‘At the moment, there seem to be many priorities, ranging from transgender issues to the fight against climate change. However, the focus on making the European Union a competitive, attractive place to do business and fostering the best or most innovation in the world is lacking,’ former Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz pointed out in an interview with Hungarian Conservative.
Sebastian Kurz, the former chancellor of Austria; Balázs Orbán, the political director of the Prime Minister of Hungary; and Ján Figeľ, former European Commissioner for Education, Training, Culture and Youth from Slovakia talked about what the results of the 2024 European Parliamentary election mean for the future of Europe at the opening panel discussion of MCC Feszt 2024 in Esztergom, Hungary.
The Hungarian economy grew by 1.3 per cent in the second quarter of 2024, remaining above the EU average. The countries of the eurozone are expected to continue weakening, especially the German economy, which is not a good sign for Hungary. Considering the data, there is a more urgent need than ever to boost the EU’s competitiveness, which is a key priority of the Hungarian EU Presidency.
The new anti-woke initiative will consist of two main pillars: an emergency response information chain alerting the members of the nefarious activity of progressive, woke actors anywhere in the world; and one focused on the organization of conferences and workshops for right-wing activists.
In response to Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s speech at the Tusványos festival, Władysław Teofil Bartoszewski of Poland has called on the Hungarian leadership to leave the EU and NATO if they believe these organizations treat them so badly. Meanwhile, US Ambassador David Pressman has also come out to criticize the same speech by PM Orbán.
The overwhelming majority of Hungarians support transparency in the foreign funding of media outlets. Recently, there has been an increase in foreign attempts to interfere in Hungarian domestic politics, with the media being a primary target. In response, the government established the Office for the Protection of Sovereignty. This move, however, could prompt Brussels to penalize the country with another rule of law mechanism.
After Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba stated on Wednesday that Ukraine was ready to negotiate with Russia if Moscow ‘acts in good faith’, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov responded on Thursday that Russia was willing to negotiate with Ukraine even if Volodymyr Zelenskyy remains president. Viktor Orbán’s peace mission has undoubtedly contributed to these positive developments towards peace, and the Hungarian Prime Minister could play a crucial role in mediating further talks.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba stated that Ukraine is ready to negotiate with Russia if Moscow acts in good faith, following his meeting with his Chinese counterpart, Wang Yi. Kuleba’s visit to China sheds new light on Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s peace mission: Orbán could play an important role in organizing the next peace conference, where Kyiv would welcome Russia’s participation.
After a long time, Europe has the opportunity to take its future into its own hands, restore its long-lost prestige, and promote peace in Ukraine. Instead, Brussels has initiated a childish vendetta against Hungary over Viktor Orbán’s peace mission. Missing such opportunities out of hubris and pettiness demonstrates the utter incompetence of the EU leadership.
The poll results concerning the perceived suitability of political leaders for the prime ministerial position are revealing: among potential candidates for a parliamentary election, Viktor Orbán is considered the most suitable to lead Hungary by 49 per cent of Hungarians.
Hungarian Conservative is a quarterly magazine on contemporary political, philosophical and cultural issues from a conservative perspective.
