On Saturday, 17 February, Viktor Orbán delivered his 25th State of the Nation address, which was centred around topics such as the scandal surrounding President Katalin Novák, the reinforcement of the child protection system, Hungary’s relationship with the European Union, and the forthcoming EU and US elections.

Balog’s resignation was prompted by a recent scandal that caused public outrage where former President Katalin Novák granted clemency to an accomplice of a convicted paedophile. Novák resigned on 10 February after the events, closely followed by the resignation of former Minister of Justice Judit Varga.

On Saturday, 17 February, Viktor Orbán will deliver his 25th annual State of the Nation Address. This year’s speech holds particular significance as the European Parliament elections draw near.

The Prime Minister’s political director Balázs Orbán held a book launch at the Ludovika University of Public Service in Budapest. The new book, now also available in English, looks at the changing geopolitical world order as well as Hungary’s role and place in it.

According to recently released data, the Hungarian economy has surpassed the EU average in 2023, and is poised to be among the leading countries in 2024 as well.

Deputy State Secretary Miklós Dukai led the event honouring the around 38,000 civilian victims who perished during the Siege of Budapest in 1944.

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.

The Sovereignty Protection Office has recently launched an investigation into footage that has been circulating like wildfire on social media platform X, which shows that Hungarian-born American billionaire George Soros did indeed interfere in the 2022 parliamentary elections in Hungary.

President Novák announced her resignation on Saturday afternoon. Subsequently, Judit Varga, the former Minister of Justice also returned her parliamentary mandate.

President Katalin Novák announced her resignation after causing public outrage with her decision to grant clemency to an accomplice of a convicted paedophile. Novák acknowledged that she had made a mistake, hence, she took responsibility by resigning from her post.

While Robert K. Hur’s special counsel did not recommend criminal charges against President Biden, it did raise additional concerns about his mental acuity. Also, given that former President Trump was indicted on 38 counts of felony charges for virtually the same conduct, it raises suspicions of political bias within the US Justice Department.

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.

László Dudog, one of the most severely injured victims of the far-left attacks in Budapest last February, granted an exclusive interview to Italian media. The article has the potential to provide Italian readers with a more accurate portrayal of the events, prompting them to reconsider the misrepresented image of Hungary.

Bryan E. Leib, Márton Ugrósdy, and Magor Ernyei were the distinguished panellists in a discussion at the Center for Fundamental Rights on how this year’s US presidential election is shaping up to be, and what effect it could have on Europe and Hungary.

The European Commission has launched an infringement procedure against Hungary over the Sovereignty Protection Law, opening a new front in the unending battle over sovereignty between Brussels and Hungary.

President Novák emphasized that this is Vahagn Khachaturyan’s first official presidential visit to Hungary. She said their discussions covered various topics including peace in the world, Hungarian humanitarian assistance to Armenia, demographic challenges, the importance of bilateral relations, the situation of minorities, and Armenia’s European perspective.

The investigation into the Brussels corruption scandal, which has been ongoing for more than a year with left-wing MEPs at its centre, could be jeopardized, as revealed by a recently released audio recording.

All MPs for the ruling Fidesz-KDNP coalition, as well as some for the left-wing opposition, were absent from the extraordinary parliamentary session called for Monday, thus the vote on Sweden’s NATO membership did not meet the threshold to be legally binding. US Ambassador David Pressman was also present, but then left the House disappointed.

The deadliest forest fire on record in Chile’s history broke out last Friday, killing over 110 people. Foreign Minister of Hungary Péter Szijjártó has sent an open letter to his Chilean counterpart, expressing sympathies on his country’s behalf.

Disney sued Florida Governor Ron DeSantis for stripping them of special privileges in the Reedy Creek Improvement District, where Disney World is located. The feud between Disney and DeSantis originates from Florida’s Parental Rights in Education law, which may have been inspired by Hungary’s Child Protection Act.

‘It is clear that the unhindered influx of masses of illegal arrivals, aided by criminals, and then the processing of asylum applications within the EU is a failure of failures,’ György Bakondi expressed on public M1 television.

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.

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.

Tate, who is currently being charged with serious crimes in Romania, was most likely impressed by the Hungarian Prime Minister’s conduct in Brussels.

The Director General for the Center for Fundamental Rights told the One America News Network that this year, CPAC is planning to ‘go into action’ and become ‘woke busters’, as well as looking to ‘drain the swamp in Brussels’.

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.

The Fed is not cutting the federal interest rate, and is keeping it at 5.5 per cent, the highest it has been since the early 2000s. Meanwhile in Hungary, the National Bank cut interest rates on 31 January.

Viktor Orbán has lifted his veto on €50 billion in financial aid for Ukraine, relying on the guarantees provided by EU leaders.

Palkovics emphasized that approximately 20 per cent of Hungary’s energy mix is consumed in the transport sector, primarily relying on fossil fuels. This dependence poses a considerable challenge to transitioning towards sustainable, domestically producible energy sources that are less burdensome on the environment.