The Strasbourg-based Council of Europe welcomed the positive changes in Hungary since ECRI’s latest report adopted in 2015. However, ECRI also expressed concern about legislative changes that in their view ‘seriously undermine the human rights of LGBTI communities’ and about measures taken during the emergency period declared during the coronavirus pandemic.
By law, the Anti-Corruption Task Force prepares a report by 15 March each year and submits it to the government, which discusses the proposals within two months. If a proposal is rejected, the government informs the task force’s chairman of the reasons for its decision. This year’s full document will soon be available on kormany.hu.
The research conducted by the Danube Institute contradicts the image of an anti-Semitic Hungary painted by many Western mainstream media outlets. Thanks to the government’s zero tolerance policy, public anti-Semitic expressions are no longer tolerated and Jewish people can freely walk in the streets and worship in synagogues without having to rely on heavy security presence.
Regrettably, the US-led West’s ‘war fever’ Orbán spoke about has profound roots. A clear example of this was what led to the First World War.
In a recent survey by the Youth Research Institute, more than half (52 per cent) of young Hungarian adults polled said that despite the current inflationary environment, they are able to live well on their income, with a further three per cent claiming not to have any financial worries.
What is also crucial to the strategy proposed by Balázs Orbán is the preservation of interconnectivity within the West. Strengthening the cornerstones of Western civilisation, rooted in Judeo-Christian values, is paramount, the political director underscores in his piece, adding that sovereignty, religion, and family must be defended from destructive attempts to ‘undermine our shared values and identity.’
Hungarian Conservative is a quarterly magazine on contemporary political, philosophical and cultural issues from a conservative perspective.