Hungarian Conservative

‘We don’t want a world run according to Russian or Chinese or Hamas or Iranian values. But unfortunately, we cannot be sure that these forces can be held at bay unless we’re willing to defend what we have.’

‘In this country, the left accused the Orbán government of being alarmist and bigoted on LGBT questions, and of holding back progress. But in America, we have seen that almost every warning that social conservatives gave about where the LGBT movement was going—in particular, that it would target kids—was mocked at the time, but eventually came true.’

An interview with US geopolitical analyst and Visiting Fellow at the Danube Institute Carlos Roa on the challenges of the EU, keystone states, the dangers of decoupling, and the ideological reading of the Russo–Ukrainian war.

With Volodymyr Zelenskyy expressing a desire to negotiate with two pro-peace leaders on the right, Donald Trump and Viktor Orbán, it appears that the Ukrainian president is anticipating a potentially unfavourable scenario for Ukraine: a right-wing shift in both Europe and overseas.

The book is extremely valuable in many aspects, for instance because it sheds light on the complex structure of the Hungarian immigrant society as well as of those of the Hungarian minorities in Transylvania and Vojvodina, and historical episodes less known to readers in the Hungarian homeland, thus providing valuable insights for those involved in diaspora studies, not only for interested non-professional readers.

With Donald Trump having secured his first victory in the Republican primaries, the European left is drumming up fear of the former US President’s possible return to the White House. In contrast, for Hungary, there can only be one positive outcome of the 2024 US presidential election: a Donald Trump victory.

Once again, European leaders are demonstrating their total inability to adapt to the changed circumstances around Ukraine and make responsible decisions. Instead of a strategic reassessment, they persist with the same misguided policies, pouring arms and money into an unwinnable war.

In recent weeks, the Western alliance behind Ukraine seems to have split: one side is beginning to acknowledge the realities and is pushing for peace talks, while the other side wants to keep pouring money and arms into Ukraine.

The international coalition led by Washington appears to be incapable of halting the attacks on transport vessels by the Iranian-backed Houthi militia. The inability to use the crucial Strait of Bab el-Mandeb is having a detrimental impact on world trade, directly and indirectly affecting Europe.

The Biden administration has shifted its strategy in Ukraine; a Ukrainian victory is no longer a priority, and instead, Kyiv will be brought to the negotiating table. If, two years ago, the leaders in Washington and Brussels had heeded their common sense—or better yet, listened to the Hungarians—millions of lives could have been spared.

Serbia’s geopolitical destiny seems preordained. Encircled by NATO and EU nations and deeply intertwined economically with Europe, Serbia is experiencing a constant drift toward the West while remaining nominally neutral. It is his ability to facilitate this complex and domestically controversial process that makes Vučić so valued by Washington and Brussels.

The Cleveland Regös Group, founded in 1973 by Magdi Keresztes Temesváry and her husband András, has had more than 400 members in 50 years. It is made up of local scout leaders above 14 years of age who lead their 6–14 year old scouts every Friday, while on Tuesdays learn and practice Hungarian folk dances and folk traditions including an Easter fertility ritual, setting up a maypole in May, and singing carols at Christmas. They also carry out regular ethnographic research and collections, organize camps every summer and once in every five years complete a three-week long trip to Hungary and the Carpathian Basin.

US First Lady Jill Biden celebrated the upcoming festive season by posting a video of a New York City-based, mostly black tapdancing group in odd costumes awkwardly dancing to Tchaikovsky’s Nutcracker Suite. Many people voiced their discontent online over the weird display.

The statement denouncing the law on the protection of national sovereignty alleges that it potentially restricts press freedom, by threatening the operation of and intimidating the ‘independent’ media.

Réka Sundem is a young Hungarian American proud of her mixed heritage. Brought up in a household where Hungarian was spoken on a daily basis, she decided to apply for a Balassi Scholarship and spent a whole year in Hungary, learning about Hungarian culture and improving her language skills.

