Hungarian Conservative

The 1848-49 Revolution and Freedom Fight fundamentally changed the course of Hungarian history, and it remains the core of Hungarian national identity to this day. 

Illiberal democracy
is a set-up, such as Hungary, in which democracy prevails, but without the stultifying carapace of liberal (or “liberal”) pieties and prejudices.

‘We have come to learn that in Hungary there is some (healthy) debate about the balance between fighting for freedom and building for freedom. This debate should not be regarded as a choice between two mutually exclusive paths, but rather as a pursuit to balance two necessary components of the same struggle. What is so remarkable about this discussion from an Afrikaner perspective, is that it speaks directly to one of our main slogans: “veg en bou” (“fight and build”). When we say veg en bou, we mean that we have to fight against injustice in order to protect what is ours, but at the same time, we ought to develop our own institutions to strengthen our ability to take care of our communities.’

On the left side of today’s Rákóczi Road, on the way to Astoria, stood the Úttörő és Ifjúsági (Pioneer and Youth) State Store, which opened in the autumn of 1950 and was one of the most important shopping outlets for the youth of the time. Among its main goods were children’s clothing, sports and play equipment, children’s furniture, and, of course, as its name suggests, pioneer paraphernalia as well.

On 23 October 1956, István Üsztöke participated in the production of the famous sixteen points demanding democracy as a printer, for which he had to flee from Hungary. He emigrated to the US, where he worked as a printer until his retirement, then as a real estate agent, a candy man, and finally as a TV producer, for which he was personally honoured by former Hungarian President János Áder.

Presidents’ Day was originally celebrated on George Washington’s birthday, 22 February, but it was later moved to the third Monday in every February—which is today. Since this is a presidential election year in the United States, let’s take a look at the way the very first POTUS led the country in its infancy.

An interview with Hungarian American political scientist András Ludányi on his family background, scouting, his teaching career, his political preferences, and the representation of Hungarian interests in the US.

Ferenc Deák, the primary facilitator of the Austro–Hungarian Compromise of 1867, the country’s first Minister of Justice, and the namesake of so many public spaces and institutions in Hungary today, passed away 148 years ago on this day.

When arguing against stricter immigration laws, some on the left like to appeal to the significance of migration in American history. However, the truth is that there has never been a popular demand for lack of immigration control in the United States.

When the Soviet intervention against the Hungarian Revolution was placed on the agenda of the UN Security Council, the Soviets immediately vetoed it: their argument was that it was no more than a ‘reactionary uprising’ supported by the US. The French, meanwhile, were of the view that not only the UN Charter had been contravened in Hungary, but also the Paris Peace Treaties, and even the Warsaw Pact that served the legal foundation for the invasion. On the other hand, the United Kingdom questioned whether the use of Soviet military forces stationed in Hungary under a valid treaty and at the behest of the Hungarian government could even be called an intervention at all.

Professor Kollár briefed the PM about the scientific body’s work in the recent period, and the two leaders also discussed key challenges facing Hungary amidst a war, demographic and economic problems, and challenges to national sovereignty.

During the nominee’s parliamentary committee hearing, Defence Minister Kristóf Szalay-Bobrovniczky stated that the leadership of the armed forces has been significantly and fundamentally renewed over the past one and a half to two years; practically the entire leadership of the HDF has changed, and all unit commanders are excellent young officers.

The legendary photographer passed away 83 years ago today. His ambition was not to commemorate the political elite, the aristocracy, or the world of finance of his time, but rather the contemporary intellectual giants of Hungarian society, the progressive Hungarian intelligentsia, and the luminaries of culture. Thanks to his professional expertise and empathy, his photographs captured the essence of the personalities of his subjects.

Béla Bartók, one of the greatest musical geniuses of the 20th century, and his friend, another world-renowned giant of Hungarian music, Zoltán Kodály undertook together their major endeavour of national significance—collecting and publishing the full corpus of Hungarian folk songs.

The 26th President of the United States, one of the most popular and influential people to hold the office, Theodore Roosevelt became the first US President, incumbent or former, to set foot on Hungarian soil when he gave a speech in the Hungarian Parliament in 1910. He was invited by his friend Count Albert Apponyi, whom he had hosted in the White House for lunch in 1904.

‘Veszprém is clearly looking for its place. However, it is close to Budapest, Vienna, Győr, and Lake Balaton, the landscape is also beautiful and its location and millennia of tradition all predestine it to be a cultural capital and a gastronomic centre. It has all the necessary ingredients.’

Zsigmond Kisfaludi Strobl completed his magnum opus, the Liberty Statue of Budapest in 1947, in just two years. It was originally a monument dedicated to the ‘liberating’ Soviet forces at the end of World War II. However, elements of the composition alluding to its original purpose were removed, and it still stands tall on top of Gellért Hill as a beacon of Hungarian freedom today.

President Katalin Novák received Pope Francis with military honours in front of the presidential offices at the Sándor Palace, in the Castle District this morning. Prime Minister Viktor Orbán and House Speaker László Kövér were also in attendance. The Holy Father arrived at the palace in a Fiat 500X accompanied by three hussars of the count Ferenc Nádasdy Hussar Regiment.

Zsolt Bayer, known for his radical rhetoric, announced that another Peace March would be held during the papal visit, and asked people to attend in ‘awfully large numbers’, as a big turnout would not only ‘have a spiritual, but also a political message’.

In the spring of 1848, there were a series of revolutionary movements aimed to overthrow or reform monarchical government systems and create new nation states throughout the whole of Europe, which partly contributed to the outbreak of the Hungarian Revolution in Pest on 15 March 1848.

It must have been clear to everyone that a decision had to be made about whether they wanted to be on the side of the government, collaborating with the German invaders, or whether they would resign or perhaps join the resistance.

6 October is a National Day of Mourning in Hungary remembering the Thirteen Martyrs of Arad who made the ultimate sacrifice for Hungary’s freedom and independence after the defeat of the 1848–49 Revolution and Freedom Fight.

The writer Dezső Szabó had many periods in his career—pro-Catholic, strongly protestant, bourgeoise radical, communist, anti-semitic and finally, anti-Nazi—, but in the early twenties, he was definitely going through a nationalist and anti-semitic phase. His contemporary speeches and articles provide much of the reason why contemporary historians label him an extremist.

The term is more and more frequently heard from the lips of generations who were born long after the 90s, but do they and those older than them use it correctly, and are they aware of its exact meaning?

The early twenties in Hungary brought about not only a fervent nationalist discussion about Trianon, the Romani or antisemitism, but also illusory concepts regarding the Eastern roots of the Hungarian people.

It is not only the architectural heritage of the capital city that the Fidesz government has been eager to preserve, but that of the countryside as well.

This article will help you understand why this position was so coveted by those seeking to control the country – among them the Nazi occupiers of 1944 and the Communists. 

‘We try and keep the illusion awake in ourselves that we can cross to Nagyvárad or drop by to Nagyszalonta and then run from Makó to Arad, as it used to be—so natural, so self-evident. And then all of a sudden, we realise it is no longer possible.’

Carl von Clausewitz advised that “According to our idea of a people’s war, it should, like a kind of nebulous vapoury essence, never condense
into a solid body; […]. Still, however, on the other hand, it is necessary that this mist should collect at some points into denser masses, and form threatening clouds from which now and again a formidable flash of lightning may burst forth.

Pál Teleki, famous Hungarian politician and geographer, believed that the preservation of the Carpathian Basin as an undivided hydrographical unit could serve as a compelling argument of natural geography against splitting up the region politically.