Russia held its first three-day-long presidential election between 15⁠–⁠17 March 2024; 7 May marked the previous cabinet’s last day in office. The new appointments in the Russian cabinet are significant not only because they mark the Kremlin’s apparent preparation for a long war, but also because they provide a fresh insight into the power games played in Moscow.

While talking at the Sedona Forum, US Ambassador to Hungary David Pressman called Hungary’s pro-peace approach to the Russo-Ukrainian war ‘a proposal for capitulation’. In response to him, the political director for the Prime Minister of Hungary Balázs Orbán asked: ‘Has the US strategy really been that effective over the past two years?’

‘Throughout the West today…there is a mania for forgetting our civilizational past as an intolerable moral burden. Western elites regard migrants, sexual minorities, and other outsiders as bearers of ‘‘the richness of cultural diversity’’, but do not see the culturally diverse minorities already within Europe itself in the same way.’

‘The Internet, for all its premises as a beacon of knowledge, now resembles more of a digital information wasteland. It’s not that there aren’t well-written essays or long-form articles out there. It’s not as if one cannot find quality, deep content if one seeks it out. It’s just that we’re overwhelmed by the popcorn.’

In many Hungarian settlements, saints’ days with processions and pilgrimages are traditionally held at Pentecost. One of the most important Hungarian Marian Shrines is the one in Csíksomlyó, Transylvania, which has been declared a Hungarikum, together with the Pentecost pilgrimage held there. While many Hungarian Pentecost customs are rooted in the religious feast, there are also several traditions and beliefs that have been transposed from ancient Hungarian beliefs.

‘The international reorganization resulting from the changed role and situation of the United States will not be without consequence for Europe. At the same time, due to political and cultural challenges, there are at least serious questions regarding the future prospects of the transatlantic model we are familiar with today…’

In an interview with public media Minister of Energy Csaba Lantos informed that the recently concluded China-Hungary bilateral agreements cover, among others, nuclear research and development, training cooperation, expanding the electric vehicle charging network, and examining the possibility of creating a critically important connection between the Hungarian and Serbian oil pipeline systems.

Lieutenant Colonel Shoshani pointed out that ‘in this horrible reality, even though we showed evidence of the barbaric sexual violence by Hamas on 7 October, the world still doesn’t believe it happened,’ which demonstrates how people tend to believe only what they want to, even when presented with facts.

As part of the SopronFest series, János Áder, Chairman of the Blue Planet Climate Protection Foundation, addressed various topics during the recorded conversation, including the difference in attitudes towards environmental issues between Generation Y, which grew up with digitalization, and Generation Z, which was born into it.

‘Clearly, music in itself wasn’t “diverse” enough. The music, songs and dances of nearly fifty countries and even more ethnic groups, languages and cultures were not sufficiently diverse. No! Give us drag queens! Make it colourful, smelly, and sexualized, with a hint of antisemitism, and children will love it! Let’s brainwash them and shout to the world: this is Europe!’

‘The forthcoming European Parliament elections hold particular significance…As Orbán emphasized in his address on 15 March: “We are on the brink of a sovereign revolution in America and Europe, where normal life can be restored, and a great era of Western nations can commence.”’

The attempted assassination of Robert Fico has led to a significant rise in death threats against European leaders, including Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán. Máté Kocsis, the Fidesz parliamentary group leader, attributes this escalation partly to left-wing media, accusing them of mastering hate speech and biased reporting.

‘We can only hope that the debates concerning the future of the EU will increasingly focus on the goals, and that European politicians will emerge who can formulate them with the faith and courage of the Founding Fathers, ensuring at the same time that the EU remains a community of peace, prosperity, and solidarity.’

Instead of condemning the law that protects Georgia’s sovereignty, the EU should consider adopting similar measures, Balázs Orbán argued in his X post. On Tuesday, the Georgian parliament passed a law mandating registration for organizations that receive substantial foreign funding, triggering significant outcry in Brussels. However, the law, disparagingly labelled as the ‘Russian law,’ bears similarities to the Foreign Agents Registration Act in the United States, which has been in place for nearly a century.

László Kövér stated that the 20th century has shown Hungarians that a liveable future cannot be achieved in the battlefields. The future is in the homes being built and in nurseries, kindergartens, and schools, not in destroyed, burnt-out towns, the House Speaker stressed.