Renowned Hungarian revolutionary and statesman Lajos Kossuth arrived on the shores of the United States on 6 December 1851. He was received by a warm welcome and outpour of enthusiasm, from the highest ranking politicians and the ‘common folk’ alike, who lauded him for his pursuit of Hungarian freedom.

József Mindszenty is often commemorated as one of the first victims of the Rákosi regime. However, his 1949 arrest and show trial were not the last stage of his ‘white martyrdom’: he spent one and a half decades as an asylee at the US Embassy in Budapest, only to be exiled from the country for good in 1971.

‘Washington and the EU need to take an entirely different approach, one that may actually work, and that is facilitate a ceasefire. Convincing Zelensky to consider this does not necessarily mean that Ukraine is to give up on restoring its 1991 borders or on holding Putin’s government responsible for the death and destruction he has caused since invading the country.’

Prime Minister Viktor Orbán on Friday said it was a mistake for the European Commission to be pushing for EU leaders to put Ukraine’s European Union accession on the agenda, opining that the bloc should first sign a five to ten-year strategic partnership agreement with the country.

In 1864, Maximilian of Austria arrived in Mexico, assuming the throne of the country. He was declared emperor of Mexico as Maximilian I. Although this was only one, and quite brief, episode in his eventful life, it was the most memorable one, and the one that turned out to be fatal.

The conservative position in the United States is that American exports should be ramped up to secure European energy stability and American influence, pushing back Russia’s own power across the continent while questioning the validity of the environmentalists’ alarmism in the process. While U.S. policy is already moving in such a direction through its increased LNG exports, a possible conservative administration in 2024 seems to have its agenda set to push the effort into overdrive.

The Sovereignty Protection Office will operate independently from all Hungarian constitutional bodies. Its primary objective will involve identifying and probing actions related to disinformation and attempts to influence the decision-making processes of the state and society on behalf of foreign nations, bodies, or organizations. Additionally, it will scrutinize entities whose activities, funded from abroad, aim to sway elections or manipulate the preferences of voters.

‘The fact of the matter is that this is the West’s stupidest war with Britain helping to lead the way: unnecessary, unaffordable, and unwinnable.’

St Stephen RC Magyar Church in Passaic, New Jersey was founded 120 years ago, and its mission has remained unchanged ever since: to help the Hungarian American community preserve its faith, culture and identity.

‘If you are a Hungarian, then I think you have a duty to conserve Hungarian culture. And there is certain music that is native to Hungary. If you’re an Austrian, or a German, then really the most important people in your musical culture are Bach, Beethoven, Mozart, these names.’

The school places the emphasis on teaching children to be able to speak, read and, to some extent, write in Hungarian, as well as introducing them to Hungarian culture, history, and geography. Many of the students visit Hungary regularly.

The Houthi movement of Yemen has recently declared its support for Hamas in the Gaza conflict. What connects the Houthis, Hezbollah and Hamas is their backing by Iran.

Both incumbent governors, Republican Tate Reeves of Mississippi and Democrat Andy Beshear of Kentucky were reelected last night, in line with the incumbent advantage trend of gubernatorial elections in the US. However, Republicans had to endure a disappointment in the Virginia state legislature elections, as they lost their majority in the House of Delegates and failed to at least tie the Senate.

Moscow has failed to condemn the 7 October Hamas attack as terrorism, and Putin has likened the Gaza blockade by Israel to the siege of Leningrad by Nazi Germany, effectively poisoning the previously amicable Russia–Israel relations.

The 1956ers were mostly young and eager to prove their worth…A child immigrant, George Szirtes is now a well-known British poet, winner of the T. S. Eliot Prize. A young medical student who was offered a place in Oxford’s famous Merton College after his arrival, later became one of the world’s leading molecular cardiologists. György Radda went on to head the British Medical Research Council, and on his retirement in 2000 the Queen made him a Knight of the British Empire.