Hungarian Conservative

Over the weekend, the Israeli Defense Forces found the bodies of six Israeli hostages killed by the Hamas terrorist organization in the Gaza Strip town of Rafah. In their initial reports major international media outlets were reluctant to spell out Hamas’s responsibility in their headlines, unsurprisingly for those who have been following the conflict and the media coverage attentively from the beginning of the war. This most recent example highlights the mainstream media’s growing tendency to deny or distort reality when it suits them.

The decision to ban mobile phones was made by Education Minister Giuseppe Valditara in July. From September this year, students in kindergartens and the first five grades of primary schools are not allowed to use mobile phones, even for educational or learning purposes. Tablets, computers, and other technological devices may be used under teacher supervision. Hungary has also introduced a similar measure recently.

Through the app made available by the Hungarian government citizens will be able to access all their important information, such as their personal ID number, their public health care ID number, and even information about their vehicle. The aim of the initiative is to ease the reliance on physical copies of important documents.

The case of the Algerian boxer Imane Khelif was undoubtedly one of the biggest scandals of the summer, dominating headlines in major media outlets for weeks. Hungarian Conservative sat down with former Olympian Zsuzsa Csisztu to examine the controversial athlete’s rise and its impact on women’s sports from the perspective of a female athlete.

At the end of July Viktor Orbán announced that he would nominate again Olivér Várhelyi, the former Commissioner for Neighbourhood and Enlargement Policy. Hungary would retain the position in charge of enlargement policy in the new Commission, but this ambition may be thwarted. Currently it seems that the majority of Member States and the EP are reluctant to give Hungary any strong commissioner position, and many predict that Várhelyi will be given a hard time during his parliamentary committee hearing.

Speaking at the festive senate meeting marking the start of the academic year at the University of Pécs on the Day of Hungarian Higher Education, State Secretary Varga-Bajusz noted that higher education serves students, families, teachers, the Hungarian economy, and the Hungarian nation—essentially, it is ‘for us, our present, and our future.’

During the week innovation events will be hosted by organizations such as EduTech Hungary, the Hungarian Venture Capital and Private Equity Association (HVCA), the Vienna Business Agency, the Hungarian Project Management Association, RInnoValleys, and the Hungarian Business Angel Network (HUNBAN).

The radical right-wing Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) party got the most votes in the state of Thuringia, and came in close second in Saxony. Experts Ágoston Sámuel Mráz, Bence Bauer, and Zoltán Kiszelly shared their thoughts as the results were coming at an event organized by MCC.