Menu
The Prime Minister recalled that he had said already at the beginning of the year that the balance of power would change in the western world by the end of 2024.
That is just what happened because as a result of the European Parliament elections, the Patriots group was formed in the EP; a new force emerged in Europe which he believes will soon become a majority force, and the wind will also change in America: the Democrats will go, the Republicans will come in, and Donald Trump will be president again, he said, stating his view.
He added that this meant that by the end of the year pro-peace political forces would be in the majority in the West.
Today, there is a pro-war majority in the western world which will become pro-peace after the US elections. Today, there is a pro-migration majority in the western world, but after the elections in the United States, there will be – together with the European Patriots – a western majority that seeks to put an end to migration, he indicated.
Today, also on the issue of gender – from the viewpoint of the destruction of the traditional family and the promotion of these new forms of cohabitation – there is a pro-gender majority in the western half of the world, but from next Tuesday this will change, and the Patriots, together with Donald Trump, will pursue a traditional policy which seeks to protect families, Mr Orbán stated.
In the Prime Minister’s words, it depends on the Europeans themselves where Europe’s place will be. “Today, we’re sitting on a stool in the corner,” while the Americans and the Russians are negotiating, he said, criticising the present state of affairs, and then added in reference to the EPC summit that we would have to pull ourselves together and would have to do this work in Budapest.
He also said he does not see the US presidential election as a closely contested race, and therefore believes that there will be a pro-peace president in the United States. “If what we expect does happen and America becomes pro-peace, Europe cannot remain pro-war,” he pointed out.
He highlighted that on its own Europe would not be able to bear the burden of this war which it had been driven into by the leaders of the European institutions. If the Americans switch to peace, we ourselves will have to adapt; this is what we will discuss in Budapest, he stated.
He recalled that a week earlier, the eastern world had held a summit in Kazan where the countries called BRICS (China, Russia, India, Brazil, South Africa) had gathered together, including new members. Twenty years ago, this would not have been a major news item, but today these countries account for a larger share of the world’s economic performance than the western world economy, he observed.
The countries of the East gathered together and decided what to do. Next week, the countries of the West will gather together in Hungary. Next week, Budapest will host the summit of the western world; heads of state and government from 45 to 47 countries will come to the Hungarian capital, he said.
In his view, this will be the biggest diplomatic event in the history of Hungary which will be attended not only by leaders from the EU, such as the Germans, the French and the Dutch, but also by the leaders of countries outside the EU, including the United Kingdom, Turkey, the Caucasian region and the Northern and Western Balkans.
By his account, the summit will have to deal with two issues: the US presidential election will be held two days before, and we must reverse the present decline of European competitiveness.
They also expect to see in Budapest former Italian prime minister and former president of the European Central Bank Mario Draghi who recently wrote a comprehensive study about the EU’s competitiveness; the findings of this report, too, will be debated here, he stated.
Evaluating the latest economic data, Mr Orbán stated that there was nothing wrong with industrial production in Hungary, there were trade problems, and this was why we needed a policy of economic neutrality.
He said the world’s most modern car factories operate in Hungary, the country now also makes parts for the aviation industry, enormous defence industry capacities have come into being, while in electronics and information technology Hungary has always been strong, meaning that “there is nothing wrong with Hungarian industry.”
He took the view that from the viewpoint of industrial production, in the past 14 years, Hungary has reached “a fantastic level,” there has been an enormous qualitative and quantitative development. “Our factories are cutting-edge, most company executives are now Hungarian, including the executives of foreign companies, and we have fantastic workers who operate these factories at the highest world standards,” he said.
He added that there was a problem with trade today. We should sell these products, but there is a problem on the world market, in particular, on the European market closest to the country.
Hungary is producing less not because it does not have workers, good factories, high technological standards or diligence; it is producing less because quite simply there is less demand for its products. The world economy keeps fluctuating, it is in a downward phase now, but it will change, and there will be enormous demand for these products, especially for electric cars and batteries, in the world economy, he said.
The Prime Minister said after the present decline, next year, there will be an intensive growth, around 3.5 per cent because enormous factories will start production in Hungary. He observed that if Hungary was down on its luck, trade would remain in a downward phase and we would produce in vain, we would not be able to sell our products.
