Was the great writer Antal Szerb beaten to death by a fellow Jew, as a postwar indictment and online claims suggest? Drawing on court records, testimonies, and archival evidence, this piece revisits a murky People’s Court case to separate hearsay, vengeance, and historical fact.
‘In the first phase, immediately following the regime change, the conservative generation aimed to emulate Western European models, often paving the way for neoliberal shock therapy. The second generation, referred to as the “new right” in Central Europe, formulated its approach based on the adverse effects of post-transition capitalism.’
‘Finally, what many had feared came to pass: the heir to the throne of the Austro–Hungarian Empire fell victim to an assassination attempt. Although he escaped the first attack unscathed, the Serbian terrorists made no mistake the second time around…The assassination went down in world history, but the life of Franz Ferdinand has been completely forgotten.’
‘Power, after all, begs to be balanced, as realist theory holds. As Kenneth Waltz wrote in his final essay: “the very acts that have allowed Israel to maintain its nuclear edge in the short term have prolonged an imbalance that is unsustainable in the long term.”’
Opposition leader Péter Magyar insists he would uphold Hungary’s veto on Ukraine’s EU accession, even as his party sits within the European People’s Party—the bloc’s strongest advocate of Kyiv’s fast-track membership. The apparent contradiction exposes the political theatre that Tisza and the EPP are staging ahead of Hungary’s April election.
‘The violent activists of the radical left group were closely associated with the La France Insoumise (LFI) party, which is now under fire for the beating. The Young Guard, the anti-fascist group that is responsible for the attack on Quentin’s life, was founded by Raphaël Arnault, who serves as LFI’s representative in the National Assembly.’
‘In this sense, we can now observe an interesting process in which the Hungary Helps model converges with US state objectives. The pivot of a small, semi-peripheral nation towards a distinctive approach to international aid preceded that of the United States, long regarded as being at the forefront of organizational innovation.’
‘The radical leftist kills the right-wing man; the moderate leftist is content to applaud.’
‘As in other European nations, sex crimes have skyrocketed in Austria. According to one report: “Hardly a day goes by without reports of sex attacks” at the hands of migrants. After Afghan migrants assaulted and tried to rape a blonde woman, police responded by advising her to dye her hair black.’
At a joint press conference with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Prime Minister Robert Fico of Slovakia has claimed that he considers the Ukrainian government’s delay in restarting the Druzhba pipeline ‘political blackmail’ against Hungary to force Budapest into agreeing with Ukraine’s EU accession. The Druzhba pipeline transports Russian crude oil to Europe.