Contradiction? Orbán cabinet-close think-tank: We aim to organise global coalition of anti-globalist forces

The aim of CPAC Hungary is no less than to organise a global coalition of anti-globalist forces, Miklós Szánthó, the head of the Center for Fundamental Rights think-tank, said in his address opening the Conservative Political Action Conference Hungary (CPAC) in Budapest on Thursday.

Think-tank head: global coalition of anti-globalist forces

Szánthó noted that the first CPAC Hungary conference in 2022 had served to “extend a hand” to conservatives across the Atlantic and in Europe, offering the trinity of “God, country and family” as a “civilisational minimum”.

Last year’s event, he said, had been about deepening cooperation on the right, and this year was about “springing into action”. “We must drain the swamp in Brussels in June and in Washington in November,” the think-tank head said.

Szánthó said “Budapest isn’t Brussels”, which he said was proven by the fact that the reason why CPAC Hungary could not accommodate any more people was that the event was already full, and not because the police wanted to shut it down.

He said “Bolshevik has become bolshe-woke”, adding that the reason why there was a need for “de-wokeifying” was that “neomarxist social engineering” was working to undermine order, freedom and security just as Marxist social engineering had aimed to do a century ago.

The think-tank head said conservatives believed in the order of creation and natural design, the freedom of nations, loyalty within the community, the fundamentals of peace and security, and in “the need to protect our borders, our families and our children”, adding that they were pro-life.

Matt Schlapp: fight for civilisation in the US

Matt Schlapp, the head of the American Conservative Union and the CPAC Foundation, praised Hungary for “setting an example in standing up for everything that’s important, a wonderful ally and inspiration for Americans”. Schlapp said a “huge fight for civilisation” was ongoing in the US. “If the US falls, freedom is not far behind,” he said.

Schlapp said the political and culture wars in the US were in reality rooted in spiritual and psychological issues. People in the US were being intimidated, “they are trying to get us to hate our country, to bankrupt Americans who are patriotic … the media is full of lies,” he said.

At the same time, Schlapp said leftists had gone too far and “made fatal errors”: they had underestimated the popularity of former President Donald Trump, opened the borders, targeted the sexual identity of children, and allowed “anti-Semitism spewing out into the streets.”

“But the virtue of hope is now overtaking fear”, Schlapp said. He said that if re-elected, Donald Trump would close the borders and “will protect our children and our grandchildren from these terrible and false ideologies”.

Defence minister: Peace most important topic today

Hungary’s interest lies in peace and in accelerating the Western Balkan countries’ accession to the European Union, the defence minister said on Thursday, adding that this will be a central topic at today’s Central European Defence Cooperation (CEDC) meeting in Budapest.

Established in 2010 at the initiative of Austria, the CEDC comprises Hungary, Slovakia, Czechia, Slovenia and Croatia, but defence officials of the Western Balkan countries have also been invited to the Budapest meeting given the importance of those countries to the region’s security, Kristóf Szalay-Bobrovniczky told current affairs channel M1.

The Western Balkan countries have been the epicentres of wars for centuries, but central Europe’s and Hungary’s interests lie in calm, Szalay-Bobrovniczky said, underlining the importance of speeding up the EU integration of the countries in question.

He said that several of the Western Balkan countries have been waiting to join the EU for years, even though their membership would bring stability to Europe, open up new markets and provide economic growth for the entire bloc.

Speaking to public broadcaster Kossuth Radio, Szalay-Bobrovniczky noted this week’s Budapest Security Dialogue conference which is set to have close to 600 participants, including the CEDC leaders. The conference will focus on the issues of war and peace and the defence industry, he said.

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