'There is no politician more democratic than the Hungarian prime minister' – Szijjártó

"There is no politician more democratic than the Hungarian prime minister, not only in Europe, but in the whole world. The Hungarian prime minister has run in every Hungarian election as the leader of Fidesz, in all of them. Sometimes he won, sometimes he lost," Péter Szijjártó said on Monday evening on ATV's Egyenes Beszéd (Straight Talk) program.

Szijjártó was commenting on a question posed earlier that day by a CBS reporter to Viktor Orbán during his joint press conference with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio. The American journalist had inquired whether Orbán would accept it if he lost in the upcoming elections. In Szijjártó's opinion, it is inappropriate and unfair to assume that Orbán would in any way go against the will of the Hungarian people. The Foreign Minister added that he was certain, however, that Fidesz would win the parliamentary elections in April.

Host Egon Rónai also asked the Foreign Minister about Shell, following up on Viktor Orbán's statement over the weekend, in which he claimed that Shell, Erste Bank, and Brussels had formed a war alliance, and called the two companies "tax collectors of death" and "dogs of war." In September 2025, however, Péter Szijjártó spoke about Shell in a completely different tone. "Our relationship with Shell has always been based on trust, mutual respect, innovation, and a long-term commitment to sustainable growth," the minister said at the time.

Now, speaking in the ATV studio, Szijjártó said that he sees no contradiction between his previous and current statements. In his opinion, Shell is profiting greatly from the war and from the European Union's ban on Russian energy sources from the European market. The Foreign Minister said that their signing of a bilateral agreement with Shell earlier is a different matter altogether.

The minister was also asked whether he thought Shell was financing Péter Magyar's campaign. To this he replied that "for some reason, they sent one of Shell's former executives here," referring to István Kapitány, who joined the Tisza Party in January as head of economic development and energy.