What was Margaret Thatcher like in her private and professional life? What went wrong in the last year of her premiership? And what is her enduring political legacy in British politics? We spoke with a former special adviser to Prime Minister Thatcher about the Iron Lady’s personal and political character at the Danube Institute’s Thatcher Conference.
Standard & Poor’s has reaffirmed Hungary’s sovereign credit rating, keeping the country in the investment-grade category. With all three major agencies maintaining positive ratings, investor confidence in Hungary remains strong.
‘Carlos the Jackal was housed by the Hungarians as a Socialist internationalist duty, and was allowed by the Soviets to be in the Bloc as a sign of their carelessness about the world.’
‘Réka and I work together to achieve our goals. To me, one plus one equals three, not two. When we combine our skills, we create something greater—the best possible outcome we could achieve together.’
‘Undoubtedly, the political and ecclesiastical situation in Hungary in the 11th century was not ripe for a politician who was not familiar with Hungarian conditions to ascend the throne…Without taking Hungarian conditions into account, Peter rashly attempted to transform the country into a Western-style kingdom, and in doing so, he was left to his own devices and failed.’
With Dániel Lukács of Puskás Akadémia and Zsombor Gruber of Ferencváros scoring their first ever national team goals, Hungary beat Armenia 2–0 in a crucial game in the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifying campaign at home in Budapest. The red-white-and-greens have four points after three games in their group.
‘The problem is not whether progress has material benefits—it would be foolish to deny them—but that the concept of progress has forced upon us a materialist and quantitative worldview that is incapable of measuring, or even perceiving, what was lost in the process. …Our diagnosis, therefore, is not that progress is heading in the wrong direction, but that “progress” itself is the wrong compass.’
Here in Hungary, there are many popular foods, drinks, herbal preparations, liqueurs, and even sweets that have been shrouded in secrecy for decades or even centuries and whose exact recipes and methods of preparation are known only to a select few.
‘Taken together, the series offers a vivid snapshot of Brașov’s Hungarian community in the late socialist years…Yet one thing is conspicuously absent: the explicit acknowledgment that a Hungarian community existed at all…What emerged instead was a coded reality, in which familiar faces, schools, and cultural associations stood in for the community that could not be named.’
‘Despite its grandiose displays and ideological fervour, the Council Republic’s efforts in Buda Castle exposed the fragility and contradictions of revolutionary rule. Eventually, the events reveal how the conflict between radical ideals and human behaviour shaped both the promise and the pitfalls of early Hungarian communism.’
Nobel Peace Prize winner María Corina Machado credited Donald Trump as a key ally in Venezuela’s struggle for democracy, dedicating her award to both the Venezuelan people and the US president. The opposition leader said Venezuela was ‘on the threshold of victory’, thanks to Trump’s decisive backing and global leadership.
The US Supreme Court is set to hear a second round of oral arguments in the case Louisiana v Callais, which might decide that drawing congressional districts based on race is unconstitutional. If so, solid Republican states in the South would have the ability to create a handful of new districts favourable to the GOP ahead of the 2026 midterms.
‘Hungary, and Ludovika in particular, can become a regional leader in building these connections and advancing joint research, education, and development projects with our Turkic partners,’ Director General for International Relations at Ludovika University Liliana Śmiech told Hungarian Conservative.
‘Had Trump been a Democrat, he would have won the Nobel Peace Prize. It is nothing short of a scandal that he did not win it this year.’
‘When that framework is attacked or discredited, society doesn’t become more tolerant: it becomes more fractured. National symbols, such as the flag, serve not to exclude but to unite. They are the visual shorthand for a shared story.’
Miklós Szánthó accused Péter Magyar and his allies of ‘fleecing Hungarian families’ even without being in power by supporting EU migration policies. At a campaign event in front of the EU Commission’s office in Budapest, he linked the EU fines imposed on Hungary for border protection to Magyar’s party and warned against following Western Europe’s migration path.
‘The road to peace is still long…But for now, the most important thing is that the first phase of Trump’s peace plan has proven acceptable to both parties. For 48 Israeli families, their nightmare of the past two years may finally be coming to an end.’
Brussels is set to investigate claims that Hungarian intelligence officers spied on EU institutions and sought to recruit an official while stationed at Hungary’s permanent representation between 2015 and 2017. The move comes eight years after the alleged network was dismantled—and just 6 months before Hungary’s general election.
‘The debate on the motions took place on Monday, followed by the vote on Thursday. The Patriots criticized the Commission’s trade deals: not only the EU–US deal, which introduced high tariffs on European exports, but also the Mercosur agreement, which opens European markets to cheap agricultural products from Latin America.’
Talking to Bloomberg Screentime, late-night show host Jimmy Kimmel has stated that he’d ‘love to have’ President Trump on his show. This is a surprising remark, given that he has spent the last nine years ridiculing the President, and was recently suspended for his statements about conservative activist Charlie Kirk’s assasination.
What could be Europe’s future: a decline, or a new golden age? How imminent is the Russian threat to Europe? How does Sweden view Hungary’s fight for sovereignty? We asked former Prime Minister of Sweden Carl Bildt about Europe’s bright or dark future at Brain Bar 2025 in Budapest.
Budapest will host the next European Geothermal Congress in 2028, a recognition of Hungary’s growing leadership in renewable energy. The decision highlights the country’s achievements and commitment to sustainable geothermal development.
Prime Minister Viktor Orbán discussed Hungary’s neighbourhood policy, economic reforms, and political tensions in an interview with Kossuth Radio broadcast from Cluj-Napoca. He warned of foreign influence in Hungarian politics and hailed writer László Krasznahorkai’s Nobel win.
‘India’s green transition is not only an energy story—it is a social and fiscal balancing act. In the coal belt of the eastern and central states, at least 120 districts are systematically tied to fossil-fuel value chains…supporting around 20 million livelihoods, with informal employment in the sector often exceeding 80 per cent of the workforce.’
Ten Hungarian restaurants were awarded Michelin stars at the Budapest gala on Thursday night, reaffirming Hungary’s growing global culinary reputation. The Platán in Tata and the Stand in Budapest retained their two-star ratings.
AI are minds deprived of almost everything we previously viewed as essential to one. Is this not the very definition of a demon?
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen survived two separate censure motions in the European Parliament on Thursday, as mainstream factions once again shielded her from calls to resign. The right-wing Patriots for Europe and the Left had accused her of failures on trade, transparency and leadership, but both votes fell well short.
Hungarian universities have achieved higher positions in the latest global rankings, with Semmelweis University now among the world’s top 1 per cent. Minister Balázs Hankó praised the results and emphasized deepening US academic ties amid EU-related disputes.
As Hungary’s parliamentary elections approach, polls are becoming increasingly important. Beyond overall support rates, we can expect more heated debates about which social groups politicians have managed to reach and which they have not. In this context, we ask the question: What is the situation with young people?
Hungarian writer László Krasznahorkai has been awarded the 2025 Nobel Prize in Literature, becoming the second Hungarian to receive the prestigious honour. Prime Minister Viktor Orbán congratulated him, calling Krasznahorkai a ‘pride of Hungary’.