The US arrest of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro has sparked global controversy over sovereignty and interventionism. Budapest-based Mathias Corvinus Collegium organized a high-level panel featuring Venezuelan opposition figure Alejandro Peña Esclusa to examine the operation’s impact on Venezuela, as well as its regional and international implications.
Voter preferences in Hungary remained largely unchanged over the Christmas break, with the governing Fidesz–KDNP alliance maintaining a clear lead over the opposition, according to a new poll that suggests the political balance has stabilized.
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has unveiled a generational renewal within the governing Fidesz–KDNP alliance ahead of the 2026 parliamentary election, announcing that 41 new candidates will join 65 returning MPs. Speaking at the party’s congress, Orbán framed the upcoming election as decisive for the future of Hungary.
German MEP from the left-wing BSW Fabio De Masi sued the European Commission over its lack of transparency on arms-industry contacts. After months of incomplete replies, he argues the Commission violated EU treaties and the Parliament’s oversight rights—raising fears of a Pfizergate-like scandal amid the EU’s multibillion-euro defence spending.
‘Broadly speaking, Hungary rejects the two main driving forces behind the anti-Israel sentiment in Europe: Wokeism and mass migration. But unlike other countries in Europe that share the same views on these topics, Hungary’s strong pro-Israel stance organically flows from this rejection, and also constitutes an integral part of its conservative vision for the future realignment of the European right.’
As Portugal prepares for its seventh election in just three years, the presidential contest is shaping up as a defining test for the country’s political future. With polls showing a near-certain run-off, Chega leader André Ventura has emerged as the frontrunner, signalling a further collapse of the traditional parties’ grip on power.
Prime Minister Viktor Orbán of Hungary has shared a letter from US President Trump in which he compliments his leadership, wishes him luck in this year’s election, and—more importantly—hints at a potential presidential visit to Hungary in the near future.
As elections approach, voters increasingly link their security to political outcomes. The right strengthened its lead in December, as the Tisza Party failed to gain ground amid growing awareness of its leaked tax plans aligned with Brussels, which many see as a direct threat to household finances and national stability, a new report by the Center for Fundamental Rights claims.
The world that emerged after the Cold War is fading fast. As 2026 begins, a less ideological, more power-driven international order is taking shape—what Viktor Orbán has described as the ‘age of nations’. Recent US actions, shifting alliances and the decline of liberal norms reveal the defining features of this new global reality.
In an uncovered tweet, socialist New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s Director of the Office to Protect Tenants called private property and homeownership a ‘weapon of white supremacy’. In a resurfaced clip, she also claimed that the idea of homeownership is rooted in ‘deep racism and deep classism’.
AfD has entered 2026 as Germany’s most popular party, widening its advantage over the CDU in the first poll of the New Year. As the party surges ahead of all governing parties, the results reflect a growing rejection of establishment politics ahead of decisive state elections.
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has vowed to conclude talks with Slovakia over a new law criminalizing criticism of the Beneš decrees, warning that it revives the principle of collective guilt. The legislation has strained bilateral relations and reignited long-standing disputes over the treatment of the Hungarian minority in Slovakia.
‘The Czech Republic’s new coalition government…marks a shift towards a sovereignty-focused, security-conscious, and state-centred model of governance.’
Viktor Orbán opened the year with a two-hour international press conference, declaring that 2025 marked the definitive end of the liberal world order and the dawn of an ‘age of nations’. Promoting Hungary’s ‘peace economy’, opposition to war-driven policies and EU migration plans, he framed the coming election as a decisive civilizational choice.
‘The core paradox of the European Union has always been an aspiration to function as an imperial power without possessing imperial sovereignty. It claims authority over trade, regulations, and cultural norms across the continent, yet it relies on the American nuclear umbrella for external protection and lacks the independent military force needed to impose its will.’
From Hungary to the United States, and from Sweden to Slovenia, 2026 will be a defining election year with consequences far beyond national borders. As conservative and populist forces challenge entrenched elites, several key votes are set to reshape Europe’s political balance and test the durability of the global right’s recent momentum.
