Invitation: Liberalism in the time of illiberalism

"The surge of illiberalism has long been in the focus of the public discourse not only at a European but also at a global level, but it is fair to say that the developments of the past year have fundamentally changed the scene of politics and policy making. The strengthening of the anti-establishment and populist far-right in the 2024 European Parliament elections, the re-election of President Donald Trump in the United States, or the deepening fault lines between political sides with regards to Russia's war on Ukraine have created a new situation to which liberals – not unlike others – must adjust.

How is Europe's role shaping in the forming new world order, and how can liberals influence it? What strategies liberal parties and politicians can adopt at a national and at a European level to counter the illiberal wave? Can liberal democratic values be protected, or there are some tough compromises to be made? Should liberalism itself change to face the challenged of a new era?

These are the difficult questions we will discuss with our panellists at our conference Liberalism in illiberal times: the perspectives of liberal politics in Europe and in Hungary. In the first, international panel we will focus on the European and global challenges of liberalism with the participation of former and current MEPs from Germany, Hungary and the Netherlands, and with the executive director of the European Liberal Forum, while in the second, with the help of our Hungarian liberal political speakers, we will take a closer look at the situation of liberalism and the possibilities of liberal parties in Hungary."

The event:

-Date: Tuesday 15 April 2025, 14:30-17:30
-Venue: Magvető Café, 1074 Budapest, Dohány utca 13.

The planned programme:

 14:30 Opening

- Gábor Horn, Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Republikon Institute

 14:35 International panel

- Ailbhe Finn, Executive Director, European Liberal Forum

- Katalin Cseh, former Member of the European Parliament, current Member of Parliament

- Jeannette Baljeu, MEP, VVD - Netherlands

- Jan-Christoph Oetjen, MEP, FDP - Germany

16:00 Hungarian panel

- Bálint Magyar, Sociologist, former Member of Parliament and Minister of Education

- Éva Sebők, Member of Parliament, Momentum

- Zoltán Ranschburg, Senior Analyst at the Republikon Institute

- Zoltán Somogyi, sociologist, businessman, founder of Political Capital

Technical information:

- The event is open to the public, the first panel will be in English and the second in Hungarian. A simultaneous interpreter will be provided for both panels.
- The event is free of charge, please register your interest by sending an email to https://forms.office.com/e/dEZ8yX5iSd
- The event will be streamed live on the Republikon Facebook page, with a link to the event shared in the Facebook event!

We are looking forward to welcoming you on Tuesday 15 April at 14:30 at the Magvető Café!

The operation of Republikon Institute is supported by the European Union. The views and opinions expressed at the event do not necessarily reflect that of the European Union. Neither the European Union, nor the organisation providing support can be made responsible for these.