Hungarian Conservative

Zsolt Kutnyánszky, the State Secretary responsible for defence policy, military development, and the defence industry, announced the deployment of the new aircraft at the Butmir Camp near Sarajevo. He stated that the new Airbus H225M helicopter will replace the previously offered Mi-17 helicopter for air transport tasks within EUFOR.

The international community has been watching events in the Middle East with bated breath for days, as Iran could attack Israel at any moment. Hungarian Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Péter Szijjártó reportedly informed his Israeli counterpart of Tehran’s intention to attack on Monday evening.

This year’s presidential election in the United States was a prominent topic at MCC Feszt 2024. A whole panel of speakers, namely Miklós Szánthó, James Carafano, Mark Milosch, and István Stumpf, discussed how they see the contest between Republican Donald J. Trump and Democrat Kamala Harris is shaping up.

Vasif Huseynov, Titus Techera, Amitav Acharya, and Şuay Nilhan Açıkalın gathered for a panel discussion on the last day of MCC Feszt 2024 in Esztergom, Hungary to discuss how major world powers approach international relations in these turbulent times.

Deif, who orchestrated the 7 October terrorist attack against Israel and served as a military commander during the ongoing Gaza war, was killed in Khan Yunis. His killing preceded that of Ismail Haniyeh, who the day before his death attended the inauguration of the Iranian President in the company of none other than Enrique Mora, the Spanish EU official coordinating nuclear negotiations with Tehran.

The situation in the Middle East is becoming increasingly tense, with escalatory developments taking place one after the other. This week, Israel killed a senior Hezbollah commander and Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh in a precision strike. In response, Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei ordered a direct attack on Israel.

Liberal POLITICO has once again attempted to discredit Hungary with fake news regarding a joint EU declaration on the Venezuelan elections. The Brussels-based outlet, citing anonymous sources, reported that Hungary vetoed the joint EU resolution. However, the Hungarian Foreign Ministry quickly rebutted the allegation.

The munitions manufacturing facility at the Várpalota Defence Industrial Complex, operated in partnership with German Rheinmetall, will contribute to reducing Hungarian dependence on supply chains, Minister Szalay-Bobrovniczky stated at the inauguration ceremony on Monday.

The threat of escalation in the Middle East is growing following Saturday’s deadly strike by Hezbollah on an Israeli-controlled settlement in the Golan Heights. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has even gone so far as to threaten Israel with an invasion.

In response to Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s speech at the Tusványos festival, Władysław Teofil Bartoszewski of Poland has called on the Hungarian leadership to leave the EU and NATO if they believe these organizations treat them so badly. Meanwhile, US Ambassador David Pressman has also come out to criticize the same speech by PM Orbán.

‘The country, alongside Chile, is the most developed country of the region. While in Chile anti-establishment sentiments led to a left-wing experiment with the government of Gabriel Boric, Milei represents the opposite in this regard. It will be interesting to see which direction could serve as a model for the hemisphere: would it be a new Pink Tide or, as a result of the Argentine experiment, conservative-leaning supercharged libertarianism?’

Biden’s abrupt exit from the presidential race and anointment of Vice President Kamala Harris as his would-be successor has certainly left world leaders in disarray—not that they were not expecting it, given the obvious lack of both physical stamina and mental acuity of the US president. Regardless, as they continue to grapple with the wars in Ukraine and Gaza, an escalation in the Middle East, and a more emphatic China, world leaders are contemplating if there will be a second Trump’s ‘America First’ administration or a continuity of Biden’s ‘America is Back’ through Kamala Harris.

‘His holocaust-survivor grandfather highlighted that he should kiss his weapon as now, unlike during the Holocaust, the Jewish people have the privilege from God to defend themselves. This is why, as Dr Ansbacher explained, when Hamas invaded Israel, they didn’t find helpless Jewish people, but thousands of strong soldiers, police officers, Special Forces, and also regular people who were able to defend themselves.’

During the mission, the Hungarian research astronaut will spend 14 days aboard the International Space Station, conducting scientific experiments that will not only benefit the domestic space sector but also position Hungary competitively on the international stage in one of the 21st century’s most rapidly developing industries.

‘Bluntly, the war in Ukraine has unveiled the West’s ESG goals for the hypocrisy they are. The political and business leaders who promoted them are now caught up in their own contradictions,’ Khaled Abou Zahr has written in an opinion piece published by Arab News. The article highlights the contradictions between Western leaders’ warmongering statements and their promotion of green policies and a sustainable future.

