Articles

What structural strategies must the political center implement to effectively reclaim the future for liberal democracy? How can governance bodies connect abstract concepts to the everyday lived experiences of citizens? What distinct emotional promises allow the populist right wing to capture public dissatisfaction so effectively across Europe? And how does the algorithmic, endless design of modern news feeds erode public trust and dismantle our capacity for reasoned political debate?

It is safe to conclude that Fidesz’s dominance was not sustained through policy persuasion alone, but through a political environment in which potential alternatives were systematically delegitimized before they could gain sufficient traction.

In mid-May, opposition MPs in Slovakia submitted a bill on healthcare fees to parliament. A few days later came a signal from the ministry that it was preparing changes to so-called \"supplementary office hours\" – likely connected to the same issue.

Finding a Slovak politician willing to comment on the new EU budget proposal is like looking for a needle in a haystack. Unfortunately, the topic dominating the news these days is more whether the Commission might halt the money pipeline over resolutions from the European Parliament. Yet, a meeting in Brussels has since taken place that could well decide the budget\'s fate.

Ever since the 2000s, Viktor Orbán’s Fidesz party had focused on the media; they considered control over the press as a major ingredient to success. Unlike the previous Socialist government who had had capital salvaged from the times of Hungary’s transition to democracy, Fidesz did not have their own press outlets.

Two world-renowned economists, Stiglitz and Piketty, have come out of the closet. They have admitted to the world that they are degrowthers. Writing in The Guardian, they argue that \"economic growth is a doomed strategy.\"

In recent years, Slovakia has been engaged in a debate about being \"stuck in the middle-income trap,\" about having \"exhausted our growth model,\" and about the need to move \"from assembly line to brain gain.\" This debate matters. The trouble is that its vocabulary tempts us into a far too mechanical view of prosperity. Let me explain what I mean.

What should we know ahead of the 2027 presidential election in France? What topics will likely dominate the political debate ahead of the election?  What has recently changed in terms of Marine Le Pen\'s candidacy for the president? Where does the enormous support base for the Rassemblement National come from? And what is the legacy of President Emmanuel Macron?

Bulgaria is about to enter the excessive deficit procedure for the second time in its recent history. At present, all expectations are focused on the government, which must propose a regular budget for 2026 and give a clear signal that it is reversing the trajectory of public finances.

The new government in Bulgaria is proposing a budget with a deficit of 5.7% of GDP, or EUR 7.2 billion. And this is happening in the country with the lowest unemployment in the European Union — the lowest since records began.