According to a recent survey, Europeans express greater apprehension towards migration and radical Islamist terrorism than towards the threat posed by Russia. The findings of the poll suggest a significant disconnect between the issues European elites focus on and the genuine concerns of the general populace.
According to Dr Samuel Noble, countries with a predominantly Orthodox Christian population have been able and willing to preserve their traditions. Contrary to the proposition put forth by Samuel Huntington, Dr Noble highlights the primacy of national identity in countries professing Orthodox Christianity, as a result of which, he contends, there has never been a truly unified Orthodox bloc.
Fears of a potential second presidential term of Donald Trump have allegedly prompted NATO to devise a plan to assume the coordination of arms deliveries to Ukraine, replacing the United States.
Tucker Carlson has just released his thorough, two-hour interview with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Evidently, the main topic of the conversation was Russia’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine, with Carlson vigorously searching for the reasons why President Putin decided to launch the invasion.
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.
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.
‘We don’t want a world run according to Russian or Chinese or Hamas or Iranian values. But unfortunately, we cannot be sure that these forces can be held at bay unless we’re willing to defend what we have.’
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’.
Concerning press reports suggesting that an Italian defendant charged with participation in last year’s Antifa attacks is being held in demeaning conditions in a Budapest prison, Gulyás said all detention conditions meet European Union and Hungarian standards. Inmates are given three meals a day, he stressed, dismissing the claim that prison cells are rat-infested. He reminded that foreign inmates are also informed of prison rules in their mother tongue upon admission.
Viktor Orbán has lifted his veto on €50 billion in financial aid for Ukraine, relying on the guarantees provided by EU leaders.
Similarly to the EU leadership, the Hungarian left tends to concentrate on issues of little concern for the people, and ignores the concerns of rural communities and farmers.
Tensions are escalating between the political and military leadership in Ukraine, as press reports indicate that Volodymyr Zelenskyy attempted to dismiss Commander-in-Chief Valery Zaluzhny. The Ukrainian president’s room for manoeuvre seems to be diminishing, and he needs his European allies now more than ever to survive.
Brussels is allegedly considering economic retaliation against Hungary should Viktor Orbán vetoe further funding for Ukraine, as indicated by a leaked document. However, the conflicting statements surrounding the purported plan suggest only one thing: there is chaos in Brussels, with EU funds having long been viewed as a tool for political blackmail.
The analyst emphasized that a severe economic crisis has unfolded in Germany, partly due to the misguided sanction policy and the energy crisis resulting from the shutdown of nuclear power plants.
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.
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.
A brief review of the European policy of the Hungarian Government and of that of the domestic opposition.
All indications suggest that Viktor Orbán and Volodymyr Zelenskyy may soon be sitting down at the negotiating table. The parties have a multitude of contentious issues to discuss, beginning with the rights of the Hungarian community in Transcarpathia.
Spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Máté Paczolay, stated: ‘The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade responded to the threat immediately. We have informed our representations in Ukraine and the Special Forces in charge of [the minister’s] personal security as well. They are all doing their jobs.’
‘If we disrupt the triple unity of competitiveness, preserving the quality of our created world, and ensuring food security, then the system will not be sustainable. Farmer protests draw attention to the fact that access to agricultural subsidies is too difficult, and with the prioritization of Ukrainian interests, European farmers feel that they are not receiving sufficient protection,’ Agriculture Minister István Nagy stated in a press briefing in Brussels.
As the enlargement process advances, the imperative to reform the European Union becomes increasingly pressing. Opinions are divided on how this should be achieved; the European Commission may soon unveil its own plans.
During their meeting in Budapest on Tuesday, the leaders of Hungary and Slovakia agreed on the need to rework a European Union plan to provide financial assistance to Ukraine.
The European Parliament is threatening to revoke Hungary’s voting rights, with 120 MEPs petitioning for the launching of the next level Article 7 proceedings against Hungary ahead of a key EU summit in February.
Minister of Agriculture István Nagy of Hungary shared that the countries of Hungary, Poland, Slovakia, Bulgaria, and Romania sent a letter to the European Commission, urging it to intervene and help mediate the effects of the mass quantities of cheap, low-quality grain from Ukraine entering the European market.
While out on bond in August, Lira said in a YouTube video that if he is convicted, he would certainly perish in a Ukrainian labour camp. Tragically, he was wrong—he died while awaiting trial, in the captivity of the Zelenskyy regime.
Once again, European leaders are demonstrating their total inability to adapt to the changed circumstances around Ukraine and make responsible decisions. Instead of a strategic reassessment, they persist with the same misguided policies, pouring arms and money into an unwinnable war.
According to press reports, Giorgia Meloni is in an endeavour to persuade Viktor Orbán to withdraw his veto on the €50 billion EU aid to Ukraine, offering a unique deal in return. Kyiv could soon face severe challenges or even collapse without substantial foreign financial assistance.
In recent weeks, the Western alliance behind Ukraine seems to have split: one side is beginning to acknowledge the realities and is pushing for peace talks, while the other side wants to keep pouring money and arms into Ukraine.
‘In the capital city in particular, Ukrainians signal in a variety of small ways their desire to belong to the West. Kyiv could compete with any European capital when it comes to the number of EU flags seen on the streets. At European Square, not far from Maidan, in the middle of a roundabout the four-pointed star of NATO stands atop a metal pillar surrounded by a circle of Ukrainian and EU flags.’
Bóka explained that the timing of Sweden’s NATO membership ratification hinges on the pace and efficiency of trust-building between Hungary and Sweden, reassuring Hungarian parliamentary representatives who may have doubts and concerns.
Hungarian Conservative is a quarterly magazine on contemporary political, philosophical and cultural issues from a conservative perspective.