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He added that the past three years had been depressing, “there is a war in your immediate neighbourhood where people in the hundreds, sometimes in the thousands are dying every day, and a country is emptying before your eyes, is being bombed senseless and is losing a considerable part of its resources.” “You can’t avoid” the effects of the war either because meanwhile prices are skyrocketing and the energy market is being destroyed.
“This is what we have lived in for three years, and […] that this may finally come to an end is like coming up for air from under water and getting your breath back after a long time,” the Prime Minister said, adding that this is indeed well within reach now.
In answer to a question relating to the necessity of the two peace missions, Mr Orbán said, on the one hand, a Christian country must help those who are in trouble, while on the other, they had the means as Hungary held the rotating presidency of the European Union. Regarding the outcome of the peace missions, he said “the whole situation makes you want to cry; it’s difficult to talk about results here.” At the same time, at the beginning of the Hungarian presidency, even talking about peace was unacceptable in Europe, but they took the risk, and as a result of the past six months, we have got to the stage where “today everyone is talking about peace,” the Prime Minister stated. He said what was earlier a taboo and a forbidden political goal is something you can finally meaningfully talk about. This is how much we have achieved, but for all this the war is not yet over, he added.
He stressed that on 20 January, with the entry into office of the new US president, “a new world will begin,” but also until then we should set realistic goals, and a Christmas ceasefire is very much recommended. “I think I managed to convince the Russian President to seriously consider this, but for some mysterious reason the Ukrainians are not prepared to do so,” he said, observing that it is not yet Christmas, and we should not give up.
Mr Orbán spoke about the fact that there was a new reality on the frontline: the Russians are charging forward and the European Union has lost the war. If the Europeans jump into the conflict, “make it their own,” then an even more comprehensive defeat will await them. We have a vested interest in minimising this conflict, he observed.
As a second reality he mentioned that in the United States “an actor emerged on the scene on the Patriots’ side, on the side of life, who is determined to engage in a civilisational struggle, in the struggle for the West’s soul and future.” This will completely change the western world, Mr Orbán stated, remarking that in his thoughts he is already living in this reality, the government is in this reality, and in his view, the budget, too, has been drafted according to this reality. The Brusselites are still lingering in the old one, and this is a total mistake, he added.
In the context of the war in Ukraine, the Prime Minister also said in April 2022 the parties were only a few hours away from an agreement which was frustrated by the West’s intervention. Meaning that there was a chance to conclude a ceasefire and a peace deal that could have been lasting, “it was not a task beyond resolution, except they messed it up,” Mr Orbán said.
Regarding the relationship of America and the European Union, he highlighted that there was no need for any mediation; there will be serious debates, major debates. In these debates, we Hungarians must take part in a way which ensures that above all we benefit, Mr Orbán said, stressing that the top priority is that the debates are concluded with an agreement which is acceptable for both America and Europe.
Concerning the relationship between the European Commission and Hungary, the Prime Minister said there are issues on which they are in full agreement with Brussels, but there are other issues on which their positions are irreconcilably different. He mentioned as an example of the latter that the government was not prepared to allow Brussels “to turn Hungary into Magdeburg” by forcing its rules upon us and demanding that we let migrants in. There is a similarly irreconcilable difference on the gender issue as well, he pointed out.
Mr Orbán said we are Brussels’ opposition and we believe that unless we can change Brussels by taking over the majority and reshaping it in a way which is good for the nation states, we will all suffer. “We must occupy Brussels, obtain a majority and transform it. This is the Patriots’ goal,” he stated.
The Prime Minister said “in the European Union, the Patriots must raise the flag, and then others will start gathering underneath.”
The Patriots are successful, while the European People’s Party is stuck in the past, Mr Orbán stressed, describing the issue of war and peace as the profoundest fault line in EU politics today.
In this regard, the Prime Minister divided the countries of the European Union into three groups: those who support the war, those who oppose the war – the Prime Minister mentioned Hungary and Slovakia in this group – and those who pursue a survival tactic “by not saying anything.” He highlighted that “we are too close to the war to say nothing.”