In an unprecedented twist of events, we now have the incumbent party running a non-incumbent candidate, while the non-incumbent party is running a former incumbent candidate. The incumbent advantage is a well-documented phenomenon in American politics, a lot of which is due to simple name recognition. This aspect now heavily favours Former President Trump.

The level of escalation in the Middle East has risen significantly after Israel struck a Houthi-controlled port in Yemen over the weekend, marking the first such attack since the war between Hamas and Israel broke out last October. The retaliatory strike follows a deadly drone attack by the Yemeni Houthis on Tel Aviv.

Despite the series of peace plans formulated over the last years, the positions of the presidents of the warring nations, Zelenskyy and Putin still look irreconcilable. As Prime Minister Orbán highlighted on numerous occasions, however, ‘peace won’t happen of its own accord’ and ‘without dialogue it is very difficult to see how they will move in the direction of peace’.

Thanks to Musk, X has become one of the world’s most prominent free-speech platforms. During the July 13 attempted assassination of President Trump, establishment media pushed false and egregiously misleading headlines, while failing to deliver timely news updates. In contrast, X enabled citizen journalists to work together to quickly assess the unfolding horrors. But according to the European Commission, X ‘deceives users’ with its blue check verification system, lacks advertising transparency, and restricts data access for researchers.

The crusader army numbering tens of thousands that St John of Capistrano recruited played an important role in the successful defence of the Fortress of Nándorfehérvár and in the battle that ended the siege. John Hunyadi would have been defeated at the fortress walls if Capistrano had not attacked the Ottoman camp with his crusaders on 21 July.

‘The changing demographic in German cities, where traditional characteristics are diminishing, also signifies deep socio-political shifts. Addressing these transformations is crucial, as they pose implications for democratic integrity and the rule of law, transcending partisan narratives.’

Two important events played a role in Rákóczi’s return to Hungary in 1703. On the one hand, the unfolding War of the Spanish Succession (1701–1714), which meant the withdrawal of most of the imperial regiments from the country, and on the other, the uprising of the serfs of Munkács, provided the perfect opportunity for Rákóczi to organize an armed rebellion. At the request of Tamás Esze, the leader of the uprising in the Tiszahát region, Francis II Rákóczi took the lead in the what developed into a War of Independence, issuing a proclamation calling on nobles and non-nobles alike to take up arms.

After some details had been circulating in the press for days, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán decided to release his ten-point proposal and assessment he had sent to the President of the European Council, Charles Michel, following his peace mission. The document is the most detailed plan for achieving peace in Ukraine that has ever been made public since the war broke out in February 2022.

Tamás Sulyok stated that several key areas aimed at strengthening the strategic partnership between the two countries were reviewed during the Thursday meeting. He added that in light of Hungary holding the presidency of the Council of the European Union, he requested Peter Pellegrini’s support to help Hungary, as an honest mediator.

The purchase of the state-of-the-art aircraft is part of the Force Development Programme, essential not only in terms of self-defence and deterrence, but also for the country to remain an influential contributor to regional, and transatlantic security efforts in trying times.

Reportedly, the visa waiver scheme is part of President Aleksandr Lukashenko’s efforts to better relations with Western Europe. The citizens of three EU Member States, Latvia, Lithuania, and Poland, have been allowed visa-free travel to Belarus since 2022.

On 18 July the European Parliament re-elected European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen with 401 votes in favour. In her speech before the vote, von der Leyen made numerous political promises for the next five years but also, of course, criticized Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s peace mission.

‘Especially after the assassination attempt, there will be some sympathy for Trump. The images as he was raising his fist, with the American flag in the background, in defiance of critical violence, with blood on his face—that’s a very strong image that could be burnt into the minds of the American people. And since right now, we are living in the world of images, unfortunately, and not in the world of words, that might be a very, very potent weapon in the hands of Republicans demonstrating that Trump is up to his task, as opposed to Biden, who is frail mentally and physically as well.’

In his remarks at the National Conservatism Conference in Washington, D.C., Danube Institute President John O’Sullivan argued that NATO’s success hinges on sustained US leadership, adequate defence spending by European members, and a clear strategic vision that adapts to contemporary security dynamics.

The Hungarian Defence Forces are set to receive a total of sixteen medium-lift rotary-wing aircraft from Airbus Helicopters, as part of the government’s force development programme.