Hungarian Conservative

The UN General Assembly adopted a resolution initiated by Hungary by full consensus to declare 19 May World Fair Play Day. Hungarian Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Péter Szijjártó called the negotiation process a huge success, resulting in a global coalition.

‘It is debatable whether the COP negotiations themselves achieve much, given that a global consensus is typically only possible when the wording is so vague as to mean anything, which is closer to meaning nothing than something…What is clear, however, is that COP has been co-opted by the very form of political economy that provoked its existence. Much like Dubai itself, this is the sort of event that only late-stage capitalism might produce—a monument to the branding-industrial complex. One cannot help but sense that in its contradictions and shallow affect, COP is less a cure for what ails us, but rather a symptom of the problem to be cured.’

General Amir Avivi, the founder of the Israel Defence and Security Forum, also highlighted in his briefing following the IRI attack that the fact that Israel and its allies intercepted 99 per cent of the rockets ‘showed that Israel could cope with a direct attack from Iran, and can coordinate efficiently with its allies to defend itself.’

‘Strategic uncertainty is not a universal elixir, but merely one of the tools in a politician’s and a strategist’s toolbox. It is important to know when to use it, but it is perhaps even more important to know when not to. For strategic uncertainty to be an effective tool, serious kinetic action must sometimes be added to the bluffing and the show of force.’

At the conclusion of his visit to Washington, D.C., Tristan Azbej, the state secretary responsible for the assistance programmes to aid persecuted Christians, noted that the Hungarian government shares practically identical values with the American right, conservative individuals, and organizations. He identified the importance of renewing the fight against anti-Semitism, something Hungarian and American conservatives also agree about, in response to the resurgence of violent anti-Semitism in the Western world, including the United States, following the events in Gaza.

While the supposed freedom of a materialistic culture will tend to undermine any sense of the sacred, we can be aware of the false idols and choose to tend to our souls. Scruton, indeed, left us a final work on this very topic.

During a debate in the UN Security Council, Foreign Minister Szijjártó of Hungary argued that the international community should focus on trying to improve the conditions in the migrants’ countries of origin instead of hosting them in more developed foreign countries. He also suggested that migration should be examined from a security, not a humanitarian perspective.

When the Soviet intervention against the Hungarian Revolution was placed on the agenda of the UN Security Council, the Soviets immediately vetoed it: their argument was that it was no more than a ‘reactionary uprising’ supported by the US. The French, meanwhile, were of the view that not only the UN Charter had been contravened in Hungary, but also the Paris Peace Treaties, and even the Warsaw Pact that served the legal foundation for the invasion. On the other hand, the United Kingdom questioned whether the use of Soviet military forces stationed in Hungary under a valid treaty and at the behest of the Hungarian government could even be called an intervention at all.

On Wednesday, the Dohány Street Synagogue filled with people for a solidarity service held by the Hungarian Jewish communities. Dr Andor Grósz, head of the Hungarian Jewish Federation MAZSIHISZ, said: ‘The mourning and grief of the Jewish community is shared by Hungarian society,’ adding that the Hamas terrorists ‘brutally violated the Ten Commandments, a gift of the Torah to mankind.’

If Hamas wants war, it also appears to want an Israeli response so tough that it will be able to play the sympathy card around the world—in an attempt to perform an act of ju-jitsu that will transform Hamas from aggressor to victim.  

The 22.4 percentage point reduction in child poverty between 2014 and 2021 in Hungary, which is also an EU record, is clearly due to employment growth, and primarily to the growth of the employment of women with children.

At the recent Peace of Westphalia conference in Münster, the Hungarian foreign minister said the Abraham Accords should serve as an example for resolving other similar conflicts around the world, adding that ‘even though the Middle East seems to be far away in a geographical sense, we all know that whatever happens in the Middle East, it has a direct influence on Europe.’

While differing perspectives persist on the most suitable approach to drug policy, Hungary’s firm commitment to a conservative approach by combining enforcement and treatment remains essential for addressing drug-related issues effectively. Probably not unrelatedly, the country is one of the safest in the EU according to the Economic Global Peace Index.

A new photo and video exhibition titled Am I My Brother’s Keeper, curated by Yitzhak Mais, a prominent Israeli historian and former director of Yad Vashem’s historical museum, captures the unique moments of international cooperation to help Ukrainian Jewish refugees.

Marcela Szymanski of the charity Aid to the Church in Need also welcomed the announcement. ‘It is absolutely extraordinary that six years after Hungary created a department in charge of persecuted Christians, another country finally joins them in acknowledging this reality. Not one single other nation with a Christian majority has dared to do so.’

During his visit to Hungary, Eli Cohen also participated in the unveiling of the statue of Árpád Weisz, a Hungarian-born soccer player who coached Inter Milan and later Bologna before perishing in the Holocaust. The bronze statue was unveiled by Eli Cohen and Gergely Gulyás, the head of the Prime Minister’s Office, together with Sándor Csányi, the head of the Hungarian Football Association (MLSZ), and Giuseppe Saputo, the chairman of the Bologna football club.

During his joint press conference with his Israeli counterpart, Eli Cohen, Péter Szijjártó said the cooperation between the two countries has always been characterized by mutual respect. Hungary has always supported the right of the Jewish state to self-defence and to guaranteeing its security, the minister nailed down.

The Hungary Helps Programme, however, does not only help persecuted Christians, but provides effective support in crisis areas and areas that are hit by man-made or natural disasters as well. Since the outbreak of the Ukraine war, Hungary has provided 130 billion forints (335.6 million euros) in aid to the victims of the war in Ukraine. Hungary also sent ten tons of relief supplies to Turkey immediately after the deadly earthquakes on 6 February and 50 million forints (132,000 euros) to Syria.

As regards so-called ‘globalization’, it is becoming evident that—due to technological and supply chains complexities—it is reaching its natural limits. We should, therefore, pay more attention to the rationality of domestic policies.

The step would make Hungary the first EU country to move its embassy to Jerusalem, which may set a precedent and other EU countries could follow suit, in the face of disapproval by Brussels.

Linda Thomas-Greenfield claimed a Holocaust memorial was vandalised in Hungary, when in fact the incident took place in Sweden. No public apology was issued on her behalf, which the Hungarian Foreign Ministry calls ‘outrageous’.

‘The Hungarian population strongly supports the State of Israel, an unambiguously national-religious state like Hungary, which believes in innovation, a strong military and the ability to jointly maintain the existing international structure.’

‘I have been asked several times by foreigners whether there is systemic anti-Semitism in Hungary. My answer was clearly no. In fact, as a Hungarian Jew, I feel much safer here than in other parts of the world.’

As one of the thirty member states that voted against the proposal, Hungary made it clear that the 75th Independence Day of the Jewish State should be celebrated and not mourned as a ‘disaster’. 

The Hungarian government has condemned the Russian aggression against Ukraine in no uncertain terms but has also been a consistent advocate of an immediate ceasefire and peace talks, offering several times to be a mediator in the conflict.

There is growing concern that the overuse of the term ‘genocide’ may devalue it. Clearly defining what genocide means is crucial to prevent it from being used as a validation of every kind of victimhood.

The war is now two months old, and notwithstanding continual efforts by the  UN Security Council to stop the fighting, such collective security efforts have achieved very little if nothing at all.

To sum up, there are the so-called ideological ‘leftists’ who are in power in much of Europe, including Berlin and Paris, and there are the pragmatic ‘rightists who are in power in the Visegrád Group countries, especially in Budapest and Warsaw, but, for the time being, they are in opposition to most of Europe.