With the victory of Giorgia Meloni and the rise of the centre-right in Italy, Warsaw and Budapest have gained another important ally in their pursuit of a European conservative renaissance.
On Tuesday, Danube Institute organised an event, where a panel discussion on the historic election in Italy was hosted. Commentators discussed how Giorgia Meloni’s win could affect European politics, and what impact it could have on Hungary.
Defying threats to her life and a concerted media smear campaign, Giorgia Meloni is set to write history as Italy’s first female prime minister.
Masked Antifa-linked extremists armed with improvized weapons clashed with Italian police in Turin, resulting in multiple injuries and arrests. Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni condemned the violence and urged the courts to hold the perpetrators accountable. The events in Turin are yet another example of increasingly aggressive far-left political violence that many Western countries have to confront in order to maintain stability.
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s invitation to Donald Trump’s ‘Board of Peace’ has sparked immediate controversy at home, after reports claimed Hungary would have to pay $1 billion for a seat. Yet the board’s charter states membership carries no financial obligation by default, with the billion-dollar contribution only offering an automatic extension beyond the standard three-year term.
‘The process is now entering its formal stage: the signing ceremony is scheduled for 17 January 2026, in Asunción, Paraguay, where Ursula von der Leyen and António Costa will personally put an end to 25 years of wrangling. However, the signing is not the end of the road, but the beginning of a new struggle.’
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has received public backing from a dozen foreign leaders, political figures, and celebrities ahead of the parliamentary election in April. Prominent figures from across Europe, Israel, and Latin America have voiced their support, framing the vote as a decisive moment for national sovereignty, migration policy, and Europe’s broader political future.
‘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.’
‘For the Budapest-centric circles I move in, the strategy paper consists mainly of familiar assumptions and positions.’
In an open letter to EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, Prime Minister Robert Fico of Slovakia has called on the EU to abandon the dogmatic approach to climate policy and chase the net zero agenda for the sake of the struggling European industry, especially the automotive sector. The letter was co-signed by five other PMs, including Viktor Orbán of Hungary and Giorgia Meloni of Italy.