Hungarian Conservative

Despite minimal action from the Polish government under Donald Tusk, the European Commission has chosen to conclude the Article 7 procedure against Poland. This serves as another clear example of the double standards that Brussels applies to member states.

‘We need to win in each and every country because as conservatives that’s what we believe in, sovereign nation states,’ PiS MEP Radosław Fogiel nailed down in an interview with Hungarian Conservative.

‘Now, the only remaining fortresses of conservatives are small media outlets, and they strongly need international cooperation, not only for the credibility, but also to protect them against the attacks of the government,’ President of the Board and co-founder of Ordo Iuris Institute, Jerzy Kwaśniewski pointed out in an interview with Hungarian Conservative.

Prime Minister Robert Fico of Slovakia has announced that his administration is not willing to implement the migration dictates included in the EU’s newly accepted migration pact. PM Viktor Orbán of Hungary and PM Donald Tusk of Poland have already voiced their objections to the pact.

Ignacy Czwartos’ exhibition was picked by an open competition during the time of the conservative PiS administration to be displayed at the 2024 Venice Biennale. However, the new Minister of Culture of the new Tusk government overruled the decision and cancelled the project.

Local elections are an important episode in the power play for the leadership of the two largest parties in Poland. After the ultimate defeat of his party in the general election Jarosław Kaczyński came under heavy criticism, with demands that he resign and take responsibility for the electoral failure. PiS coming out on top on 7 April is expected to silence these voices and stabilize Kaczyński’s position.

‘The unfreezing of funds is a turning point in the EU⁠–⁠Poland relationship—one that had become very strained in recent years—and of course a major political success for the new cabinet. But that is not the only reason why the Commission decision is so instructive: the damage to the rule of law in Poland, which was so widely reported on in the European press in recent years, appears to have been reversed in less than two months, to the extent that the European Commission was willing to waive the withholding of EU funds, which is undoubtedly a very effective tool for blackmailing reluctant member states.’

Hungary has persistently advocated for a shift in the EU’s agricultural policy towards Ukraine. The prolonged farmer protests have influenced the stance of other member states, with France spearheading a coalition of states seeking to enforce stricter trade restrictions on Ukrainian agricultural products.

According to POLITICO, Slovakia may soon find itself undergoing a rule of law procedure, possibly leading to the European Commission deciding to freeze EU funds due to the Central European state. The contrasting paths of Robert Fico and Donald Tusk serve as a clear illustration of Brussels’ ideological warfare on member states that refuse to surrender their national sovereignty.

In the midst of tensions among the Visegrád Group countries, Viktor Orbán spoke about the potential for a partnership between Austria, Hungary, Slovakia, and Serbia. In what areas could these countries cooperate, and what difficulties might impede such a partnership?

While it is evident that the parties do not share the same perspective on the Ukrainian question, this difference of opinions could be overcome by concentrating on common interests in other areas. Although embarking on this path requires compromises and the harmonization of interests, with no particular policy proposal in that regard adopted at this time, the summit had symbolic significance, sending the message that the V4 alliance is still relevant.

The V4 countries convened for a summit on 27 February, a gathering of paramount importance regarding the future trajectory of cooperation. The leaders of the allied states reached a unanimous agreement on the necessity to uphold cooperation in areas of common interests, notwithstanding differences of opinion.

Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has confirmed in several forums and personally to NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg that Hungary supports Sweden’s NATO accession. At the same time, the Hungarian ruling party also made it clear that the Swedish ratification of NATO may take place early in the regular parliamentary session, but this would first require a meeting between the two prime ministers in Budapest.

For Hungary, this is an unmitigated disaster. While Robert Fico’s return to power in Slovakia offers some reason for optimism, Hungary’s northern neighbours certainly will not replace the Poles as steadfast, influential allies in Europe.

With Volodymyr Zelenskyy expressing a desire to negotiate with two pro-peace leaders on the right, Donald Trump and Viktor Orbán, it appears that the Ukrainian president is anticipating a potentially unfavourable scenario for Ukraine: a right-wing shift in both Europe and overseas.

Despite the attack on public media and the political imprisonment of former government members, the Polish government led by Donald Tusk could soon gain access to some of the EU funds that were frozen due to concerns about the rule of law.

As for 2024: once we have passed the most difficult and dangerous year, we can move on to the next one, the year of sovereignty protection. We who are interested in Hungary remaining a Hungarian country.

After Poland’s left-wing government launched an overt campaign against the country’s public media, Spanish Socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez is attempting to ban opposition journalists from parliament. The left’s attacks on critical right-wing voices are intensifying, and the Hungarian opposition would certainly not shy away from emulating the Spanish and Polish examples.

Europe’s left-wing-led countries are being plunged into chaos due to irresponsible political decisions. A situation is beginning to unfold in the West that would be unimaginable in Hungary.

While the new liberal government in Poland has brought the country to the brink of a constitutional crisis within a month, Hungarian MP Márton Tompos from the leftist Momentum party is apparently looking to emulate the Polish Prime Minister, and is threatening with similar retaliation in the low chance of a leftist takeover in Hungary.

‘Once the power transition issue subsides, revenge is likely to become a central issue in Polish politics. Among the presumed incoming government’s proposals are journalistic purges and political show-trials, precisely the sort of banana-republic behavior anti-PiS voices have long alleged on the part of the outgoing government.’

The new Polish government is quite likely to not be able to deliver on many of its crucial election promises, which may create legitimacy problems. And this is far from being the only difficulty: if the new government is unable to change the laws that led the EU to launch the Article 7 and the so-called rule of law proceedings against Poland, there may be serious economic consequences for the country.

Duda justified his decision to entrust Morawiecki with forming the government by stating that he is following the good parliamentary tradition, which gives the winning party the first opportunity to do so. He also mentioned that in accordance with the constitution, if the first attempt at forming a government fails, a second round will involve an absolute majority vote in the lower house of the parliament.

‘The effective exploitation of the sentiments of disappointment and hatred towards those in power and the embarrassment of parochial Polishness in opposition to an enlightened Europe triggered an incredible effect in the form of votes from young voters. Young voters most of whom, despite their youthful ideological fervour, do not recall the consequences of the rule of the opposition parties, especially the left-wing one, which they once again helped enter parliament.’

Jarosław Kaczyński, the PiS leader, described the results as a great success, emphasizing that his party has now won parliamentary elections for the fourth time in its history and the third consecutive time. He added, however, that whether PiS will be able to form a government remains a question.

‘According to recent polls, neither United Right nor Civic Platform will be able to form a government on its own…Donald Tusk’s situation seems easier in that he may have a realistic chance of including both the aforementioned Lewica and the Third Way alliance in the future governing coalition. This does not mean, however, that it would be easy for him to govern with these parties, and indeed such multi-party coalitions—let us not forget that the KO is itself an alliance—are often not very stable and long-lived.’

While Prime Minister Morawiecki stated at PiS’s last congress before the 15 October elections in Katowice that Polish voters would in less than two weeks decide whether Poland becomes a ‘European land, a European province,’ or remains a sovereign country, a large opposition rally was held in Warsaw.

The confetti cannon has been fired and the Polish campaign is officially underway: at the beginning of August, President Andrzej Duda set 15 October as the date for the parliamentary elections, an event that is making not only the Poles but also Hungarians hold their breath.