2024 is an election year in the United States of America, as everybody knows. Thus, it was inevitable that the topic was prominently featured at this year’s MCC Feszt in Esztergom, Hungary as well, with a full panel, a line-up of distinguished guests, dedicated to discussing how the presidential election will play out. The speakers on the panel were Miklós Szánthó, Director General of the Center for Fundamental Rights; James Carafano, Senior Counselor to the President of the Heritage Foundation; Mark Milosch, historian, lawyer, and the former Chief of Staff of the Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe; and István Stumpf, a former Justice on the Constitutional Court of Hungary. Krisztián László, international relations coordinator at MCC served as the moderator for the evening.
Mr Carafano started the discussion, saying that presidential elections in the US are usually decided on whether the people are better off than they were four years before. However, since President Joe Biden dropped out of the race, that dynamic has changed somewhat,
transforming what is coming into what he calls ‘a narrative election,’
meaning a contest to see which side can sell a better narrative about their respective candidates. Prior to President Biden’s historic decision to drop out, the top-priority issues were clear for voters: the economy and high inflation, the border, and energy and gas prices.
Mr Szánthó reiterated the point that Donald Trump’s election would be a lot better for Hungary than if Kamala Harris were to win, since in the case of the former, the currently hostile relations between the two countries would improve. He then went on to talk about two dangers facing the Western world these days: the ideological danger of woke progressivism, and the institutional danger of the ‘decoupling’ and ‘de-risking’ strategies of major world powers.
Justice Stumpf referred back to what Mr Carafano was talking about, and noted that he believes that, on top of the domestic, economic issues, the foreign issue of the Israel–Hamas war may also play a big role in the outcome of the US presidential election. Mr Milosch, meanwhile, described the current state of the campaigns as
‘a competition of all-consuming, all-explaining narratives’.
Mr Szánthó then stated that the domestic issues of the US soon become global issues, given that the leaderships of many countries, as well as the Brussels bureaucracy, are very eager to adopt the latest in woke ideology. He also talked about the need for a network of conservative institutions and activists, to counterbalance the very strong international infrastructure of the left. He also stressed that what we have in common with conservatives in other countries is more important than our differences. In the same vein, he also praised the great personal relationship between President Trump and Prime Minister Orbán of Hungary, given that both statesmen are ‘pro-peace and anti-woke,’ as he described them. Mr Milosch, on the other hand, described them as ‘sovereigntists, not isolationists’.
Justice Stumpf brought into the discussion a topic very much in his alley, that is the proposed term limits for US Supreme Court Justices by President Biden and the Democratic Party. He pointed out that the passing and ratification of a constitutional amendment would be needed to achieve that, which is nearly impossible in such a polarized environment, thus he views it as campaign ‘nonsense’.
Mr Carafano brought up some positive developments for conservatives next, pointing out that on the American continent right-wing populists won elections in Chile and Argentina; and, due to the unpopularity of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, the Conservative Party is almost certain to take power in next year’s federal election in Canada as well. He then talked about the differences between European and American politics, mainly that because of the size of the country, Americans are ‘locked in a two-party system,’ unlike European voters. He also pointed out that the two major political parties in the US used to be more ideologically diverse.
Mr Szánthó ended the discussion by saying that
‘the grand Hungarian strategy’ has always been trying to avoid being consumed by larger empires,
whether from the East or the West; while the ‘democracy export’ of the American Democratic Party seems to be attempting to do just that to his country.
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