“The pendulum has gone very far to the liberal direction, especially in Europe, where the liberal mainstream basically overruled everything, and the liberal mainstream cannot digest conservative success,” Szijjarto told the Washington Examiner. “But we are very committed to push this pendulum back and build an alliance — maybe global — of patriotic forces.”

Hungary has already started this process on the European level with Prime Minister Viktor Orban‘s embrace of the Patriots for Europe, a populist group within the European Parliament that advocates individual states’ sovereignty through its party Patriots.eu.

The Patriots for Europe group boasts member parties from various countries, including the Netherlands-based Party for Freedom, Poland’s National Movement, France’s National Rally, Vox from Spain, Italy’s League for Salvini Premier, and more.

“We are now the third largest group in the European Parliament already,” Szijjarto said. “So that shows very clearly that there is a demand for an alliance, an international alliance, of patriotic forces.”

However, the Hungarian government and its European-level allies do not want to contain their movement to the old continent, with Szijjarto pointing out that “now the situation is easier” because the “leader of the free world is a true patriot.”

President Donald Trump emerged as one of Hungary’s strongest and most committed advocates during his 2024 presidential campaign. Orban kept in close contact with Trump and championed his comeback from abroad, occasionally stopping by Mar-a-Lago for meetings.

“We were crossing fingers very determinedly for the success of President Trump, and we see that as helpful from the perspective of the patriotic movements of the world,” Szijjarto said.

Orban’s wish-casting paid off. Trump’s ascension to the White House now places Hungary at the right hand of the world superpower, and that superpower is open to coordinating an agenda of shared goals that was scorned by its previous administration, which balked at Hungary’s conservative values.

“We are so happy that now we are having friends in Washington. This is a totally new feeling for us. The last four years during the Biden administration, we were treated in a very hostile manner, so high-level negotiations were totally out of question,” Szijjarto said. “Now, as President Trump is back to the White House, the whole relationship got intensified.”

Hungary’s proposed international alliance would not be purely rooted in secular self-interest but also a common cultural heritage and religious character that defines Western conservatives.

“Especially in the Western political life, patriotism, conservatism, Christian democracy — they usually come together,” Szijjarto said. “We have been carrying out a Christian political strategy, putting emphasis on family, labor, security, and Christian values. And we have been supporting the Christian communities all around the world.”

The country is taking the lead on recentering Christianity as a centerpiece of European patrimony that must be protected domestically and abroad. The Hungarian government has invested in aid to persecuted Christian minorities in volatile regions of the world, such as Africa.

The Washington Examiner previously spoke with Tristan Azbej, the Hungarian state secretary for the aid of persecuted Christians, about this initiative and the cultural battle underlying it, which echoes Szijjarto’s frustration with entrenched liberalism in Brussels.

“In Europe, they believe in an ideological war. The ‘woke’ advocates impose this ideological war on Christian politicians, on Christian social values, and in Europe, they try to portray Christianity as an oppressive idea,” Azbej told the Washington Examiner in February.

Azbej argued that Christianity was being denigrated in favor of “cultural Marxism” as an ideology that could be exported and built upon as a globalized ideology.

“What we are still experiencing in the European Union, especially in the Brussels politics and what [Americans] have experienced during the last four years, many of these governments and international organizations who are woke-minded, are using the tools of international development and international humanitarian aid as an ideological colonization tool on the developing world and as a tool to interfere with the politics of certain cultures,” Azbej said.

The biggest threat to pulling the Trump administration into this alliance of Christian-oriented and patriotic factions may be Hungary’s commitment to economic neutrality.

“We are not dogmatic on the origin of investors,” Szijjarto said. “So whoever brings a good investment to Hungary, creates new jobs, respects the law and regulations, adds to the national economic achievement, adds to the technological level, and does not want to put influence on political issues — they are welcome.”

The United States and China are two of Hungary’s most impactful economic partners, and the growing possibility of a trade war between the two world powers could threaten Hungary’s own fiscal stability.

Trump has made punishing China for perceived exploitation in trade agreements a cornerstone of his foreign policy rhetoric, and the Chinese Communist Party refuses to kowtow in the way smaller nations have, such as Venezuela and Panama.

“If war is what the U.S. wants, be it a tariff war, a trade war or any other type of war, we’re ready to fight till the end,” the Chinese Embassy in D.C. wrote on social media Tuesday.

The current White House is known for refusing to bend when pursuing what it believes are fundamental American interests. It has threatened to turn cooperation with the Chinese into a wedge matter with its allies.

Szijjarto recognized the difficulties a U.S.-China trade feud could pose but remained confident that Hungary is prepared to navigate such treacherous waters if necessary.

“We have to be prepared for everything, even for the worst case scenario,” he acknowledged but pivoted to say Hungary is more concerned with areas they have a direct influence on the outcome, namely the U.S.-EU relations.

Szijjarto said Orban spoke to Trump over the phone on Sunday and that the president signed off by telling his Hungarian ally, “See you soon,” which signaled a postelection sit-down opportunity that Hungary is eager to take.