A panel on post-liberalism at MCC Feszt 2025 featuring Patrick Deneen, Gladden Pappin, and Chad Pecknold has drawn sharp criticism from liberal thinkers on X, who condemned the speakers’ praise for Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán and his model of illiberal democracy.
‘Borders must be protected, peace must be established, and the US and Hungary are strong allies in this,’ Director General for the Budapest-based conservative think tank Center for Fundamental Rights Miklós Szánthó has also told the audience in his speech at the annual Young Republicans National Convention (YRNC) in Nashville, Tennessee.
‘The biggest obstacle facing Donald Trump may not be the other party. It’s that his time is almost up,’ Patrick Deneen explained in an interview with Hungarian Conservative. The Notre Dame professor discussed how Trump’s second presidency has initiated a potential elite transformation in the US, the challenges ahead, and why he sees JD Vance as the ideal figure to carry on Trump’s legacy.
How has the international community turned against Israel? Did Israel commit crimes against the civilian population in Gaza? What is the importance of Hungary’s friendship with Israel? We asked Israel’s Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs about Israel’s changing international reputation at the MCC Feszt, organized by the Mathias Corvinus Collegium (MCC).
Sydney Sweeney has found herself at the centre of a woke outrage after critics accused her American Eagle advert of racism and sexism. Dutch right-wing political commentator Eva Vlaardingerbroek defended Sweeney, arguing that the backlash reflects a deeper cultural hostility toward white women—something she knows from personal experience.
‘In the twenty-first century, it might be thought quixotic…to be highlighting ideas about the purpose of universities that have anything to do with conservatism…The dominance of a progressive liberal “idea of a University” should not, however, let us forget that there is a conservative “idea of a University” waiting in the wings and ready for the opportunity to reassert itself…’
‘I started teaching the children ever since more of us from Wisconsin started attending the Csipke Camps…I try to put together a small performance for every major holiday, and in doing so, I help them learn more about Hungarian traditions. We meet weekly…but we gather beyond the rehearsals, to spend time together—we sing too, and try to preserve our Hungarian identity also in this way.’
At MCC Feszt 2025 in Esztergom, panellists Patrick Deneen, Chad Pecknold, Gladden Pappin, and István Kiss discussed whether we are living in a post-liberal age. They argued that liberalism is collapsing under its own contradictions, while Hungary’s national policy offers a compelling alternative grounded in tradition, family, and sovereignty.
‘…just recently, during the EU–China summit hosted by Xi, not only was there no Chinese delegation to welcome European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and other top EU leaders, but the Chinese autocrat also made them take a bus to reach the summit venue. This does not look like a man who is on his way out.’
Hungary’s gross domestic product has grown by 0.2 per cent year-over-year in the second quarter of 2025, which translates to a 0.4-per-cent growth quarter-to-quarter, the Central Statistical Office (KSH) has reported.