About the Event

The Visegrád states (V4) have been members of the European Union since 2004. Their citizens largely view membership positively: with the exception of Czechia, support for the EU remains consistently above the EU average. Nevertheless, still being regarded as “the newcomers” after 22 years sometimes causes frustration.

Liberal, conservative and populist parties, however, hold widely differing views on the EU. While liberals emphasise economic benefits, freedom of movement and the protection of minority rights, conservatives are particularly sceptical of the latter and warn of the loss of traditional values and national sovereignty. Populists, meanwhile, rail against overbearing Eurocrats or even portray Brussels as the “new Moscow.”

Relations between the EU and the V4 states fluctuate alongside the political orientations of their governments. What does this mean for cooperation between the EU and the respective governments? How do governments critical of the EU navigate strong public support for the European Union? What role do the V4 play within the EU, and what role would they like to play? How do they position themselves in relation to countries outside the EU? What is their vision for the EU’s future?

We will discuss these questions at the fourth event in our series: Liberalism – Conservatism – Populism in East-Central Europe: Political Divides and Changing Political Culture in Hungary, Slovakia, Poland and Czechia.

Die Gäste

• Daniel Hegedüs, Institut für Europäische Politik
• Stefan Garsztecki, Technische Universität Chemnitz
• Ewa Dąbrowska, Freie Universität Berlin
• Moderator: Stephan Stach, Zentrum Liberale Moderne

Über die Reihe

Liberalism – Conservatism – Populism in East-Central Europe
Political Divides and Changing Political Culture in the Visegrád States: Poland, Slovakia, Czechia and Hungary

The political positioning of the Visegrád states (V4) and their societies between liberalism, conservatism and authoritarian populism is difficult to pin down. For years, political majorities have shifted between these positions, often by narrow margins. In Poland, the liberal Civic Platform defeated the national-conservative PiS in 2023. In the 2025 presidential election, however, the PiS candidate won. In Slovakia, left-wing nationalist Robert Fico returned to power in 2023 after five years out of office. Czechia’s populist ANO party lost to a liberal-conservative alliance in 2021, only to triumph again in 2025. Only in Hungary did Viktor Orbán’s “illiberal democracy” appear stable for a long time—until Péter Magyar ousted him in April after 16 years in office.

These swings were long regarded as a distinctive feature of post-communist states. Similar processes are now evident in many parts of Europe. Did these countries simply foreshadow developments now seen as widespread symptoms of a crisis of liberal democracy?

This event series aims to offer a nuanced picture of social and political developments in the region and explore the causes of these political swings. How much do regional particularities matter? Which developments reflect broader European trends? We will examine socioeconomic factors and historical experiences, as well as the impact of Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine.