A major problem with the structure of the EU is that it is not fully based on representative democracy. A case in point, notwithstanding the fact that EU Parliament members are elected by the citizens of the member states, EU leaders picked Ursula von her Leyen to replace Jean-Claude Juncker as the leader of the European Union’s executive branch behind closed doors.
We celebrated the thirty-third anniversary of the formation of the freely elected Hungarian National Assembly on 2 May. The question is, however, whether we should still celebrate it, since the bitter memories of recent times have now thoroughly overshadowed the initial euphoria of the regime change.
In the face of the challenges of the modern world, the Pope warned against the two contrary temptations of ‘bleak defeatism’ and ‘worldly conformism’.
Netanyahu must not retreat any further, as abandoning his right-wing agenda would threaten the stability of the coalition. Judicial reform in Israel is in fact the last salvation of Israeli democracy, of the rule of the people. Kim Lane Scheppele probably understands this very well—hence her recent attacks on Israel.
The Hungarian economy is among the most open ones, however, it is following technological advancements relatively slowly. This could be dangerous, but if Hungary adopts state-of-the-art technology with the help of public investments, there is a great opportunity for development.
It remains to be seen, however, if this desperate craving for attention, and the aggressive and violent actions that some of the opposition forces engage in are appealing to the Hungarian electorate. It is more likely that meaningful, constructive actions, and a comprehensive and relevant political agenda would benefit these opposition parties more than any of the stunts they have been recently engaging in.
Will the European Union gradually evolve into a community of fate? Whether or not this is going to happen will depend on the Europeans’ ability to learn from each other and to understand each other better. This again depends on mutual knowledge: of languages, of their respective neighbours’ histories, literatures and cultures… More mutual understanding may one day create a European public of some sort.
‘Those who oppose the Woke tide must recognize that the revolution they face is a many-headed hydra, driven and enabled by a multitude of factors beyond the political. Ultimately its deepest roots are in the social atomization, cultural breakdown, and the void of spiritual meaninglessness produced by the nihilism of Western modernity.’
‘But anyways, a changing of the guard is coming. And that means that Ursula von der Leyen—by the way, nominated, if not created, by former German Chancellor Angela Merkel—, just like Jens Stoltenberg, has to look for a new job. Pony riding is obviously no option for her any more. She is a political animal, a political wolf maybe. Too bad that there are technical and political obstacles.’
Ambassadors are supposed to represent their country’s interests in overseas capitals, including advocating for their government’s policies. But they are also supposed to be prudent and, well, diplomatic. Do the American people understand how David Pressman, Washington’s man in Budapest and the chief cosmetician of swinish policies, is coming off like a ham-fisted bully?—An opinion piece by Rod Dreher.
It is hardly an exaggeration to say that the Court of Justice of the European Union created the principle of primacy of EU law from scratch. Although nowadays the mainstream considers this idea unchallengeable, the task of the constitutional courts is precisely to promote the development of a healthy balance by strengthening the principle of constitutional identity. By finding a balance, the tension between the legal systems of the Member States and EU law might also become reconcilable.
Christians in Jerusalem have for decades been targeted by fundamentalist Jews…Christian leaders in Jerusalem say never have Israeli attackers felt more emboldened than under Netanyahu’s far-right ruling coalition.
US Ambassador to Hungary David Pressman caused quite an outrage with his recent decision to invite Jobbik president Márton Gyöngyösi to celebrate the Jewish holiday of Pesach at his residence. Gyöngyösi called for the creation of a list of Hungarian politicians of Jewish ancestry some years ago.
While some of the reservations regarding Easter-related folk traditions articulated from a female perspective can be appreciated, it is questionable whether it makes sense to conduct a Bolshevik-style anti-tradition campaign against rural folk customs. Of course, it is important that this Easter pouring of water in a traditional Hungarian family should be done with the consent of the girls. But it is pointless to pretend that there is any connection between that and the rape culture in the art world.
