The world that emerged after the Cold War is fading fast. As 2026 begins, a less ideological, more power-driven international order is taking shape—what Viktor Orbán has described as the ‘age of nations’. Recent US actions, shifting alliances and the decline of liberal norms reveal the defining features of this new global reality.
‘The core paradox of the European Union has always been an aspiration to function as an imperial power without possessing imperial sovereignty. It claims authority over trade, regulations, and cultural norms across the continent, yet it relies on the American nuclear umbrella for external protection and lacks the independent military force needed to impose its will.’
Hungary’s rearmament is looking to its traditional German suppliers, while also reaching beyond blocs to Türkiye and Brazil.
‘Progressive reformers often attack inherited institutions without understanding their purpose. They see a custom, find no use, and abolish it.’
As Britain slides further into Labour-led authoritarianism, free speech is rapidly fading away—unless protestors are shouting about Palestine.
‘While a successful and prosperous EU is in the best interest of Budapest, unfortunately nothing illustrates what Europe has become in 2025 better than the National Security Strategy of the United States of America, which spoke of the “prospect of [Europe’s] civilizational erasure”.’
Author Adam LeBor gives the Hungarian Conservative his list of must-read thrillers for this holiday season.
‘The drinking of wine for social reasons is undeniably a trait of Jesus Christ Himself, as evident when at the Wedding at Cana…’
‘The leaders of the most successful small or medium-sized countries tend to be acutely aware of the dexterity required to maintain security…it seems very unlikely that they and others like them will get lost in their own imagination or succumb to the self-fulfilling fatalism of the postmodernist cosmopolitan mind that gave birth to the “end of history”, the “rules-based liberal international order”, and all the rest of that dangerous nonsense.’
‘The comical mercy the victorious mice show the cats makes Cat City the perfect watch with children this Christmas.’
Since Hungary is a landlocked nation in the heart of Europe, some of these Christmas traditions might be found in other countries.
Why does Germany react with moral panic to Washington’s 2025 National Security Strategy, a document clarifying national interests while exposing Europe’s civilizational erosion, strategic weakness, and German political culture that treats realism as illegitimate, borders as taboo, and national interests as extremism, revealing Germany’s inability to act as a nation?
‘Rubio has ordered that all official communications of the US government must no longer be set in Calibri but revert to Times New Roman.’
‘Christianity gave birth to the continent’s moral imagination, legal systems, and cultural achievements. To strip schools of this heritage is not neutrality; it is amnesia.’
‘Washington’s unconditional support has given Israel a green light to act rashly, drawing the U.S. into unwanted military engagements.’
Criticizing the EU is becoming increasingly difficult with online censorship rules, such as the Digital Services Act, as well as member state rules in France and Germany against ‘insulting’ certain politicians.
What could be God’s stance on homosexuality? Why is the anti-abortion stance a minority view in Finland? What is the problem with the integration of non-Christian migrants? We talked to a former Minister of the Interior of Finland at Axioma Center’s conference about the criminal proceedings initiated against her and the status of freedom of religion and freedom of expression in Finland.
‘Imagine if the annulment of a national election result that took place in Romania in 2024 had happened in Hungary…It is not hard to imagine what kind of media coverage it would have gotten had the highest court in Hungary made such a decision…The Western media’s favourite terms, “authoritarian”, “totalitarian”, and “right-wing fascist” would have been used like machine gun fire.’
‘The issue of language doesn’t end with the culture war, it’s relevant across every level of issues and ideological questions.’
Ursula von der Leyen claims only voters decide a nation’s leaders—yet recent EU actions tell a very different story. From Romania’s annulled election to Germany’s institutional crackdown on AfD and France’s judicial assault on Marine Le Pen, the Union shows an increasingly authoritarian instinct that undermines democratic choice.
‘For the Budapest-centric circles I move in, the strategy paper consists mainly of familiar assumptions and positions.’
‘Takaichi stood in front of applauding ministers when she announced her plans to allow workers to work up to 100 overtime hours a month.’
The EU has spent the past decade dismissing Hungary’s warnings about migration and sovereignty. Now Washington under Trump is sounding the same alarm, urging Europe to stop its downward spiral—but Brussels responds with indignation instead of introspection, accelerating its decline.
‘If the countries of Europe truly fear abandonment by the United States, they should first and foremost invest in their own security.’
X is filled with videos of the Budapest Christmas lights, as well as the large outdoor festive market located near St Stephen’s Basilica.
‘The Americans left Somogy county, but they left behind the tradition of American–Hungarian cooperation and friendship—making it possible, perhaps for the first time in Hungary’s history, to host the army of a great power not as occupiers, but as guests.’
‘Unless NATO can produce a credible plan to remain relevant in a world that is changing dramatically—geopolitically and technologically—it risks falling apart under the weight of its own irrelevance.’
During the session on the bill, the National Rally was called the ‘party of the SS’ by one left-wing parliamentarian.
‘Arany’s legacy lives on nationally and internationally as someone who spoke for a nation in a moment of deep peril and despair.’
‘The legacy of Klára Andrássy is one of turning the Andrássy Palace into an open centre of anti-Nazi resistance.’