Orbán: The EPP has found a party it would like to see govern here

There are two sides in the EU with regard to the war in Ukraine: the others and us, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán said in his customary interview with Kossuth Rádió on Friday following the two-day EU summit, which ended last night. He also commented on the post of the European People's Party which called for his departure. In his opinion, the European People's Party wrote that "Orbán must go" because they have found a party that would implement "Brussels policy" and they would like to see them in government.

"At the very beginning of all of this, Hungary clearly stated that we do not wish to participate in the war effort. All the other EU countries are involved in the war today, the EU is now behaving like a warring party," he said. He pointed out that Hungary has been indicating from the very beginning that this is the wrong strategy, that the war cannot be won, that there should be negotiations and that the conflict should not be solved on the battlefield. “Let's not send billions of dollars and euros, let's not impose sanctions, let's not destroy Europe's trade.”

Orbán also said that they listened to Zelensky's victory plan with astonishment, because it has now become clear that this is a "plan for defeat".

He declared that Hungary would not participate in this victory plan because "winning with this plan is impossible, one can only lose with it". The Prime Minister was reluctant to speculate on the war negotiations, but he said that since the beginning of the war the balance of power has shifted in Russia's favour. "Right now we are losing the war. I like the phrases used in politicians' parlours, but at the moment there are thousands dying on the front line," he said. “The European People's Party is the one stoking the fire, they are the most committed to war in the whole European (political – TN) arena”- he said.

A few days ago, the EPP published a post saying that it was time for Orbán to go. Commenting on this, Orbán said that this partly had to do with his stance on the war, but added that the EPP is envisioning a world which is bad for Hungary. He believes that the other reason is that the EPP has declared that his government must go. In his opinion, the EPP has found a party it wishes to see in government (in Hungary -TN). As is known, this Tisza party is part of the European People's Party," he said. He said the EPP had found a party it wanted in government that would "carry out the policies of Brussels". “The fact is that Brussels wants to see a government made up of magistrates they would send here, but that's for the Hungarians to decide.” He added:

“Poppycock, as Petőfi wrote in a poem back in 1848-49. Since when do the Germans have a say in what will happen in Hungary?”

On migration, the Prime Minister said that no one in Europe wants it anymore, except for their governments. "People in other European countries would give an arm for our migration policy". We are an example to the people of Europe against their own governments," he said. He also wondered why people are paying the least for their utility bills in Hungary. "Why is that the case, and why can't it be the case elsewhere?" he asked.

"Hungary is a thorn in the side, a splinter which makes European governments uncomfortable."

And the reason for that is that while Europe is in stagnation, Hungary is growing, the streets are not safe elsewhere, but in Hungary they are.

Orbán said the current situation presents a challenge for the country, and although "Brussels wants to delegate another government here", the country's prestige has grown. Orbán recalled that he had a meeting with the German Chancellor this week and will be meeting with the French President next week. He added that Robert Fico, whom "a left-wing activist tried to kill", is back, so there will also be a Serbian-Hungarian-Slovak summit next week on migration.

"Our influence is bigger than the size of the country would suggest".

On the state of the economy, he said that “we will get going next year” and that when the figures are published, "there will be great amazement". He considers the recently announced national consultation important, because its results will be the "foundation" for the new economic package which will rest on three pillars.

One of these is for Hungary is to avoid war, "and for that we are praying for Trump's victory". The other part is to avoid migration, because it consumes a lot of money. "Now they are punishing us for our migration policy, but even that is better than letting them in here," he said. And then the next steps could be wage increases, tax cuts and helping small and medium-sized businesses, the PM explained his plans for the season ahead.

“In the next few years we will be witnessing a spectacular change in everyday life.”

Orbán spoke of the need to cut taxes, even though no one in the West wants to do that. "Hungary started on a path in 2010, but now things are a bit different because a situation has emerged in the world that couldn't be foreseen then." He said that Europe responded to this by acting "as a hedgehog", which is not good, and that we should be competing and identifying mistakes instead. "We have to trade with everyone, we have to compete with everyone, we have to get into every competitive company," the Hungarian Prime Minister said in conclusion, summarizing his approach to the country's economy.