Hungarian Conservative

‘The vestiges of Cold War thinking continue to linger on, with the fear of a hypothetical Russia–West conflict escalating into a war that ends civilization imprinted on our minds so much that it has never actually gone away. Nevertheless, it must be recognized that Russia has lost much of its power compared to its Communist era strength and would struggle if it wanted to fight against the West. To be precise, barring the suicidal option of launching a nuclear holocaust and burning everyone, including itself, to smouldering ashes, Russia is not even economically competitive enough to master sufficient military power to achieve superiority in brute force over Ukraine, not to mention having the strength to go on and attack any NATO country.’

The Hungarian daily Magyar Nemzet talked to József Horváth, senior security policy fellow at the Center for Fundamental Rights, about former CIA agent and whistleblower John Stockwell’s revelations about the American intelligence agencies’ nefarious practices and collaborations with the mainstream media.

‘Only the West killed God, and they did it twice for good measure: once on the cross, and more recently via the Enlightenment project to transform the world through progress, secularism, and science, rendering religion either rational or irrelevant.’

‘It may very well be that in a few decades’ time, it will become clear to all analysts that the US’s rise to being a hegemonic power has carried the seeds of its downfall, too.’

The passing of former U.S. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger marks the end of an era in global diplomacy and strategy. A stalwart in realpolitik with a controversial legacy, his insights are now more relevant than ever before.

Kissinger served as US Secretary of State under Presidents Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford between 1973 and 1977. In 1973, he won the Nobel Peace Prize. Known for his realist approach to foreign policy, he had considerable impact on many major world events during his century in this world.

In his speech at the Summit of the Organization of Turkic States, Viktor Orbán stated that Europe is facing difficult dilemmas, and the answers provided will have a strong impact on the relationship between the Turkic world and the continent. The PM emphasized that from a European perspective, global security is currently in the worst condition since the end of the Cold War.

‘What sacrifices would the Australian nation be prepared to make now? I suspect that we will have to make some, more than we have recently had to—sacrifices in treasure, at least, if we are to avoid having to make them in blood. Because dictatorships are on the march, not just here in Europe and in the Middle East, but in East Asia too, and the only way to see off aggressive bullies is to meet them with an equal measure of strength and determination.’

81 years ago, on 2 August 1939, Albert Einstein signed a letter from Hungarian-born physicists Leo Szilard, Eugene Wigner, and Edward Teller to US President Franklin D. Roosevelt, in which they warned him that Germany’s development of an atomic bomb may be a theoretical possibility in the near future. This letter, then, led to the launch of the Manhattan Project.

This piece provides an overview of the ‘Goulash communism’ times of Hungarian history, while attempting to answer the question: why do some Hungarians appear to be nostalgic about the Kádár era?

The Hungarian government has vetoed the 11th EU sanctions package against Russia after it was revealed that Volodymyr Zelenskyy allegedly urged the bombing of the Druzhba pipeline, a crucial route via which Russian oil is transferred to Hungary.

This is no ‘journalism’—these are the tactics of the CIA and the KGB described in Cold War history books, played out in the 21st century in domestic contexts.

If both elites (those of the West and of Central Europe, respectively) are ready to follow a more pragmatic political action plan, and rely on a less exclusive and lecturing linguistic regime, we can avoid the worst case scenario, which is the split and break-up of the Union, and a potential internal conflict within Europe.

‘And yet, at poolside that summer of 1985, if a messenger had swum over to us and said to be of good cheer, because in four years, the Berlin Wall would fall, and Communism would soon cease to exist, both of us would have thought him a madman.’