‘Republicans should be especially concerned about their ability in the post-Trump era to retain gains in the Rust Belt, where the president-elect is uniquely popular among white working-class voters. Trump has twice carried Michigan and Pennsylvania, which hadn’t voted for a Republican candidate since 1988, and Wisconsin, which a Republican hadn’t won since 1984.’
Nine months after a savage act of vandalism at Trinity College Cambridge, anger is growing at its lacklustre response.
‘The inconclusive referendum held a few years after the millennium is still a blot on Hungarian social life. Thanks to a section of the Hungarian political elite of the time and a large number of misguided voters, that day became a day of national betrayal.’
History professor Allan Lichtman’s Keys to the White House model predicted Kamala Harris would win the 2024 election, which, evidently, was won by Donald Trump instead. Professor Lichtman can’t seem to accept that his model failed, so he argued that it missed because it relies on ‘a rational, pragmatic electorate’—is that really why ‘the great predictor’ missed?
‘In the East, the communist worldview largely rejected the nuclear family unit, seeing it rather as an economic unit that ideologically furthered capitalist interests. In the West, a notion emerged in the latter twentieth century that largely views prioritizing family as limiting individual autonomy and self-fulfillment. We are the inheritors of societies that have been profoundly shaped by one or both worldviews.’
‘Last year, Pope Francis met separately with relatives of Israeli hostages in Gaza and Palestinians living through the war. His use of terminology such as “terrorism”, and, according to the Palestinians, “genocide”, set off a firestorm. In any case, the Pontiff now says in his book: “According to some experts, what is happening in Gaza has the characteristics of a genocide. It should be carefully investigated to determine whether it fits into the technical definition formulated by jurists and international bodies.”’
‘The ceasefire is a development that aligns with the Trump administration’s anticipated foreign policy approach, which is expected to support Israel’s military objectives while facilitating diplomatic resolutions to regional conflicts. The ceasefire may also pave the way for expanding the Abraham Accords, with potential new agreements involving countries like Saudi Arabia.’
‘For Hungary, Clement’s tenure offered little tangible support during one of its darkest eras, while his broader legacy includes the catastrophic Sack of Rome, the expansion of Protestantism, and the Anglican schism. Today, he is remembered not as a leader who rose to the challenges of his time, but as a figure whose reign epitomized the turbulence and contradictions of the Renaissance papacy.’
‘Was Bannon alluding to decimation, whereby as punishment for cowardice or insubordination in the army, one soldier out of ten was picked to be executed, sometimes by their own brothers-in-arms? Would Steve march into the MSNBC newsroom with a dozen lictors? Would he have ten journos draw straws and make sure that Chris Haynes be one of them and that he get to draw the short one?’
‘Aside from a rare or every-now-and-then post, hardly anyone in the mainstream media—this goes for our politicians too—speaks to us about the Christian genocide in Nigeria at the hands of Islamic fundamentalists. While Western politicians and certain of our own Catholic hierarchy are reticent, to say the least, to publicly speak about this—such silence is not only scandalous but inadvertently contributes to the persecution—our Catholic brothers and sisters are being slaughtered.’
In a ruling delivered on 12 November 2024, the ECHR condemned Denmark for deporting an Iraqi drug trafficker. The European judges established new principles in this case that could set a precedent and further limit States’ rights to deport foreign criminals. The ruling also undermines UN conventions on drug control.
‘The fact that the Ukrainians are both stretched out and exhausted, foreseeing their eventual defeat on the battlefield to the Russians, the use of ATACMS will extend the war into next year, at least until when Donald Trump takes over the reins in Washington. The new president would thus be historically blamed for losing Ukraine to our old Soviet adversary.’
‘Trump 2.0 is a huge opportunity. Of course there are risks. Of course there will be things the administration does which I will disagree with. But the big picture is what matters. His victory is a victory for conservative forces across the world, a victory for foreign policy realism and for getting our means in line with resources.’
‘The EU can draw inspiration from global leaders like the United States and China. Both nations are integrating economic growth with environmental sustainability—whether through the American Inflation Reduction Act or the latest iteration of China’s Five-Year Plan. These strategies emphasize harmony between development and sustainability. The EU should adopt a similar approach.’
Rejecting Balázs Orbán’s PhD thesis based on his political affiliation is akin to barring a qualified athlete from competing in the Olympics solely because of their worldview.
‘One of the reasons Americans re-elected Donald Trump, aside the crisis at the southern U.S.–Mexican border and the economy, was a sense of a degradation of our patriotism with identity politics vis-à-vis LGTBQ+ and Black Lives Matter agendas, to name just a couple. Any private or public disagreement instantaneously labeled one as a fascist “anti-American”. This was a failed political tactic, which the Democratic Party and most media thought would win over, by patronizing them, those they referred to as “discriminated” and “marginalized”’.
