Hungary and the Art of Being Useful to Washington
As the Trump administration reshapes transatlantic relations, Hungary has a unique opportunity to position itself as a key player in the new order.
As the Trump administration reshapes transatlantic relations, Hungary has a unique opportunity to position itself as a key player in the new order.
Hungarian Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Péter Szijjártó stated that Hungary firmly rejects Ukraine’s fast-track EU accession, especially if it comes at the expense of the Transcarpathian Hungarian community. For the past ten years, Kyiv has gradually curtailed the rights of national minorities, including Transcarpathian Hungarians.
After Kyiv expressed readiness for an immediate ceasefire following US–Ukraine talks in Saudi Arabia, EU leaders issued statements suggesting—or even claiming—that they had always been working toward peace. However, as the lone voice advocating for peace within the EU for a long time, Hungary knows precisely that Brussels has done quite the opposite over the past three years. Our commentary.
Former US ambassador to Hungary David Pressman continued his smear campaign against his former host country on CNN. However, while speaking to Christiane Amanpour, he accidentally admitted that he viewed Hungary as a ‘battleground between democracy and authoritarianism’ and that his goal was to defeat this perceived authoritarianism—essentially, ousting Viktor Orbán and his government.
The Batthyány Lajos Foundation has presented the first volume of its new series on the history of the Castle District, covering the Ottoman period from 1526 to 1686. The richly illustrated work aims to serve both the general public and academic audiences.
Former US Ambassador to Hungary David Pressman continues to badmouth Viktor Orbán and his government. This time, in an interview with American public broadcaster NPR, he claimed that under the guise of conservatism, Orbán embraces nihilistic corruption.
Hungary is set to implement Europe’s most extensive tax reduction programme, benefiting nearly one million families. The initiative expands personal income tax exemptions and doubles child tax allowances, ensuring substantial financial support for parents.
Hungary’s Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó has called for urgent reforms to ensure the survival and efficiency of the United Nations. During his visit to New York, he emphasized the need for decentralization, cost-cutting, and a focus on global challenges.
USAID’s slogan ‘From the American people’ has become extremely controversial since Donald Trump’s crackdown on the agency, during which his team exposed its most dubious tactics in promoting a woke, progressive agenda worldwide using millions of US taxpayer dollars. Hungary has also been significantly affected, with government-critical media outlets and NGOs receiving substantial grants.
Elon Musk takes aim at the National Endowment for Democracy (NED), a US government-funded NGO, calling it a ‘scam’ and ‘rife with corruption’. Established under Ronald Reagan, NED lost its original purpose after the fall of the Soviet Union and is widely seen as an extended arm of the CIA, interfering in the domestic affairs of foreign countries.
Hungarian Conservative is a quarterly magazine on contemporary political, philosophical and cultural issues from a conservative perspective.