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?’
‘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…’
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.
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.
‘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?’
‘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.’
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.
Russian President Vladimir Putin supports Beijing’s four-point peace plan for Ukraine, presented in April. However, peace seems further away than ever since the war’s outbreak, as Western leaders have adopted an increasingly aggressive stance ahead of the European elections.
Hungarian Conservative is a quarterly magazine on contemporary political, philosophical and cultural issues from a conservative perspective.