He said next year they expect to see the start of production in the new BMW plant, in large battery factories as well as in the Chinese electric car manufacturing factory situated in the vicinity of Szeged. These are all industrial capacities which – if they start production – will all contribute to growth, and as they did not yet exist a year ago, “they will boost 2025 compared with 2024,” he stated.
The Prime Minister believes there is a chance that the world economy “will straighten itself out a little,” and Europe, too, could improve its standing, and as a result, our trade problems will also become solved.
Mr Orbán said this situation, too, draws attention to the fact that Hungary needs economic neutrality because if its products are not bought in the West, “they should be bought in the East.” It is important that not only one half of the world economy, but also the other half should be our client because otherwise we will not be able to sell our products which are of the highest world standards, he pointed out.
The Prime Minister said the Hungarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry now has a new president with whom the government will seek to enter into contact as the Chamber is the government’s most important economic partner from the viewpoint of the growth of the economy, wages, jobs and also vocational training.
The bulk of the past 14 years’ significant economic results is owing to the Chamber, he said, observing that they had excellent cooperation with former President László Parragh and were grateful to him for his work. He would like to maintain this good relationship with the new leader as well, he observed.
Mr Orbán also highlighted that the government did not want to interfere with the wage negotiations; the actors of the economy must reach an agreement on that subject-matter. Wage negotiations are ongoing, and “I would like them to agree not just for one year, but for as long a period as possible, for minimum three years, and then we will have a predictable, plannable pay rise,” he stated.
Regarding the worker loan, the Prime Minister said Hungary has reached the point where “it is able to provide support” not only for students, but also for young workers.
He indicated that he had prepared for the introduction of a worker loan for a long time because he had always been conscious that there was something missing, that while they supported university students with the student loan, “what about the others?” “what about young toilers?”
The Prime Minister pointed out that “this is not a simple story” because this loan product must be tied to work, given that “we evidently don’t want to support the lazy ones.” The majority, however, wants to work, wants to learn the ropes of a trade and wants to use that trade.
Young people are struggling with housing difficulties, relationships are formed at a later stage in life, and children, too, are born later in people’s lives.
It is difficult to start an independent life; the worker loan therefore serves to provide a one-time life starting opportunity for young workers aged between 17 and 25, he said.
This loan of HUF 4 million forints will be – according to the government’s intention – practically interest-free. The loan will have a term of 10 years. If a young person decides to have a child during that term, they can suspend repayment for 2 years after the birth of the first child, amortisation can be suspended for another two years after two children and half the loan will be cancelled, while in the event of the birth of a third child, the entire debt will be cancelled.
Meaning that with this loan facility, an entire life model unfolds before our eyes: work, family and children are all connected together.
Mr Orbán also spoke about the Demján Sándor Programme designed to promote small businesses. He said the development of the past 14 years has reinforced large companies. We now have not only Mol and OTP as was the case earlier; we have a robust Richter and our construction industry companies and IT companies are strong as well. Meaning that there is “a club of champions” including large companies which stand their ground not only locally, but also in the international arena, he stated.
In his view, medium-sized businesses, too, “are on the right track.” In their case, the task in hand is to enable them to enter the international scene. While in 2010 there were around 3,000 medium-sized companies with presence on foreign markets, today this number stands at 15,000 to 16,000.
Small businesses, however – as everywhere else in the world, also in Hungary – have trouble finding advancement. Therefore, the Demján Sándor Programme targets these businesses, helping them to gain access to capital. For those who enrol in the programme, the state provides a member contribution loan. With this, it is possible to swiftly increase the size of a business, and to broaden its opportunities.
Mr Orbán said they have already published some EU calls for proposals, while the rest will be published in the near future. In contrast to rumours about there being no money, there is EUR 12 billion, the equivalent of “4,800 billion forints sitting on our accounts, awaiting to be taken away by businesses for worthwhile developments.” Meaning that during the period ahead, small and medium-sized enterprises will have access to both grants and the opportunities offered by calls for proposals, he said in summary, highlighting that the character of next year’s growth of 3 to 3.5 per cent will be about SMEs not merely watching large companies grow, but themselves becoming part of that growth.