‘Persecution based on one’s ethnicity is unacceptable in any form, whether directed at Jews or anyone else. However, when this persecution is carried out by foreign groups arriving illegally, exploiting state resources, and disregarding our laws and culture, every fellow European should be outraged.’
‘Ultimately, COP29 will likely reaffirm what we’ve long known about global climate diplomacy: nations, despite their collective rhetoric, will prioritize their own interests. For wealthier countries in the Global North, the climate agenda offers an opportunity to entrench their geopolitical and economic dominance under the guise of green leadership.’
The German paper Passauer Neuer Presse conducted an interview with EPP President Manfred Weber on the occasion of the informal European Council meeting in Budapest, using the opportunity to prod him on the supposed ‘isolation’ of Prime Minister Viktor Orbán within the EU. Weber was also asked about the impact of the results of the US presidential elections on Europe.
A new court ruling this week has prevented Italy from transferring migrants to reception centres in Albania under an agreement with the Balkan country. Similar cases highlight that the position of national and European courts on migration is one of the biggest obstacles to addressing this pressing issue.
‘This is not a West–East conflict, but a West–West conflict. It is the traditional West versus the liberal, and even increasingly left-wing, self-eliminating West. The conflict is strong because we want the West that they want to abolish. They think it was hell worth to be eliminated, but we think it was a pretty good little world, and we want to remain an extended part of it.’
‘Although almost all of Hungary was covered in noxious and harmful air for the entire weekend, so too was more than half of Central and Northern Europe, with countries such as Denmark, Germany, Czechia, Slovakia, Slovenia, as well as Italy also being directly affected by the emanations (wherever they may have come from)….But what is the cause?’
‘According to Dutch intelligence, Iran has used Moroccan Dutch gangsters to eliminate two “enemies of the state” abroad, but it also actively protects clan leaders. Between 2019 and 2021, during the time of the trial of a Moroccan clan chief, a key witness’ brother was killed, followed by his lawyer and finally a crime reporter who was covering the case. And what about antisemitism? Dutch Jews have been sounding the alarm for years.’
‘It is a strange tale to trace how the first communist group was dominated by Italian communists who cut their teeth in the partisan resistance forces whilst the largest Italian delegation in its present-day incarnation is mostly made up of MEPs from a party which until recently could not decide whether they were right-wing populist Eurosceptics or liberal Eurofederalists.’
‘While the exponential growth of AI heightens immediate concerns about meeting energy demand, green energy ambitions must be evaluated through the lens of feasibility, affordability, and reliability…Because demand is ever-increasing, policy makers must take a pragmatic approach, encouraging supply and production expansion across every fuel type, wherever practical.’
‘It is not so much members of the Blob influencing American foreign policy for their own personal gain that has yielded catastrophic results but rather the hubris of spreading illiberal democracy after the collapse of the Soviet Union. The Orange Revolution, sparked by this elite under the bogus notion to reshape Ukraine into a liberal democracy, is just one inept demonstration of this.’
‘Donald Trump’s sweeping election victory will reshape the European power landscape, catapulting Hungary from a state disdained by Washington, whose ambassador routinely and rudely lambasts his host country, into one of America’s most important allies. It is not good for Europe that it exists as a dependency on the American Empire, but that’s simply a fact. Now that Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s good friend is about to return to the White House, Hungary gains the most powerful new ally imaginable in its dealings with its EU partners. The days of bullying Hungary are over.’
President Donald Trump became the second President in US history to be elected to a second, non-consecutive term after Grover Cleveland. He defeated Vice President Kamala Harris from the Democratic Party with a projected 312 electoral votes. He is also on track to win the popular vote, the first Republican to do so in a presidential election since George W Bush in 2004.
‘Hungarians had hoped that the newly formed European Parliament would finally move past the practice of stigmatizing those whose democratically elected positions differ from the Brussels mainstream. Instead, the Brussels elite decided to welcome the election results with blatant anti-democratic tactics, dismissing the political significance and representation of millions of European citizens…The cordon sanitaire is not just an attack on millions of European voters—it is an assault on European democracy and the rule of law.’
‘The question of what a Harris administration’s foreign policy would be is rather like asking a cat its views on quantum mechanics: you’re unlikely to get much clarity. There’s been a rather large absence of any discernible worldview to distinguish her from her boss, Joe Biden. Indeed, one might say her foreign policy is as elusive as the Hungarian summer—everyone has vague expectations, but no one is quite sure what it’ll look like when it finally arrives.’