Hungarian Conservative

Conservatism is different in every nation, and so is approach to energy solutions. In this interview, Arvid Hallén, the founder of the only Swedish conservative think tank, Oikos, addresses these topics and also provides some background on Sweden’s NATO accession.

Despite focusing his campaign on fighting against corruption and for more transparency in politics, opposition firebrand Péter Magyar decided to jump into the 2024 EP and municipal elections in a very unusual: he founded a civil organization around himself, then that organization partnered with a ‘phantom party’ founded in 2021 to get Magyar’s candidates on the ballot.

At the launch event of the new book published by MCC Press and the Migration Research Institute titled Kié itt a tér? (Who does this space belong to?) a panel discussion was held on the dire consequences of uncontrolled immigration, the failures of integration, and possible solutions.

‘In the Hungarian leader, the EU faces a new type of Eurosceptic, one who doesn’t want to leave the bloc but instead shape it, putting his stamp on policies from support to Ukraine to the fight against climate change to migration,’ POLITICO wrote in their recently published analysis about PM Orbán’s foreign policy approach to the Brussels leadership.

The politician thanked his predecessor, István Hollik, for his work. ‘We will fight with our heads held high and our backs straight, and thanks to the strength of our community, we will win!’, he said in a message shared on social media.

The voters of Wisconsin voted to amend their state constitution, putting stricter election rules in place. Also, just like in all other swing states, the Republican primary turnout outnumbered that of the Democrats. However, President Biden got a higher vote total (due to his higher vote share) than President Trump in a swing state primary for the first time—what does this all mean?

‘The various proceedings and attacks against Hungary for years can not be traced back to rule-of-law issues or “democratic backsliding”, but “merely” to the fact that the domestic right-wing is fighting back against Wokeness—precisely in the wake of its triumphant victory.’

In Scruton’s philosophy…the social practice of legislation and jurisdiction could not be realized outside the national framework, because—regardless to their origins—the interpretation and the enforcement of the set of legal rules and moral duties, even human rights, are bound to nation states…

One of the EU’s appeals is its ability to integrate economic regions in its immediate neighbourhood, where it can reap mutual benefits. This is also true for the candidate countries of the Western Balkans, whose future membership has geopolitical and security policy benefits in addition to economic advantages.

‘Europe’s most powerful nation is now led, without exaggeration, by political extremists. The heads of the other large nations, France and Britain, are all cynical, complacent, and indifferent to the problems of their citizens to a degree not seen here since the French Revolution.

It is an interesting situation for us. So far, we have been the ones always divided up: by the Ottomans, Habsburgs, Germans, and French. Now they are the ones being sliced up and bid on by the hungry peoples of the Third World and the coldly calculating networks of people smugglers.’

In her book Last Warning to the West: Hungary’s Triumph Over Communism and the Woke Agenda, Shea Bradley-Farrell, President of the Counterpoint Institute and a leading member of the Center for Fundamental Rights, presents Hungarian historical roots and recommends the Hungarian example to Western countries.

‘That is a sophisticated system of spreading propaganda. Had anything like that ever happened in Hungary, we would be sure to hear from international media watchdog groups and politicians from Brussels as well.’

Bryan E. Leib, Márton Ugrósdy, and Magor Ernyei were the distinguished panellists in a discussion at the Center for Fundamental Rights on how this year’s US presidential election is shaping up to be, and what effect it could have on Europe and Hungary.

Balázs Orbán observes that Brussels believes it is in the interest of European countries for the Russo-Ukrainian war to continue or possibly escalate. Hungary, on the other hand, is of a different opinion; this conflict has no military solution and a diplomatic resolution is needed.

The 2023 elections in Slovakia were looked upon with great anticipation by both the conservative and liberal sides. The stakes were high: whether the Central European country would remain on a progressive road or take a national turn.

Orbán told public radio that Hungary only consented to financial contributions allocated towards efforts to prevent the collapse of the Ukrainian state at the Thursday Council meeting. He said peace was the crucial issue as regards the war between Russia and Ukraine but ‘the situation is not good in this respect, since Brussels is suffering from war fever’.

Péter Szijjártó welcomed the continuous development of bilateral economic relations and the breaking of export records. He also praised Qatar’s role in the release of some hostages abducted by Hamas, including three Hungarian citizens, and revealed that another Hungarian citizen might be held by terrorist organization and requested assistance from Qatar in facilitating their prompt return.

The Prime Minister expressed concern about the lack of proper respect for agriculture as a crucial element of the European economy within the European Union. He criticized unfavourable regulations imposed in several countries, making the situation difficult for farmers.

Hungary’s voting rights in the EU could be suspended if it does not vote in favour of a proposal to amend the EU’s multiannual budget to give Ukraine €50 billion in aid from the common European budget over the next five years.

Donald Trump is currently leading Joe Biden in the RealClearPolitics polling aggregate by a wider margin than what Republicans ever held against Democrats leading up to the 2022 midterms, 4.3 points. Independent and third-party candidates also give the GOP a better opportunity for victory than in 2022.

András Cser-Palkovics, the Mayor of Székesfehérvár highlighted the importance of having one of Europe’s largest talent development networks and communities present in Székesfehérvár. This presence will contribute to the city providing young people with state-of-the-art knowledge, keeping them in Hungary, or bringing them back from elsewhere, he underscored.

Wilders announced on the social media platform X that he will be part of CPAC Hungary, expressing gratitude for the invitation from Miklós Szánthó and the Center for Fundamental Rights. The right-wing Dutch politician whose party won last year’s elections in the Netherlands, stated: ‘Proud to be there and speak!’

Tamás Deutsch articulated that it irks the European left that the Hungarian people consistently, through democratic elections, overwhelmingly support a nationalistic, sovereignist policy. He added that the European left seeks to forcefully override these decisions through political pressure.

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.

According to the Hungarian Prime Minister, it is ‘easy to predict’ that Vietnam will emerge as one of the winners of the coming era. ‘Such transformations herald opportunities as well as risks. We see the new world economic era as an enormous opportunity for Hungary, since Hungarians are an Eastern people by origin,’ Viktor Orbán nailed down.

In his regular Friday morning interview, the Prime Minister stated that there was ‘no money in the world’ that would get Hungary to allow migrants into Hungary and ‘take the country away from us.’

Despite three other major candidates still in the running on the Republican side, Former President Donald Trump still got an overall majority of the vote, 51 per cent. An easy primary election victory for an out-of-office candidate is a very good sign for the general election as well.

In a telephone interview with Hungarian state news agency MTI, Judit Varga, referring to Ukraine’s planned EU integration, highlighted that the Western Balkans countries have been waiting for EU membership for two decades, and called for an approach based on merit in the accession process, avoiding double standards and expedited pathways.

Following the meeting with Austrian Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg, Szijjártó disclosed that consultations have begun to ensure the success of Hungary’s rotating EU presidency in the latter half of 2024.

Miklós Szánthó announced that the conference will be taking place between 25–26 April, and the keynote speaker will be Prime Minister Viktor Orbán of Hungary.