Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán addressed a conference evaluating the results of the Hungarian EU Presidency on Monday. Previously, the Prime Minister's Press Secretary had told Telex that this event was the reason why Orbán would not be present at Donald Trump's inauguration on 20 January. Orbán began his speech by thanking those who worked for the success of the Hungarian presidency, singling out János Bóka, the minister responsible for EU affairs. "To hell with those who worked against the Hungarian Presidency," Orbán said. "May the devil cast them into the very depths of hell," he said, sending a message to the Hungarian politicians he believes were working against the success of the Hungarian presidency.
Orbán went on to say that it was during Hungary's EU presidency that Donald Trump and Western patriots had begun reshaping the Western world. As he said, the world's major powers are in the process of developing the economic and political framework in which we will be living in the future. In his view,
the "big boys" are "working hard" on establishing a new geopolitical framework. The battle between America and Brussels will begin tomorrow, Orbán predicted.
Orbán spoke of "woke capitalism", which he said included the green transition that is destroying European industry. According to the Hungarian Prime Minister, America has woken up to the fact that China will overtake them if things continue as they have been, and that they will at best be a market for super-modern products. "They decided to "kick the habit", that's what Donald Trump's victory is all about." Only a state based on a common identity can be successful, which is perhaps something liberals look down on. In Brussels they went down all the way into the belly of the whale and what they found there was not pretty. They are not paying attention to the changes going on in the world. Not only are they skipping the contest, they are not preparing for it either. Quite simply, they are "sitting around in the dressing room".
"Rather than trying to sober up, Europe just keeps drinking more." They are defending the gender ideology instead of the family, and are working on green policies rather than securing affordable energy. According to Orbán, Europe has lost the war and the sanctions have destroyed the European economy.
He also said that his government is proud to hand over the baton of peace to the new US administration.
Hungary is working to be a winner in the new world order that is taking shape. Among their results, Orbán listed low taxes, a million new jobs, and the business-friendly environment. The only year in which there was no increase in wages was 2023, but the Prime Minister attributed that to the war in Ukraine. He outlined the government's plans, such as building its own satellite system and joining defence development efforts. Orbán said that we are not followers, we are pattern-setters and brave experimenters. In his opinion, this is why the European conservatives respect them and the liberals hate them. He reminded his audience that 95 percent of those who participated in the most recent national consultation supported the government's concept of economic neutrality.
The EU has isolated itself from China, America, Russia and "the continent of the future", Africa, which Orbán believes was a mistake. Nowadays they would even sanction soccer teams. By contrast, under the Hungarian presidency, they maintained a relationship with Russia that allowed communication and a sensible energy security. If things carry on in the same way, the EU will be a total loser. As for us: "Thanks, but we don't want any part of being losers". According to Orbán, we want friendships and advantages in international politics. We are not seeking to shape Europe, we want to lead our own lives, and according to Orbán, the Hungarian presidency was also about the interests of the Hungarian people.
When listing the achievements, he mentioned the low overhead costs, the doubling of the tax cuts for families and the increased pensions. He said that all of this was achieved without increasing the deficit and the public debt. (It was actually during the time of the Hungarian EU presidency that the EU launched an Excessive Deficit Procedure against the Hungarian government, with Márton Nagy, Minister of Economy admitting that the public debt had indeed grown last year.) Orbán added that the growth of the Hungarian economy will be at least twice as high as the EU average. The Hungarian presidency was not centered around the presidency, but around the Hungarian people, and the relationship with the EU institutions (i.e. "Brussels") will be conducted in the same fashion.
It's not Europe we are trying to shape, we just want to live our own lives, if only they would let us. "It sounds cool, but it's not that simple", because EU legislation affects Hungarian legislation. One can try to cushion it, but cannot eliminate it, so it is not irrelevant whether the EU is sick or healthy. And today, the sick man of Europe is the European Union, because it is unable to guarantee the security of its immediate neighbours, its own prosperity, to stop illegal migration, while Ukraine's EU membership would also ruin agriculture. The Hungarian presidency addressed this openly, in a straightforward political manner, but you can't base a policy on expecting the 'Brussels bureaucrats' to show better judgment. Meanwhile, the EU institutions keep getting stronger and gaining more and more jurisdiction.
The Lisbon Treaty, launched in 2000, failed to make the EU the most competitive area, the EU2020 strategy launched in 2010 remained on paper, and the green transition also failed (the first two were supposed to be implemented by member state governments, based on jointly defined, country-by-country objectives). "Brussels" responded by centralization and has abused its authority more and more, through legal and financial restraints. There is pure retribution and punishment, in Hungary's case this is the conditionality procedure, he said of the procedure adopted almost unanimously by the governments of the member states. Change must come from the outside. We are the opposition of the Brussels system and the political elite organised by the global leftist-liberal-transatlantic oligarchy that has evolved around it, Orbán said.
According to the Prime Minister, they are being attacked because they are patriots and sovereignists who demand respect for the rule of law in the EU institutions too – here he cited the case of former commissioner Didier Reynders, who was suspected of money laundering after the end of his mandate. He believes that this is what the rule of law procedure against Hungary is all about. "And then of course, there are always the favourites of the day, who are on “their” payroll and are forced on the backs of the member states. We should keep a watchful eye on Warsaw," Orbán said, with a barely veiled reference to Péter Magyar, whom Fidesz and its propaganda machine are constantly accusing of serving foreign interests. He also said that the Polish conservative government being "replaced” was “the work of Brussels bureaucrats".
They tend to threaten us, for example, with taking away funding and our right to vote. There will always be those among us who will be intimidated by these measures, but if "we don't put an end to this spiral of blackmail now, it will only get worse", he said, suggesting a possible reason why his government's stance on the frozen funds hardened towards the end of last year.
In Orbán's view, in the EP elections, we came within reach of a new, right-wing majority, which could replace the "Brussels elite", and the first time this group showed its strength was during the EP debate on the presidency, which proved that change is needed in Europe.
"The Western world has now gotten a patriotic, pro-peace, pro-family, anti-migration president in Washington. In just a few hours, the sun will shine differently over Brussels."
So with the new US president and the patriotic EP parliamentary group, "the big offensive can now begin. I hereby launch the second phase of the operation to take Brussels", the Hungarian Prime Minister said in conclusion.
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