Orbán: The Hungarian political system is much more democratic than the Western one

The Hungarian Prime Minister gave a speech on Monday morning at the Sovereignty Conference in Budapest, a private event organised by Századvég Foundation a few days before the so-called Sovereignty Protection Act is tabled by the government. According to the official description, the focus of the conference is the struggle for sovereignty, and it will also be marking the 30th anniversary of Századvég (Hungarian for 'end of the century' – TN) one of the best-known Fidesz background institutions, with Orbán among its founders.

Reflecting on the time around the institute’s founding, Orbán brought up George Soros, saying that "for a while they were on the same page as him", because Soros did not want Hungary to be ruled by communists either, and therefore supported anti-communist initiatives. However, at the time it was not yet clear that Soros wanted to be the one to rule Central Europe instead of the communists, Orbán said.

He went on to explain that after losing the elections in 2002, they learned an important lesson: namely, that it was a mistake to think that everyone will serve the interests of national sovereignty.

“There will always be dark forces besieging sovereignty's lines of defense.”

They concluded, according to Orbán, that as long as liberal hegemony dominates public thinking, Hungary will not be sovereign. "If all existing institutions – newspapers, television, think tanks – represent the same point of view, mostly a liberal one, the point of view of the Western elite, then the country cannot be sovereign." The Prime Minister said that they realized that, if liberal hegemony were to remain, the conservative side could only win elections by accident, with good luck.

According to him, it was after Fidesz' 2002 election defeat, that they realized that there was a need for pluralism instead of liberal dominance and that the conditions for this had to be created.

“This does not mean that we have to eliminate what the opponent has. That's the communist way. Quite the contrary. We want pluralism in Hungary.”

According to Orbán, in 2010, they created an environment where there is room for everyone, which is why Fidesz has been able to keep winning since 2010.

The Prime Minister said that this has not yet been understood in the West, because in the Western European press the right and the left have the same views on the most important issues, the spectrum is monochromatic and the authors all belong to the same bunch, “no matter how hard they try to deny it”.

In comparison, he said, the political palette in Hungary is more varied, the world of everyday politics is more vibrant and diverse, more exciting “than that of our friends in the West”.

I have to say that from where I stand, the Hungarian political system is much more democratic than the Western one."

– the Prime Minister said, adding that debates about substantial issues still exist in Hungary.

"If the majority of Hungarian people can identify with one of the available positions rather than the other, this is called a victory in Hungary. If one of them is better, more skilful and more diligent than the other, then they win, such is the nature of competition," Orbán continued.

In his opinion, those who are unable to accept this and want liberal dominance are in fact communists. “The liberals – who are our opponents – do not care about the people”, the Prime Minister said. Their starting point is not that of positive liberty, or human community, they are activists serving an ideal, they are interested, for example, in what Marx or Engels thought about certain subjects. They follow an ideal, and anyone who disagrees with it is, according to Orbán, stigmatized, looked down upon and excluded from political debate.

The position of the population's majority is clear, but in the West they have been left to their own devices. Orbán says that the voice of the people is not being heard there, which is why Hungary is important and influential in the world, because the Hungarian government says what people are thinking.

"Hungary is the voice of the European people. This is what gives it significance, this is what gives it weight.”

It is time for Western Europe to learn that it is not possible to live a lie, because it will make you sick, and then it will kill you, he said. The time has come for change in Europe and for the European people to take back the European institutions, Orbán continued.

According to the Hungarian Prime Minister, the previous century was about losing sovereignty, the end of the century was about reclaiming sovereignty, and the current season is about preserving sovereignty.

Telex was not invited to the event, and even the government-friendly press failed to publicize the conference on sovereignty, where other than the Prime Minister, several more important government figures are scheduled to speak as well.