Most Friday mornings, Hungary’s Prime Minister gives an interview on one of the public radio stations. Since the independent media has not had a chance to interview him for several years, these weekly radio interviews provide a rare opportunity for finding out what the leader of the country thinks about current events, how he sees his opponents and any issues at hand.
"It's going to be a busy year", Viktor Orbán concluded. Speaking on Kossuth Rádió, the Prime Minister said that the Slovak and Vietnamese Prime Ministers have just visited, and the Moldovan Prime Minister would be coming next week, while the government has begun preparations for Hungary taking over the rotating presidency of the European Council from 1 July.
“Happy to see an old warrior returning”
He briefly noted that he has had 33 bilateral meetings with Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico so far, so "I am always happy to see an old warrior returning, because it is always easier to work with him than with a new partner". He still remembers the disputes they had in the past, but he says they have all been settled.
There is consensus between Slovakia and Hungary about life along the border being a special situation, so they set up a joint task force to work on how the quality of life for people living along the border could be improved.
"It has been a very good start to the year, we could hardly have had a more encouraging guest than the Slovak Prime Minister", Orbán said, summing up his relationship with Robert Fico.
He also mentioned that this year marks the 75th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations with Vietnam. While there are Vietnamese investments coming to Hungary, the government would also like to see more opportunities for Hungarian entrepreneurs in Vietnam, so this was one of the things the two sides agreed on at their meeting.
Orbán said that just like the Hungarians, the Vietnamese have fought for their homeland, sometimes against the West, sometimes against the East, "but they never gave up". And he said that the Vietnamese are the most committed advocates of peace on the international stage.
Brussels resembles a French royal court
He then turned to Brussels. "Elections are coming, and there are many leaders who just want to survive. There's no hiding in Hungary, politicians must speak straight here. But this is not the case in Brussels," which resembles a French royal court instead, according to the Prime Minister. He then repeated his narrative according to which there is not enough money in the world to (make us) allow migrants and LGBTQ activists in. And this is what Brussels wants to force on Hungarians.
"What happens to our children and grandchildren is more important than money," he said.
Whatever issues Brussels has with Hungary "that's all just nonsense, blah, blah, blah", the Prime Minister remarked, given that Hungary has the most thoroughly vetted judicial system in Europe and there is nothing wrong with the public procurement system either.
Orbán, the mailman
Orbán then continued with thoughts on the nation. According to him, national sentiments run deep in Hungary, as evidenced by the latest national consultation, which was filled in by 1.5 million people. The Prime Minister said "it's a huge thing that national unity still exists even after a thousand years".
He also considers the national consultation important because it was a community acting together, and this demonstrates that the Hungarian nation is still strong. In his opinion, whether the voice of Hungarians will be heard in Brussels only depends on him: "I'm the mailman, and you can trust me, they will hear this," he reassured everyone.
It's always good to have money
According to the Prime Minister, in 2023, the Hungarian people and the economy demonstrated that they can survive without EU funds. And the Hungarian government solved two crises and brought down inflation – all without EU money. He said that anyone who knows a thing or two about economics can tell you that "our future is bright in terms of economic growth" and that we might even be at the forefront on a European level.
Naturally, "it's always good to have money. But compared to the size of the Hungarian economy, it's not that big a sum," he said about the EU funds. This is the first lesson, the second is that EU money "just speeds us up". He cited the wages of teachers as an example of this. Their raise would have happened without EU funds too, he said, just a few years later.
Orbán expressed the hope that with better pay, the teaching profession will now be more attractive, not only for women but also for men, because “we need both: the father, the mother, man, woman.”
Viktor Orbán avoids critical questions at home. It’s been years since he gave an interview to independent media. However, for several years, most Friday mornings he has been a regular guest on state-owned Kossuth Rádió, where he is interviewed by a lead editor of the public broadcasting service (operating from an annual budget of 320 million euros). Katalin Nagy has been almost exclusively the only person allowed to interview Orbán on the state-owned channel throughout his third and fourth term with a two-thirds majority in parliament. She has received the state decoration of the Cross of the Order of Merit of Hungary and doesn’t shy away from asking questions.