The Dark Enlightenment Comes To Budapest
Weekly briefings on the life of The New European Capital of Conservatism.
Budapest This Week
The Geopolitical Summit is the Danube Institute's biggest annual mixer. This year, it is co-hosted by the Heritage Foundation: the shadowy force behind liberal bête noire, Project 2025. Today and tomorrow (15 & 16 September), a global cast that includes Curtis Yarvin and Tony Abbott will descend on the Aranybastya Villa, hungry for geopolitical big pictures. See Comings & Goings for a full cross-section. The event itself is sold out, but there's plenty of scope for chats at the margins.
If those ideas still aren't big enough, head to Brain Bar for a top up. A two day ideas fest (18 & 19 September), it bills itself as 'Europe's Biggest Future Festival'. Expect Hariri or Gladwell-scale attempts to wrestle with the 40 000 foot view on us, from the likes of philosopher-psychologist Iain McGilchrist, physicist Geoffrey West, and 'the man who reintroduced the dire wolf to Europe'. It's also at the House Of Music, the country's most enchanting modernist building. A two day pass is 26 000 Ft. Students can possibly get free tickets.
What’s Based
Pre-Revolutionary America
Charlie Kirk is dead. Some of his opponents are celebrating. American polarisation enters a vicious new era.
Here are the numbers to know:
1 — Shots fired. 7000 — Tips submitted to the FBI.1 — Number of judicial executions in Utah since 2010.48 — Percentage of Democrats who said it would be at least somewhat justified to assassinate Elon Musk.
24 — Percentage of 'very liberal' Americans who say feeling joy at the death of a political opponent is usually or always acceptable. 4 — Percentage among conservatives.
3 — Close but unsuccessful attempts on the life of Donald Trump. Other News
Paper of the Week
Hungarian Soft Power Tactics: Cultural Diplomacy in the 21st Century
Few countries (perhaps 4?) have a St Stephen's Day parade, but every Western country has St Patrick's Day. Max Keating grew up in a soft power superpower, Ireland. He has drawn on that experience to critique Hungary's fledgling attempts to sell its culture abroad. Max, our former intern, draws the distinction between 'public diplomacy' (TV, radio, etc) and 'cultural diplomacy' (slower media: books, art, scholarly exchanges). He discovers that it is the latter that is paying real dividends, driven by the Hungarian government's commitment to funding its domestic culture scene. Expenditure has leapt from from 281 billion Ft in 2014 to over 741 billion in 2023, while the number of cultural institutions has soared, from 3265 at the start of the century to nearly 6000 today. Ultimately, Keating concludes, foreign soft power must have deep domestic roots.
““The benefit of replicating the Hungarian festival model, as demonstrated by MCC Feszt and Tusványos, is that these occasions provide international attendees with opportunities to experience the host country’s culture in an immersive environment. Unlike global film festivals or cultural awards ceremonies, which are international in nature and dilute national distinctiveness, Hungary’s approach focuses the spotlight on itself — offering a template for nations that wish to turn tradition into global influence.”"
Eyes & Ears
Comings & Goings
Coming:
Ex-Aussie PM Tony Abbott. The man who modernised Czechia: ardent Thatcherite and living historical document Vaclav Klaus. The always astute Lord David Frost. Mumbling savant and leader of the Dark Enlightenment Curtis Yarvin. James Carafano, the smooth, muscular conservative who heads up the Heritage Foundation delegation. Exquisitely mannered Guy Dampier, of the Prosperity Institute; one of two producers behind the breakthrough UK grooming gangs documentary. Ernst Roets, of Cyril Ramaphosa Gets Punked In The White House fame, the dogged Afrikaner civil rights campaigner, whose work with AfriForum has almost single-handedly put the issue on the global map. Robert Wilkie, a Heritage man, who was once Trump's Veteran's Affairs minister. Loquacious, loves to riff on Antiquity. The prodigiously young Director of the Patriots for Europe group in the Europarl, France's Raphaël Audouard. W Gyude Moore, Liberia's charismatic former public works minister, now something of an international expert on China's One Belt One Road. Check the listings for many more.
City Life
Last weekend, DI intern Virág Varga did the Budapest-Szentendre section of the Eurolevo 6 — a Europe-wide bike route along the Danube. She highly recommends: "This section was completed in 2020, so it is still very good quality. From Budapest to Szentendre it is around 25-27 km, with basically no elevation, so it is a chill ride, the lane follows the Danube, and the scenery is just amazing." If you don't want to return by bike, you just jump on the train: the HÉV 5.
Autumn is a much better season to take on the challenge of Hot Yoga. At Astoria, a former US Marine called Andy offers brilliantly manic English language classes, though most are in Hungarian. 6000 Ft gets you a week-long try-all-you-like pass.
Luke Littler is in town. Still only 18 years of age, the Tiger Woods of darts will be the lead draw at the Hungarian Darts Trophy 2025, at the MVM Arena, 19 - 21 September. Sunday is sold out, but resale sites are listing tickets at around 40 000 Ft.
Classified In Budapest
—> Gavin Haynes wants to swop a newish Squier Telecaster Affinity, tobacco sunburst, for a Jazzmaster in decent nick.
—> The DI is still after Hungarian researchers. We need generalists, who can mix in, speak great English, and can also help with editing and formatting papers. Perks: mercifully short weekly meetings, and immense creative scope. Submit CV, cover letter, English-language writing sample, to: calum.nicholson at danubeinstitute dot hu.
Want to post a classified? Want to respond to a classified? Just reply to this email.
Dates For Your Diary
MCC-MRI Summit on the Tenth Anniversary of the Migration Crisis, Szeged — 24, 25 SeptemberMargaret Thatcher Centenary Conference, Budapest — 2 OctoberAmerican Politics and Government Summit, Wilmington — 9-11 October “Hideg kéz, meleg szív."— Cold hands, warm heart.