Rodrigo Ballester, Head of the European Studies Workshop at Mathias Corvinus Collegium, shared his perspective on the recent parliamentary elections in Georgia in a recent interview with Hungarian Conservative. Among other issues, he discussed the role of Western narratives, which often frame Georgian politics as a binary conflict between pro-Western and pro-Russian factions.
‘While the exponential growth of AI heightens immediate concerns about meeting energy demand, green energy ambitions must be evaluated through the lens of feasibility, affordability, and reliability…Because demand is ever-increasing, policy makers must take a pragmatic approach, encouraging supply and production expansion across every fuel type, wherever practical.’
‘Donald Trump’s sweeping election victory will reshape the European power landscape, catapulting Hungary from a state disdained by Washington, whose ambassador routinely and rudely lambasts his host country, into one of America’s most important allies. It is not good for Europe that it exists as a dependency on the American Empire, but that’s simply a fact. Now that Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s good friend is about to return to the White House, Hungary gains the most powerful new ally imaginable in its dealings with its EU partners. The days of bullying Hungary are over.’
‘Weber wields extreme power, and despite his preaching about EU values and lecturing others at every opportunity, he manages the group like a dictator,’ an anonymous source told European Conservative. The corruption scandal surrounding EPP President Manfred Weber is intensifying, with an increasing number of loyalists to the German politician becoming involved.
Just like in 2020 during the last election, the Georgian opposition questioned the results, denouncing the election as illegitimate, citing alleged voter fraud. To settle the dispute the Prosecutor’s Office in Georgia launched an investigation into the alleged vote-rigging. As President Salome Zourabichvili also denounced the election, the Prosecutor’s Office invited her to share any information she might have on alleged criminal acts. The President refused to cooperate with the Office, however, saying that ‘the investigative body should have found the evidence itself’.
The atmosphere surrounding Viktor Orbán’s visit to Georgia remains charged, with Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson accusing the Hungarian Prime Minister of being pro-Russian. In response to this statement, the Hungarian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade has summoned Sweden’s ambassador in Budapest.
The second ministerial-level meeting of the EU accession conference with Albania was held in Luxembourg on 15 October. The aim of the meeting was to start accession negotiations with Albania and open Cluster 1; Tirana has thus taken another step forward on the road to European integration.
‘The Hungarian people, who cherish freedom, will do everything in their power to defend their sovereignty. Just as in 1956, when we were the first Eastern European country under communist dictatorship to stand up against Moscow, Hungary is now leading the fight for freedom against the oppression of Brussels.’
The Israeli Defense Forces have killed the last surviving senior Hamas leader, Yahya Sinwar, in a firefight. While this is a significant step forward for Israel in its war against the terrorist organization, it is far from the end of the conflict, as both Israeli and Palestinian reactions have indicated.
‘In this temple of political spectacle and exaggerated posturing, he [Prime Minister Viktor Orbán of Hungary] demonstrated, over the course of three hours, that among the spoiled children, there was only one adult in the room,’ Rodrigo Ballester writes in an opinion piece published by Brussels Signal on Viktor Orbán’s ‘debate’ at the European Parliament last week.