2025 is likely to be remembered as the year the post–Cold War order finally collapsed. From Donald Trump’s return to the White House and his America First diplomacy to the erosion of liberal institutions, trade realignment and the retreat of woke ideology, the foundations of a multipolar world have decisively taken shape.
Russia’s claim that Ukraine attempted a drone attack on President Vladimir Putin’s residence has cast a shadow over fragile peace talks just as negotiations appeared to be nearing a breakthrough. While Kyiv denies the allegation and Washington urges caution, the incident risks hardening positions in Moscow and derailing momentum towards a settlement.
‘While a successful and prosperous EU is in the best interest of Budapest, unfortunately nothing illustrates what Europe has become in 2025 better than the National Security Strategy of the United States of America, which spoke of the “prospect of [Europe’s] civilizational erasure”.’
‘Although the first full year brought policy successes, the Commission has not yet been able to achieve any real success in any of the key areas. The extremely uncertain international political situation and the Commission’s declining authority as a result of its failures do not bode well for the future.’
‘The leaders of the most successful small or medium-sized countries tend to be acutely aware of the dexterity required to maintain security…it seems very unlikely that they and others like them will get lost in their own imagination or succumb to the self-fulfilling fatalism of the postmodernist cosmopolitan mind that gave birth to the “end of history”, the “rules-based liberal international order”, and all the rest of that dangerous nonsense.’
Why does Germany react with moral panic to Washington’s 2025 National Security Strategy, a document clarifying national interests while exposing Europe’s civilizational erosion, strategic weakness, and German political culture that treats realism as illegitimate, borders as taboo, and national interests as extremism, revealing Germany’s inability to act as a nation?
France is lobbying Berlin to approve a Russian-linked nuclear fuel project in Germany, with Macron himself applying diplomatic pressure behind the scenes. The initiative cuts against the EU’s REPowerEU strategy and signals that key member states are quietly planning for economic normalization once the war ends.
Spain’s regional election in Extremadura has delivered a major breakthrough for Vox, which doubled its seats and entrenched itself as a decisive force in a former Socialist stronghold. The surge benefits a close political ally of Viktor Orbán and underscores the expanding reach of the Patriots for Europe alliance within national and regional politics.
The average US gallon of gas costs under $3, the Dow Jones is up 13.5 per cent YTD despite April’s 13 per cent drop amidst the tariff frenzy, and JD Vance seems set for the 2028 Republican nomination. Yet the government shut down for 43 days, letting Democrats win NJ and VA gubernatorial races: here are the second Trump admin’s biggest Ws and Ls for 2025!
Once symbols of festive calm and Christian heritage, Western Europe’s Christmas markets have increasingly become targets of Islamist terror since the early 2000s. From Strasbourg to Berlin and Magdeburg, repeated attacks and foiled plots have reshaped how Europe celebrates Christmas—forcing heavy security, cancellations and a growing sense of fear.
Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has accused the European Union of undermining member states’ rights by bypassing unanimity on frozen Russian assets, warning that such steps set dangerous precedents and risk dragging the bloc deeper into the war.
What could be God’s stance on homosexuality? Why is the anti-abortion stance a minority view in Finland? What is the problem with the integration of non-Christian migrants? We talked to a former Minister of the Interior of Finland at Axioma Center’s conference about the criminal proceedings initiated against her and the status of freedom of religion and freedom of expression in Finland.
Italy has joined Belgium, Bulgaria and Malta in resisting the European Commission’s plan to use frozen Russian assets as collateral for a €210 billion loan to Ukraine, warning of profound legal and financial risks. The pushback intensifies scrutiny of Brussels’s decision to invoke emergency powers to sidestep expected vetoes from Hungary and Slovakia.
Ursula von der Leyen claims only voters decide a nation’s leaders—yet recent EU actions tell a very different story. From Romania’s annulled election to Germany’s institutional crackdown on AfD and France’s judicial assault on Marine Le Pen, the Union shows an increasingly authoritarian instinct that undermines democratic choice.