Urban Verbunk is an all-male dance troupe founded in 2018. Its leader, Ahmed Moussa, spoke with Hungarian Conservative to explain the philosophy and the passion behind their ‘urban folk’ project that popularizes Hungarian culture across countries and continents.

‘You have to have different levels of political engagement. You have to win at different levels, the intellectual level, the battle of ideas level, you’ve got to win at this  level. And then you’ve got the next level down, that you’ve got to win on policy, and win the debate politically, and then politicians translate these ideas into their own language and then they have to be able to convey that message to the voters. These are two different roles, but they are also overlapping. Like Edmund Burke, one of the greatest conservative thinkers, was also an active politician.’

A vibrant panel discussion on 30 May 2024 in Budapest looked at the impact of Brexit on Europe and the EU, and on the importance of nation-states and the conservative movement in a changing Europe.

The film is a valuable contribution to keeping the spirit and memory of the 1848 revolution and freedom fight alive by transforming distant historical figures into flesh and blood people in a credible and compelling way. It deserves merit also because, in a brave move, it attributes a prominent role in the events to Júlia Szendrey, Petőfi’s wife, paying tribute to this tragic-fated woman who became a renowned poet, writer and translator in her later life.

‘Having a child is a vulnerability, especially for women, and particularly in today’s world, where there is no guarantee that a marriage will last. So you might find yourself on your own, and you may find yourself dependent on the state in some way. So a state putting general policies together to make it possible to have that loan towards a house, such policies in Hungary, I think are actually a potential template for other nations around the world.’