By Douglas V. Gibbs
The leftist push that outsiders like me recognizes as an open door towards communism, Islamization, and globalism has claimed another European country. In recent elections, Hungary voted Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, a close ally for President Trump, out of power after sixteen years of holding office, signaling a move away from policies that have drawn the ire of the European Union’s institutions. Péter Magyar’s Tisza Party also achieved a victory securing a two-thirds majority in parliament. With approximately 138 seats in the 199-seat legislature, the party has the mandate to amend the constitution and can pass major legislative changes without needing coalition partners.
Steve Bannon has called Orbán Europe’s “Trump before there was Trump.” Orbán’s policies stood firm for Hungarians, with a restrictive stance against Muslim immigration, and declaring that “Islamization is constitutionally banned in Hungary” with the intent to protect Hungary’s Christian culture. Orbán’s policies also supported traditional family values, pushing back against the homosexual and transgender agendas as well as implementing other anti-WOKE policies.
The European Union often criticized the Budapest government for diverging from the mainstream EU approach. Against EU calls, Hungary under Orbán refused to provide military aid to Ukraine, opposed Ukraine’s proposed EU accession, and rejected sanctions against Russia not because Hungary stood as an ally of Russia, but because Orbán’s government believed such actions harmed the European economy more than Russia.
In response, the EU has frozen funds to Hungary, excluded Hungarians from various EU programs, and imposed a daily €1 million on Hungary for protecting its borders against the invasion of illegal migrants, and taken Hungary to court for the Hungarian ban on promoting gender ideology in schools. Hungary has even been threatened by Brussels that its voting rights in the EU will be taken away if it does not comply.
Orbán’s Fidesz Party, however, has since been defeated by the Tisza Party. The victory of Péter Magyar’s pro-European Tisza Party signals a shift leftward, even though the Tisza Party claims to be conservative as well – just not as “right-wing” as Orbán’s party and its loyal voters. The victors claim they still maintain some skepticism toward EU institutions, but they believe the best way to handle the hard-leftists in Europe is through cooperation, rather than confrontation.
Orbán’s defeat in Hungary leaves Poland alone as the most significant bastion of conservative governance in Europe. The Law and Justice (PiS) party has maintained power with its strong national sovereignty stance, skepticism toward EU federalism, and resistance to progressive immigration policies. Poland has consistently clashed with Brussels over judicial reforms and migration quotas, positioning itself as a defender of national sovereignty against what they characterize as EU overreach, and the Islamization of Europe.
Italy under Giorgia Meloni’s Brothers of Italy party represents another conservative stronghold. Meloni has embraced positions on immigration, cultural issues, and national identity that align with Trump’s approach, though she has had to moderate some positions to maintain stability within Italy’s complex coalition government and the EU framework. Meloni was one of the European leaders who endorsed Orbán before his defeat.
Other countries with varying degrees of Trump-aligned conservative leadership exists, but with less influence as Hungary’s Orbán had wielded.
The Czech Republic under Andrej Babiš’s ANO party, which has taken skeptical positions on immigration and EU integration remains in power, and in Slovenia under Janez Janša (though he’s currently in opposition) a conservative voice still maintains some kind of influence.
Parts of the Balkan region where conservative national sovereignty movements have gained influence also are on the rise, but the loss of Hungary in the war to save Europe is a serious blow.
— Political Pistachio Conservative News and Commentary
