‘When I heard the saying, “Survivors carry the credentials of the forever silenced”, it really touched me. Due to the values instilled in me by the Hungarian scouts and the Piarists, as well as the American attitude of giving back, it slowly emerged as a conviction that I had a responsibility to help others who were less fortunate.’
Syrian insurgents led by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) captured Damascus, ending Bashar al-Assad’s rule. As the Syrian president fled the country, Hungarian opposition media outlet Magyar Hang claimed his plane landed in Budapest. The outlandish allegation was swiftly denied by Budapest Airport and the government, with even the news website later admitting that the claim was baseless.
‘It is evident that the international network—of which Direkt36 and De Tijd are integral part of—consistently criticizing the Hungarian government, is essentially accusing the Intelligence Office (IO) of doing its job, however absurd it seems. The true aim of the Brussels-led agencies has long been not to uncover the truth, but to weaken the Hungarian government and ultimately bring it down.’
According to a compilation of polls by EuropeElects.eu, Hungarians would have backed Republican candidate Donald Trump in the 2024 US presidential election over Democrat Kamala Harris by a massive 24-point margin. Meanwhile, the new President-elect is the least popular in Denmark, where only 4 per cent of voters would have supported him.
Outgoing US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has stated in an interview with Reuters that Ukraine should lower its conscription age to 18 from the current 25. In previous remarks he also said President Biden is ‘committed that every dollar we have at our disposal will be pushed out the door [to Ukraine] between now and 20 January’.
On Wednesday, after barely three months in power, the French National Assembly voted no confidence in the government of Michel Barnier, toppling it—a scenario not seen since 1962. What is certain is that the largest EU member state will face months of political paralysis, but it remains unclear who will ultimately benefit. If an early presidential election were to occur, Marine Le Pen would likely emerge as the fortunate beneficiary.
‘The inconclusive referendum held a few years after the millennium is still a blot on Hungarian social life. Thanks to a section of the Hungarian political elite of the time and a large number of misguided voters, that day became a day of national betrayal.’
Under the Hungarian government’s newly launched Sándor Demján Programme, local businesses can apply for grants from a fund of 100 billion HUF. This is part of the government’s grand economic plan aiming to double the size of Hungarian businesses; and further strengthen the small and medium enterprises in the country.
Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó of Hungary paid a visit to Moscow after the Biden administration put Russian Gazprombank on its sanctions list, hindering the energy-related transactions of many European countries. Minister Szijjártó assured all a solution will be found to the problem, and reiterated Hungary’s stance for a negotiated peace in the Russo-Ukrainian war.
‘In the East, the communist worldview largely rejected the nuclear family unit, seeing it rather as an economic unit that ideologically furthered capitalist interests. In the West, a notion emerged in the latter twentieth century that largely views prioritizing family as limiting individual autonomy and self-fulfillment. We are the inheritors of societies that have been profoundly shaped by one or both worldviews.’