In an interview on the Kossuth Radio programme “Good Morning Hungary”, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán said that “In Brussels the Government has successfully enforced the will of the Hungarian people, as declared in the European Parliament (EP) elections; this means that the people chosen to lead the European Union’s institutions should respect nations and oppose immigration.”
The Prime Minister explained that in recent years most of Europe’s woes have been the result of the European Union having pro-immigration leaders.
He said that it is important that the candidacy of the “extremist pro-immigration” left-wing Frans Timmermans, “George Soros’s candidate”, had been “successfully torpedoed”. He also welcomed the fact that the People’s Party candidate Manfred Weber is also unable to become President of the European Commission, as he had spoken disrespectfully about the citizens of several countries – including those of Hungary.
Mr. Orbán said that all this had been “dodged”. Instead, he noted, the Western and Central European countries had come to an agreement, and with the nomination of German defence minister Ursula von der Leyen – who had been third on the list of the Visegrád Group (V4) for the post of Commission President – “we have been given a chance” for Europe to be strong while still respecting national interests. He said that the economic performance and political stability of the V4 has become so obvious that the group is able to exercise appropriate influence in representing the interests of 63 million people.
He noted that during the more difficult moments of the “diplomatic crime thriller” leading up to the nomination of the candidates, Central Europe had also been able to count on Croatia and Romania.
Speaking about Ursula von der Leyen, the Prime Minister said that the fact that the heads of state and government have chosen a German mother of seven as their nominee for President of the Commission is in itself a clear indication that “different winds are blowing in Brussels”.
“Let’s not throw our hats in the air just yet, however”, the Prime Minister warned, because “in Brussels over the past five years many mistakes have been made, and these must be corrected – for instance in the areas of terrorism, public safety, migration and the economy”.
On the subject of Ursula von der Leyen’s election by the EP, he declared: “Now that the heads of state and government have undertaken to support the German defence minister, it is their duty to also enforce this within their own parties in the Parliament”.
Asked about the fact that Fidesz MEP Lívia Járóka voted for Democratic Coalition candidate Klára Dobrev for the post of EP Vice President, but this was not reciprocated, Mr. Orbán said that the Right is a national force, while the Left is internationalist; therefore standing up for one’s homeland is a moral imperative on the Right, while on the Left it clearly is not. He said that on the Right it is a rule of thumb that “we must never hate our opponents more than we love our homeland”. He added that “One must never turn against one’s homeland simply in order to damage a rival party. On the Left, however, the rule is that not even hurting Hungary is too great a price to pay in order to weaken the Right”.
With regard to the next five years in European Union politics, the Prime Minister said that Hungary is not dependent on EU funding, and is capable of practising successful economic policy without it: the country is standing on its own feet, but of course it is easier to be successful if the EU budget also supports Hungarian goals.
Noting that the EU’s incumbent, pro-immigration leaders funded border expenditure that facilitates migration and tried to legalise illegal immigration, he said that for many years in the future migration pressure on Europe will continue to grow. He stressed that Hungary would instead prefer to halt population decline by supporting families.
He also said that the main supporting forces for pro-immigration politicians are the “opaquely organised and financed civil society organisations – or fake civil society organisations”: NGOs representing a minority, pro-immigration stance. According to the Prime Minister, these organisations are very aggressive and violent, are “stuffed full of money”, and “have international networks behind them, for which George Soros is one of the emblematic figures”. He said that they want to create the false image of people in Western Europe awaiting immigrants with open arms.
The Prime Minister stated that such organisations are operating against the will of the majority, but have nevertheless received large sums of money from the EU budget. This, he said, is something that Hungary wants to put an end to: NGOs should not be able to receive money from the EU budget, and the funding of these organisations should be the responsibility of Member States.
In relation to Thursday’s visit to Budapest by the new President of Slovakia, Mr. Orbán said that Zuzana Čaputová likes, appreciates and respects the Hungarians, and spoke positively about Hungarians living in Slovakia. He stated that the Slovakian head of state is clearly aware of the importance of V4 cooperation and the need for it to continue.
The Prime Minister also spoke about the 2020 Hungarian budget, on which the National Assembly were about to vote. He said that one of the Government’s goals is for Hungary to eventually be able to adopt budgets which do not incur a deficit, but for the country to be capable of generating more than it spends. This, he said, could mean the beginning of a new historic era in which the country can shift from being a recipient of credit to being a provider of credit. He said that “I would like us to move over to the positive side of the ledger”.
Mr. Orbán also emphasised that since 2021 the Government has doubled funding provided to families. He also highlighted that children receive their school textbooks free of charge and are provided with state-funded school meals. He also stressed the appeal of the Family Protection Action Plan.
Speaking about defence spending, the Prime Minister stated that as the country’s development is stable, it must also be willing to spend money on military and defence purposes, because Hungary must have an army capable of repelling potential attacks from two directions at once. He added that everyone must have the basic capabilities needed to defend their homeland. He described this as an important consideration when raising younger generations, and therefore it will become a core part of the National Curriculum.