in the opposition are called Ukrainian agents. It's total madness,” the journalist continued.

“A complete change of the political system is needed”

Péter Magyar, leader of the opposition Tisza party, has vowed to suspend state media until its independence can be restored, should it come to power after Sunday's election.

But what would it take for Hungary to build a strong media system?

“First of all, it's not just a political change, it will have to be a complete change of the political system, just like it was in 1989-1990,” said Mihály Hardy in the discussion with HotNews.

He insisted that Hungary would need a very long time and a long process to return to normal democratic values, speculating that “if Hungary applied to join the European Union right now, it would certainly not be allowed to join because we simply no longer meet democratic standards.”

But he warned that “everything needs to change, from the public service to media ownership.”

For now, the government has ignored the decision of the EU Court of Justice: “They do not understand or do not want to understand that the judgments of the European Court are binding on everyone.”

Klubrádió continues to broadcast on the Internet.

“Our radio is still very popular with people because we tell the truth, and our estimate is that at least 200,000 people listen daily, either for a short period or maybe from morning to night, Klubrádió,” assured Mihály Hardy.