The biannual Demographic Summit is being held for the fifth time in Budapest, Hungary between 14–16 September. This year’s venue is the Budapest Museum of Fine Arts, located by one of the most iconic sights of the Hungarian capital, Heroes’ Square. Illustrious guests this year included Tanzanian Vice President Philip Isdor Mpango, Bulgarian President Rumen Radev, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and PM Viktor Orbán. (The Hungarian PM also delivered remarks, announcing important new demographic measures. We will be reporting on his speech shortly.)
Inside, a whole slew of illustrious guests were slated to take the stage, all there to share their thoughts on one common issue: the demographic crisis of our time. To put it in the form of a question:
what should we do to make young people want to have more children?
The first of the most anticipated speakers of Day 1 was none other than the world-renowned Canadian clinical psychologist and philosopher Jordan B. Peterson.
He started his speech by talking about a ‘misconception of mental health and identity’ that he believes is prevalent today, by which people believe that as long as their ‘materialistic brain health’, their ego, and their psyche are healthy, they are mentally healthy. However, he believes this idea fails to fully grasp the importance of social connections for a person. As he put it, ‘how sane can you be if your wife is unhappy?’
He went on to point out that humans are such social creatures that even the most antisocial of us all, psychopathic criminals are punished with isolation in the prison system. Dr Peterson believes that humans define themselves through constantly negotiated social identities, and that the progressive ‘I am who I am’ approach to identity is not a good way forward, as it does not provide stability and direction to the individual. He added that the lack of stability is what leads to anxiety.
Jordan B. Peterson at 2023 Budapest Demographic Summit.
PHOTO: Kristóf Máth / Hungarian Conservative
He stressed that
a ‘long-term, monogamous, child-centric relationship’ should be the ideal goal for everyone in society,
with ‘transcendental commitment’ to our partner. In accordance with the objective of the conference, Dr Peterson also told the audience that having children is the most important part of the ideal, as your child is the only person who is more important than yourself. Your partner should be as important to you as yourself, but your offspring even more so; and people can only truly mature if they have someone that is more important than themselves in their lives, according to the professor.
Katalin Novák: Families Fought a ‘War of Independence’ of Their Own in Hungary
As President Novák pointed out, the presidency is the third public office she had the chance to welcome the attendees of the Demographic Summit from. First, she was State Secretary for Family Affairs, then Minister of Family Affairs, and she is now President of the Republic.
She also highlighted that she had her three children between 2004 and 2008, during the time of a Socialist government in Hungary, when the time of paid family leave was shortened and other state family and homeowners’ supports were cut or outright abolished as well. Hungarian families, however, fought back in what the President called ‘a War of Independence’, through civil movements such as the Population Increase Round Table (Népesedési Kerekasztal). With their efforts, they managed to get Hungarian birth rates up from record lows.
In reference to the Twelve Points of the 1848 Hungarian revolutionaries fighting against Habsburg oppression, President Novák presented ‘the 12 points of the Hungarian families’ freedom fight’. According to the manifesto,
- We must have the freedom to raise our children, free from harmful ideologies.
- We cannot allow our children to be deprived of their sense of safety based on their sense of self-identity. (She was clearly referring to confusing gender theories being taught to children in some Western countries.)
- We must have pro-family decision-makers in power.
- Hungary must not give its consent to anti-family decisions on international matters.
- Safety for our families: our kindergartens, schools, villages, cities, country, and borders must remain safe.
- Adequate opportunities for those with children: we must not let those who choose to have children be worse off than those who do not; we must not let someone having a child risk being dragged into poverty.
- We must not let finances get in the way of having children.
- We must have respect for the elderly.
- We must provide real freedom of choice for women, we must keep them from having to choose between having a family or a career.
- We must help the youth in finding housing for themselves.
- We must have a competitive public education, vocational education, higher education, and public health care system.
- We must pay attention to the Hungarian families living beyond our borders.
President Novák then welcomed Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, who was scheduled to speak later. As also attested by the photos shared on President Novák’s X account, the two high-ranking stateswomen have an excellent personal relationship.
In her remarks, PM Meloni stressed that family matters and raising birth rates are ‘at the heart’ of the Italian government led by her,
and later also called these issues ‘a top priority’. She pointed out that past generations used to have children even in times of war and poverty, yet today’s Europe is facing a demographic crisis in relative prosperity. She also highlighted the ‘worrying projections’ about Europe’s and Italy’s population change in the future. She went on to state that ‘the nation’s future depends on’ fixing these issues, and she does not see mass migration as a viable solution.
She recalled the time during her campaign when she was ridiculed in the Italian media for simply stating ‘I’m Giorgia, I’m a mother, I’m a woman, I’m Christian, and I’m Italian’, which she saw as evidence of ‘attacks on our identity’. However, this incident ultimately helped her win the election.
About Hungary, PM Meloni said that it’s a great example of effective family policies leading to higher birth rates, and praised President Novák for daring to say that family is the key to security, a mantra she believes European leaders should heed.
Meloni and Orbán Agree on Families, Importance of Support for Kyiv and Migration
PM Meloni was also received by Viktor Orbán at the Carmelite Monastery, and the two were clearly happy to see each other. Spiting those who have been suggesting that she is consciously distancing herself from Orbán, Meloni stated that she and the Hungarian Prime Minister are good friends and have been that for a long time.
Orbán and the Italian PM discussed the importance of families during their one-on-one meeting and denounced the Russian aggression against Ukraine, called for peace, and stressed the importance of preserving the unity of the European Union regarding support for Kyiv. The two leaders also shared the view that illegal migration must be tackled collectively and resolutely, focusing on help provided to source and transit countries.
You can watch a recording of Day 1 of the Budapest Demographic Summit Here, as published on Viktor Orbán’s YouTube Channel:
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