‘The current labour situation in Central and Eastern Europe is the real chance of the Roma right now. To be the working ones, the last ones, the valuable ones, the respected ones. Of course they need at least a basic education for that, but let’s admit: the colour of one’s skin and their ethnic background have a much lesser importance for employers nowadays than 15 or 20 years ago. If you are capable and available, come and get the job immediately, employers say.’
‘Normally, a member state’s disputes with Brussels about compliance with the EU regulations should not affect its NATO membership at all. What’s more, the European Union is not a ‘top-down organisation’, where one must comply with orders coming from the Brussels headquarters. Sanctions are decided by the European Council, consisting of the leaders of EU member states…There is no such thing as a single EU interest.’
‘It has long been argued that if a society accepts the proposition of gender identity, or transgender identities, as fully valid for individual identification purposes, then all problems will simply disappear. Yet in the United States…we see that the embracing of tolerance and acceptance by a sitting head of state is still not enough.’
If liberalism is to survive, it has to renavigate its ship from a universalistic, moralizing, abstract and therefore anti-political concept-world into the polis. Escaping its own totalist and hegemonic aspirations, it must become a part of politics: the constant formation and affirmation of who we are.
‘Let us not forget that while most of the world has rightly condemned the Russian invasion of Ukraine, twenty years ago the United States invaded Iraq on false information that former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein not only possessed weapons of mass destruction, but that he had a direct link to and was harbouring al-Qaeda terrorists…The tragic results cost several thousand US soldiers’ lives.’
In essence, Orbán’s government is signalling a willingness to cooperate with the internationally sanctioned Iranian regime even in areas such as nuclear policy.
Diplomacy has always been a complicated game of chess, not every move is going to be a winning one. It goes without say that there are advantages in implementing realpolitik, even with oppressive regimes. The paradox is that it can also make them even stronger.
Von der Leyen has become one of the closest allies of the United States, both when it comes to making an official stance regarding China, or when it comes to passing judgements in the ongoing Russo-Ukrainian conflict. Charles Michel, on the other hand, finds it necessary to create a uniquely European way of thinking, slightly distinct from that of the United States.
Hungary’s green party, LMP vocally objects to the planned investments on environmental grounds. First, it started organising a local referendum in Debrecen on the matter. Although the party did get a green light to collect signatures for the plebiscite, it never actually began working on implementing its initiative.
The blossoming of conservative institutions infuriated the Left so much that it started to label their work as ’pseudo-scientific’ and ’ideological’, an attempt to ’hijack’ science and— of course—democracy, by ’bypassing’ the so called ’official’ repositories of science: the Hungarian Academy of Sciences and universities.
Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s approach to the Russian-Ukraine war is not Russia-sympathetic, but Hungarian-pragmatic. He has made it clear that Hungary condemns the Russian invasion into Ukraine and stands for Ukrainian sovereignty, but not to the point that agreeing to energy sanctions would crush Hungary’s economy.
How long do we have to put up with the relativisation of the Holocaust, and the irresponsible usage of the ‘Nazi’ attribute? Does the wish to overthrow Viktor Orbán really justify anything now?
As the Georgian government dropped the country’s foreign agent draft law due to protests, Republika Srpska announced the implementation of a similar law. Hungary was again condemned in the international media for introducing a piece of legislation in 2017 by the same name—without assessing either the content of the Hungarian law or reminding their readers that it was revoked in 2021.
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.
‘The significance of Western arms donations is grossly overestimated. This is not helped by a Western press that has sunk to the level of the Pravda, stifling even the slightest attempts at sober analysis and objective discussion.’
Beinart’s reasoning strongly echoes the views of anti-Semites, who also argue that Israel can never be a democracy because of its Jewish character. Their argument goes something like this: Jews are incapable of running a country and, because they don’t want to work, they can only survive by oppressing non-Jews. This view, incidentally, also appeared in German propaganda in the 1930s.
Russia’s military presence in Crimea is a major element in Moscow’s efforts to project power in the Black Sea region and beyond, and the annexation of the peninsula has given it a strategically valuable foothold in the area.