Press reports indicate that in Donald Trump’s new administration Marco Rubio will be appointed Secretary of State, and Mike Waltz will take on the role of national security advisor. These likely appointments are promising for Hungary, as both politicians hold views on key issues—such as the war in Ukraine and tensions in the Middle East—that align with Budapest’s foreign policy.
As the US prepares for a presidential transition, Ambassador David Pressman may soon depart Budapest in line with protocol for political appointees under a new administration. There has been no career diplomat leading the US mission in Hungary since the 1990s.
In October 1951, Zoltán Vasvári, a.k.a. ‘Zolibá’, a former Hungarian military officer, gathered the sons of many Hungarian families in his New York apartment to introduce them to Hungarian scouting. Viktor Fischer joined the first patrol in the spring of 1952, and, as he puts it, ‘the scout bug has remained’ in him ever since. A conversation about a long and fruitful life, dedicated to teaching and to the Hungarian American community of the New York area.
According to information provided by Hungarian authorities, a 37-year-old Irish man killed 31-year-old US citizen Mackenzie Michalski in Budapest. The woman, who worked as a nurse, had come to the Hungarian capital for a holiday, a city she deeply loved, but never returned home.
Although less than a week has passed since the US presidential election, President-elect Donald Trump has already spoken with Russian President Vladimir Putin to discuss the war in Ukraine, at least according to American media reports. However, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov dismissed the news as ‘pure fiction’ and stressed that Putin has no specific plans to speak with Trump at present.
One of the most pressing issues in enhancing the competitiveness of Europe is the need to optimize defence spending. Europeans now spend much more on defence in the wake of Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine, with ten European NATO members set to reach the 2 per cent of GDP spending threshold by the end of 2024. However, developing and acquiring modern weapon systems of cutting-edge technology demand an exponential level of spending for development and production, which can hamstring the capabilities of nation-states if they want to fit out their armies fully with domestically produced equipment, from building tools to jet fighters.
‘According to Dutch intelligence, Iran has used Moroccan Dutch gangsters to eliminate two “enemies of the state” abroad, but it also actively protects clan leaders. Between 2019 and 2021, during the time of the trial of a Moroccan clan chief, a key witness’ brother was killed, followed by his lawyer and finally a crime reporter who was covering the case. And what about antisemitism? Dutch Jews have been sounding the alarm for years.’
In a recent interview with The Jerusalem Post, Israeli Ambassador to Hungary Yacov Hadas-Handelsman argued that as opposed to its frequent portrayal as an anti-democratic and antisemitic country, the reality about Hungary is quite different. He highlighted the Orbán government’s steadfast support of Israel at international forums and the fact that Hungary is one of the safest countries in the world for Jewish people.
At the informal European Council meeting in Hungary, the leaders of the member states adopted the Budapest Declaration, which focuses on measures to boos the EU’s competitiveness. The decision was announced by Viktor Orbán, who highlighted that there is a strong consensus on the need to ‘make Europe great again’.
In an outlandish article in the Washington Examiner, Tom Rogan cautions Donald Trump that Viktor Orbán is playing him for a fool and is merely attempting to advance the interests of China and Russia through their close relationship. The author clearly fails to grasp the fact that Viktor Orbán has always prioritized Hungary’s interests when dealing with China and Russia, something that, as opposed to the short-sighted pundit, President-elect Trump is well aware of.