Hungarian Conservative

‘I was on stage already before I could have any inhibitions. That’s not to say that I don’t have them in other areas, but I feel lucky that I was given this way of life. It was put in front of me, and I couldn’t imagine my life without it. It gives me security.’

‘One of the peculiarities of the Hungarian spirit is that—no doubt as a result of our historical past—we have an openness to a kind of spiritual attitude that is willing to make sacrifices, in prayer and fasting, to obtain peace.’

‘The education system has complex social functions, and it may only fulfil its purpose if it sees the child as a whole person. Although its competences as a set of institutions are, and shall be, limited, teaching and education must be more than transmitting knowledge that certain groups of influence find important. With traditional communities having weakened in modern society, and plenty of new challenges continually arising, education should strive to pass on not only factual, but also abstract knowledge accumulated by our culture. The stakes are high; if education fails to accomplish this twofold task, we may face a rapid decline of our civilization.’

‘Today, we are faced with the fact that in our pluralistic societies, it seems to pose an insurmountable challenge to agree on a generally accepted moral standard, with values that provide common foundations.’

‘This is the message of Easter. Sharing the most ordinary beautiful experiences with each other: that is transforming the world. It just takes courage. For believers and non-believers alike. We should respect each other. Because none of us can create life. Destroy it, all the more.’

‘Many Christians who hold modernity culpable for the demise of the church and dispersion of the Christian flock join forces with political conservatism, seeing in it their natural political ally and representative, while conservative politicians look upon these groups—and many of their institutional leaders, bishops, evangelists, theologians—as reliable, strong, and loyal supporters.’

The Hungarian Olympic Committee hopes that through educators participating in the training, thousands of students will become familiar with Olympic values such as excellence, respect, and friendship, and eventually become active supporters of the Olympic movement by following the same set of values.

According to recent studies, family stability is a more relevant factor for socioeconomic advancement than factors such as inequality, government spending, race and school quality.

A Woke Europe presents two existential threats to its foundational values and to the sustainability of all that it has contributed to civilization. These two threats are, firstly, ideological and, secondly, a pivoting away from peace and toward militarization.

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.

‘We are concerned, then, not only with education, but to also with helping people clarify their thoughts and reach the proper conclusions, and also with embodying and institutionalizing a set of fundamental values and a view of the world. We are convinced that, unless our values prevail and rule, unless it is our worldview which determines the shape of the future by setting men’s priorities and guiding them in their decisions, then there will be no future…’

No doubt, our continent faces deep crises. And yet, if the cause of human trust, autonomy, and creation can be revitalized in our time, it is going to be Europe that proves this.

Ursula von der Leyen, presenting the report on the expected reforms for the EU accession of Ukraine, Moldova, and Georgia, as well as the accession prospects for the Western Balkans and Turkey, announced that the European Commission recommends initiating accession negotiations with Ukraine and Moldova, as soon as they meet final conditions.

László Sólyom is remembered for his significant role in Hungary’s transition to democracy and his dedication to upholding the principles of constitutionalism. His work as a legal scholar, his contributions to the National Round Table talks, and his leadership as the first President of the Constitutional Court have left a lasting impact on Hungary’s legal and political landscape.

Michigan State University law professor Adam Candeub recently gave an interview to the Hungarian periodical Mandiner, in which he touched on a wide array of important issues, such as immigration, preserving cultural values, and the European Union trying to pressure Hungary into giving up its sovereignty.

‘The best interests of children are not served by turning education into this battleground over values and this instrumental way of solving problems in society. Because as you do that, what was traditionally understood as the purpose of education, gets crowded up. And it becomes less about inculcating or teaching young people about what the best that human beings have thought or written or done: the things that as a society we have deemed worthy of being passed down to the next generation. Instead, it becomes about all of different projects.’

‘A significant part of European culture is fading away. The Greek tradition of philosophy, knowledge, curiosity, is being lost. We live in the period of cancel culture, of narrowing down what can be contested or argued or put into question. In terms of reason, of statecraft, state building, practical political rationality, much has also been lost.’

Deputy State Secretary for Higher Education at the Ministry of Cultural Affairs and Innovation Veronika Varga-Bajusz talked about the challenges of preserving the identity of Hungarians beyond the border. She stressed the importance of creating opportunities for young Hungarians to study and work in their homeland, as it serves the development and strengthening of the Carpathian Basin. She stated that as long as there are knowledge-seeking Hungarian youths, there is a Hungarian future.

According to Bence Rétvári, the voluntary quota introduced earlier has proved unsuccessful, so Brussels now wants to forcefully distribute migrants. He added that if Hungary refuses to comply, it may face penalties, referred to as ‘financial contributions’ in the proposal. This would mean that the Hungarian government would have to pay some eight million Hungarian forints per migrant that it is unwilling to accept.

The 44-year-old politician, who has been frequently likened to Orbán, publicly announced his candidacy for the Republican presidential nomination on Wednesday evening in Washington, D.C.

Human inventions such as contraception that ‘simplified the process’ of accessing sexual pleasures, had the ultimate side effect of devaluing romantic love, as what used to make it precious was the difficulty of overcoming the cultural and societal barriers of attaining the subject of one’s admiration, Stanislaw Lem argued.

In her remarks, Minister Varga paraphrased the words of Robert Schuman, one of the founding fathers of the European Union, who said that Europe will either be Christian or not be at all.

The Justice Minister announced on social media that the government will submit further, child protection-related legislative proposals to the National Assembly in the autumn. ’Hungary will have the strictest child protection regulations in Europe because there is no compromise in child protection,’ she wrote. She also pointed out that more and more evidence is emerging that the Hungarian opposition had accepted 4 billion forints in ‘mysterious’ foreign donations to represent foreign interests and policies in Hungary.

A new populism is appearing, based on real participatory federalism oriented towards tradition and community, with the Nomos being grounded in the ethnic divisions of states and regions.

She came from the small Slovakian town of Somorja, then the ‘splendid statelessness’ took her far away. With her dreamfolk-style songs about the stories of our ancestors, Upper Hungarian singer Rebeka Méry wants to convey what she has brought from home.

‘In the present European political space, the elites are making considerable efforts to transform societies along certain lines that are dubbed “progressive”. However, the data show that members of European societies, on the contrary, believe that society must be developed gradually through reforms. In Hungary, compared to the average, significantly fewer people agree that society must be changed in a radical, revolutionary way.’

Conservative forces in Europe and outside the continent need to work together because the values we hold dear are under global attack. These are the values that underpin
the greatness and prosperity of our civilization.

A kind of manifesto for conservative values that we can perhaps all commit to in these turbulent times.

Hungarian presidency will provide an opportunity to represent European values that are also important to Hungarians.