Menu
In answer to a question of reporter Dániel Bohár at the beginning of the interview, Mr Orbán said he was hit hard by the assassination attempt against Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico, and naturally, his first thoughts were thoughts of concern for his colleague’s life. His second thought was that in Brussels he would now be left on his own with his position concerning the war, and that in consequence of events, all kinds of extra security rules would be imposed on him.
Regarding the war, the Prime Minister highlighted that European politicians mostly saw the nuclear bomb as a tactical deterrent, rather than as a weapon to be actually deployed. It is a problem, however, that no one thought in World War II that it would have to be deployed or that it would be deployed by the Americans.
Mr Orbán believes that the very fact that this is a topic of conversation is a bad omen. The term ‘NATO mission in Ukraine’ “gives you the creeps, makes your stomach turn,” he said. Tactical nuclear weapons, munitions upgraded with an enrichment procedure, a world war, the idea that soldiers should be sent on behalf of a defence alliance such as NATO to territories outside the territory of that defence alliance – these are all alarming developments in his view.
Resistance to these ideas is somehow less robust in western heads than in the heads of the Hungarians, he pointed out, indicating that we are in the middle of a process about which people may well say in ten years’ time that it was already a precursor of the events of World War III.
Talking about the negative economic impacts of the war, the Prime Minister said the countries of the European Union have to date put around 100 billion euros into this war, while the United States is not far behind. At the same time, the lost economic growth of the European economy should also be added to this – evidently amounting to another few hundred billion.
He added that while people were not aware, they, too, were paying for the war because if they went into the shops and looked at prices, they would see that these were strange prices, prices that were not typical of peacetime.
Not even mentioning the fact that the number of the victims of the Russo-Ukrainian war is already somewhere between 500,000 and a million. And for the time being, only two Slavic countries are at war with each other, Europe has not yet joined in, he pointed out.
Mr Orbán regularly asks the question of how much more weaponry and how much more money is necessary to drive the Russians out of Ukraine, but he does not receive an answer, except that Putin cannot be allowed to win. Europe is drifting into a war without any estimate about the magnitude of the costs and equipment that are necessary for the attainment of the military goal it set, the Prime Minister stressed, adding that never in his life has he seen a more irresponsible attitude than this.
In Europe in World Wars I and II, some 57 million people perished, and the number of Hungarian victims alone is above a million and a half. If those people had been able to lead a normal family life, then today Hungary would have no demographic problems, neither would Europe, and neither would there be an empty space here for migration.
We lost all that with the wars, he pointed out, adding that every European war is also “a European civil war where we exterminate one another.” Therefore, in every war, the first reflex of European leaders should be to avoid escalation at any cost, and to declare all armed conflicts a failure, Mr Orbán said.
Regarding compulsory military service – now increasingly a topic of conversation in Western Europe – the Prime Minister said as there was peace in Europe, we all thought that there was no need for it. It would be good to maintain the present state of affairs, to take care of our needs with professional armies, while there are a few basic skills that young people can acquire also outside conscription.
He stressed that we did not want someone else to decide on the deployment here or there of our military-age young people. However, this is what Manfred Weber spoke about, a pan-European army with compulsory conscription. “We’ll have none of that. Let’s forget about it. A prime example of crazy ideas,” Mr Orbán said, commenting on the plan.
He said the more stable the Hungarian government is, the clearer the Hungarian people’s position is on the issue of war and peace for the side of peace, the better its chances are of keeping the country out of the war.
He described NATO as a tougher issue because while they have already learnt the ins and outs of EU aspirations to force us into the war, NATO is a military defence organisation, and it now wants to embark on a path where it becomes a party to the war.
Therefore, also in NATO, we must persevere with peace, and must prevent others from forcing us into the war; regardless of any military arguments to the contrary, we must in the end stay out of this, the Prime Minister stated.
There are some who argue otherwise, and their arguments may not be entirely without logic, but the risk of this option for Hungary is such that it can be measured in the lost lives of tens and hundreds of thousands of young people. Therefore, in Mr Orbán’s view, we must do everything we can “to stay out; perhaps, we will succeed where Horthy and Tisza failed.”
Regarding another topic – competition in the world economy – the Prime Minister said those who drop out find themselves at a disadvantage, and that is exactly the situation that Europe is finding itself in. The Americans are able to sell their excess oil and gas no problem after they forbade the Europeans from buying from the Russians.
In the meantime, the Russians have developed the technologies that are necessary for transporting gas around the world in tankers, via LNG terminals. At the same time, the Chinese are merely observing the fact that the globally shifting balance of power is playing into their hands, the Prime Minister said, describing the world economic situation.
He said “we pro-peace forces must open a counter-attack on two fronts.” One in Europe where not only do we need more pro-peace deputies in the European Parliament than pro-war ones, but the European people should also push their own governments in the direction of “less war and more peace.”
The other front is the elections in the United States due to be held in November. If the incumbent pro-war Democratic Party administration remains in power, it will be difficult to take steps towards peace. If Donald Trump returns, it will not be easy either, but at least that will enable clear, transparent and swift action, Mr Orbán pointed out.
At this point in time, an immediate ceasefire is the most important in the Prime Minister’s opinion. He highlighted that we would need a sense of security, a perspective so that we can all believe that though we are in the middle of great trouble – a war – our leaders nonetheless keep their wits about them both in Europe and America.
The Prime Minister explained that not only George Soros stood to profit from this war. There are multiple players speculating, the entire weapons industry as well as those who finance the procurement and production of weapons. Enormous amounts of money and enormous stakes are lying on the table, and they need four things for success.
First of all, you need weapons, the production of which must be financed. Next, you need people who are prepared to fight such as the Ukrainians. You also need governments which want this; these must be bought wherever possible as is the case with the Left in Hungary. The fourth thing you need is media, corrupt media which they control or created and which will stir up a pro-war atmosphere, the Prime Minister listed.
Regarding Hungary, Mr Orbán said over here, at least half of the media has a liberal approach, while the other half a conservative, national, pro-sovereignty approach. Such a wide scope for describing and interpreting events in the world is not available in the West, he added.
He said it is not irrelevant for the pro-war lobby whether Hungary will succeed in staying out because if it transpires that it can succeed whilst staying out, it is to be feared that others, too, might want to join our ranks. Therefore, in the Prime Minister’s view, Hungary is seen as “a dangerous example.”
Mr Orbán took the view that the 9 June European Parliament elections could be an important station which could rearrange the European political theatre of war. The entire European continent is much in need of the people “finally giving a kick in the pants to those who brought this trouble on our necks,” he said.
He described the incumbent European Commission as the worst he has ever seen which has turned into a war council. At the same time, the European Parliament is slowly becoming a war body, despite the fact that the people are increasingly moving towards peace. They made all sorts of pledges, none of which they delivered on such as that the sanctions would put an end to the war and that with the green transition they would make industry more competitive, except that in the process it is dying out, he explained.
It is not only about the war – which is naturally by far the most important – but also about the viability of European democracy as a whole, he laid down.
In Europe, what the people say is what should happen, he stated. If they want peace, then there should be peace. If they want the green transition to be made more reasonable, then “it’s their duty to make it more reasonable.” If they do not want farmers “to be killed off with idiotic rules,” then “it’s their duty to change those rules.”
The upcoming European Parliament elections are not only about how to distribute the 21 Hungarian seats among parties; this time, the stakes are much higher and everything has a wider meaning than is customary in these elections. They are not about “media hype” or party affairs, but about war and peace, the future, our children’s future, and Hungarian life opportunities in general, the Prime Minister said in conclusion.