Mr Orbán added that the radically pro-war countries take the view that if they had sent more money into the war, if they had sent more weapons and even troops, then they would have won the war. However, the Prime Minister’s response to this line of thought was that “this is not our war,” and this is where the fault line lies, this is what is dividing the European Union most at this point in time.
Regarding next year’s “ambitious” budget adopted by Parliament, Mr Orbán said the Hungarian economy has managed to survive the three years of the war and has not lost the chance of a successful new start, “we haven’t squandered our future in the past three years.”
In Hungary, everyone who wants to can still find jobs, despite a higher budget deficit, we have managed to protect the 13th monthly pension, in the past three years, with the exception of one, wages have increased every year, and we have not been compelled to surrender any facet of family protection or the tax benefit available in relation to children since 2010. At the same time, with the reduction of household utility charges, in Europe the Hungarians are paying the lowest prices for electricity and gas, and so today everyone who turns the lights on or turns the gas on is part of a governmental protection programme, the Prime Minister listed.
He stressed that since 2010 the Hungarians had managed to convince one another on a number of issues that “we’re capable of things we weren’t before,” and it is thanks to this that today more than 80 people out of 100 have jobs, in contrast to 53 before, and the country is connected together with motorways and express roads..
He said today the Hungarian economy is in such a state that the moment peace sets in, it will be able to get off to a flying start. The Prime Minister also specifically mentioned the worker loan, the Demján Sándor Programme and the doubling of the family tax benefit.
In the context of economic neutrality, Mr Orbán said it is an exaggeration to believe that it would be able to take care of the problems caused by the difficulties experienced in the German economy, but there is no doubt that “we’ll be able to lessen the problems.”
The Prime Minister took the view that the Hungarian economy had previously been connected to the western market in an overly one-sided manner.
“If we can see that there is trouble in Europe, the answer is to develop economic relations in all other directions,” he stressed, adding that he has high hopes for US relations, but it is also very important that we must not give up relations with Russia either. The Prime Minister advised Hungarian businesses to go out and take part in the Russian economy in areas where this is allowed by the sanctions and urged them to convert the existing political relations with China into economic relations.
The bigger the problem is in Europe, the more we must push forward on other markets, and the political pre-conditions of this are already given, he said.
What is the most important about economic neutrality is that we must not resign ourselves to the idea that with the weakening of western markets we ourselves will weaken, but instead we should have an answer to this situation and should try to replace that which we lost in the European direction in multiple other directions, the Prime Minister stressed, adding that this will not be easy and will not happen overnight.
In answer to a question related to the clemency case that erupted at the beginning of the year, Mr Orbán said they were appalled at the losses they were compelled to sustain by virtue of having lost Katalin Novák and Judit Varga whose previous performance he described as the fruit of many years’ hard work, and the two politicians were seen as political stars everywhere they went in the world.
The Prime Minister stated that Christian politicians could not be expected to be perfect, but they must strive for fairness; there is heavy punishment for big mistakes, and lesser punishment for lesser mistakes.
“While the scars are still there, we have recovered, and whatever doesn’t kill you makes you stronger,” the Prime Minister said.
Regarding the ever more brutal tone of public discourse, Mr Orbán said he is convinced that with the technological changeover, the way people speak to each other changes both as regards content and also in a technical sense, but this is not specific to politics or Hungary, this is not a Hungarian shortcoming, but the problem of the western world that is based on free public discourse. The Prime Minister hopes that they will succeed in resolving this.
Mr Orbán wished everyone peace, calm, good health, a balance of mind and love for Christmas and 2025, and that no one should despair. “There is no problem that cannot be solved,” he said, adding that he also wishes for more understanding, more fairness and more openness as well as sincerity in communication; this is what everything stands or falls on, including economic success.
“The budget, the labour market, the agreement between employers and workers will take care of it: in 2025 we will have a more prosperous life than in 2024,” said Mr Orbán.
