‘Nevertheless, the Tories will be swept away by popular anger on 4 July. Then, who’s left? No one else than the infamous Nigel Farage. And it is exactly the Conservative Party’s obfuscation and identity crisis that Brexit leader Nigel Farage has used to launch the Reform UK party.’
Nearly three weeks after the European elections, it remains unclear which right-wing political group the Hungarian governing party, Fidesz, will join in the new European Parliament. In this analysis, we examine the possible alternatives and attempt to answer this question.
Hungary begins its six-month rotating presidency of the Council of the European Union on 1 July during a period of extraordinary circumstances and challenges. During its presidency, Hungary aims to focus on seven priorities to answer the EU’s most pressing economic, security, and social issues.
Hezbollah Leader Hassan Nasrallah threatens to use Syrian refugees as a political weapon while also warning Cyprus of a possible attack if the island nation assists Israel militarily. The group’s ability to manipulate refugee flows and its readiness to use military force against EU member states necessitate an effective and coordinated response from the European Union.
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán stated that Hungary intends to put forward a significant plan during its EU presidency called the European Competitiveness Pact. He believes that Europe’s biggest problem at the moment is the decline in competitiveness.
‘In short, the post-Brexit era and the Conservative majority government have not changed anything in the UK. The British continue to have problems with illegal and massive immigration, problems in the economy, and they still have not regained their much loved and longed for sovereignty. Likewise, the Labour Party did not bother to take up ‘the cultural battle’; they dropped all gender laws and only focused on the economy, albeit unsuccessfully.‘
Two elections this week at the Council of Europe will determine the institution’s future orientation. On Tuesday, 25 June the new Secretary General of the Council of Europe will be elected for a five-year term. On Wednesday, 26 June three new judges for the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) will be elected for a nine-year term. Senior Research Fellow at the European Centre for Law and Justice (ECLJ) Nicolas Bauer points out the risk of a leftist takeover.
‘Is it any surprise that the recent Dutch national elections were won by Geert Wilders’ Freedom Party? Is it surprising that the Dutch are fed up with uncontrolled—and, frankly, uncontrollable—immigration? Who would want to live in a country where there are about three bomb attacks every day? Who would want to run a business or open a shop in such a country? Make no mistake: this is the future from which Orbán is trying to save Hungary.’
According to Prime Minister’s Political Director Balázs Orbán, the EU presidency is an opportunity that can be utilized to make Europe stronger and to represent Hungarian national interests as effectively as possible at the EU level.
‘Although the Pechenegs have no visible identity, they are part of the Hungarian nation to this day: their medieval history may have ended, but they have played an important role in Hungarian ethnogenesis. Great clans of Pecheneg origins, like the Tomaj, rose to high nobility, exemplifying self-sacrifice when it came to defending the country from foreign invaders.’
Hungarian Conservative is a quarterly magazine on contemporary political, philosophical and cultural issues from a conservative perspective.