Prime Minister Viktor Orbán stated that Hungary needs economic relations, not ideological ones, with both East and West in terms of future high technologies.

The regulations of the new pact include, for instance, faster processing of asylum applications, more efficient return of those who do not have the right to stay in the EU, and solidarity in the distribution of migrants between Member States.

The Free Market Road Show was held in Budapest for the ninth time. At the ceremonial opening of the event, John O’Sullivan, president of the Danube Institute, presented the condensed Hungarian version of world-famous economist Friedrich A. Hayek’s (1899–1992) book The Road to Serfdom. On the occasion of the 80th anniversary of the publication of the Nobel Prize-winning economist’s work, the Danube Institute, under the auspices of the Austrian Economics Center, published the booklet in Hungarian with the aim of making Hayek’s most important teachings easily accessible to Hungarian students.

‘In Hungary, most of society and the government view the state of democracy operating in the institutions of the EU with growing concern and mounting criticism. This mutual criticism increasingly defines the relationship between Hungary and the system of EU institutions in Brussels.’

‘The average Ukrainian soldier is about 45 years old; a lot of men have left the country; and Ukraine has become a country of widows. A disproportionate number of men have died in recent years. And since we don’t plan to send troops, how do we solve the ‘‘manpower’’ problem?’

After months of negotiations, the Netherlands now has its most right-wing government in the country’s history. The coalition, including Geert Wilders’ PVV, has committed to implementing the strictest asylum policy ever, according to the coalition agreement presented on Thursday.

‘Hungary is set to take over the rotating EU Presidency in July 2024, a development that has provoked mixed feelings among certain political factions…Nonetheless, Hungary has proven to be a formidable participant in these disputes, fully aware of its rights within the EU legal framework and prepared to advocate for them vigorously.’

The district mayor of Saint-Josse-ten-Noode in Brussels, Emir Kir, issued an administrative order to prohibit the National Conservatism Conference (NatCon) scheduled for 16⁠–⁠17 April, citing ‘ensuring public safety’ as the reason. MCC, a co-organizer of the event, has now launched legal proceedings against Kir, claiming that the order violated the right of free speech.

The European Parliamentary election is taking place next month, and our print magazine has just released a special issue all about the major political event. Among other excellent pieces we have Fidesz co-founder, MP Zsolt Németh writing about Brussels and Budapest accusing each other of failing to live up to the Union’s democratic values; as well as President of the Hungarian Institute of International Affairs Gladden Pappin looking the parallels between the foundation of the United States of America and the attempted foundation of a ‘United States of Europe’. You can pick up the latest edition of Hungarian Conservative magazine at your local bookstore or newspaper stand, or you can subscribe to our quarterly magazine on our website to make sure you never miss an issue.

Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico is in a stable but very serious condition after he was shot at point-blank range by a 71-year-old perpetrator, described as a poet and political activist in media reports, on Wednesday afternoon. The international community responded with shock to the news of the attempted assassination, as world leaders expressed their support for Slovakia.

According to the findings of the Project Europe research by Századvég, public attitudes towards combat readiness in Europe significantly differ regarding armed conflict within or beyond national borders. According to the survey, 59 per cent of EU respondents would fight for their country within their own borders, while 27 per cent would not be willing to do so.

Speaking to the Hungarian media after the meeting, János Bóka evaluated that the past five-year institutional cycle has been fundamentally marked by failures in the European Union, which faced numerous historical challenges to which it failed to provide adequate responses.

Head Coach Marco Rossi has named his 26-player squad for Euro 2024, where his team Hungary will be facing hosts Germany, Switzerland, and Scotland in the group stage.

‘It is clear that the Eurovision has become a battleground for the debate over gender identity and the boundaries of acceptability in the public sphere. Today, it seems, nothing is off-limits, and performers are encouraged to push the boundaries of what is considered socially acceptable. This anything-goes mentality has led to a competition where the weird and the wacky reign supreme, and where acts that would have been unthinkable in the past are now celebrated and applauded.’

The North Carolina University’s board of trustees unanimously voted to dismantle their DEI programme, and instead use those funds for added campus police and security needed due to the pro-Palestine protests by students. Similar developments have come out of the state of Florida as well.