In the interview, which was recorded in Washington a few hours before the meeting of the Hungarian Prime Minister and US President Donald Trump, Mr Orbán said if Hungarians could ever do business in America, it is now, and if American businesses ever felt like coming to Hungary, trying themselves out here and contributing to the functioning of the Hungarian economy, it is surely today.
He stressed that cooperation between the two countries was excellent, including in political relations at the highest level; there is full harmony between the two governments on the issues of war and peace, the protection of family values and immigration. “This is a relationship of camaraderie, against the background of the fact that, naturally, the US president stands for the interests of the American people, while I stand for the interests of the Hungarian people,” he laid down.
He said there are 1,400 American-owned businesses operating in Hungary, and these businesses provide some 100,000 jobs in total for the Hungarian economy. This year, seven major US investments have been implemented to a total value of more than USD 100 million, and they expect another three to four major US investments to come to Hungary before the end of this year, he added. This is not regardless of the fact that US-Hungarian relations have changed, he indicated.
The Prime Minister stressed that the true value of an alliance stemmed from how tested it was. While it only exists on paper and is only embodied in a few statements, it is worth little, but the more jointly fought battles there are behind it, the stronger and more valuable that alliance becomes. In his view, today’s American-Hungarian alliance is like that.
He recalled that in 2010 Hungary said that the direction in which the West was heading was a dead-end. The West had exhausted its reserves, and liberal, globalist governance was unable to give answers to the questions that were the most important for the people. At the time, these issues were unemployment, a lack of competitiveness and the financial crisis, while a few years later came migration, and the anti-family gender movement, too, broke loose, he listed, adding that the Hungarians responded to this crisis – as the only ones in the western world – with a conservative, Christian, national government.
He stressed that in 2016 Hungary had received confirmation with Donald Trump’s victory, but at the next US presidential election, the globalist, liberal Democrats had returned, and the previously flawlessly working US-Hungarian relations had suddenly broken down. The Americans penalised us in every area, he pointed out, recalling that they introduced political and financial sanctions against Hungary, tried to foil the construction of our nuclear power plant, barred Hungary’s access to some modern weaponry featuring American technology, and allowed the treaty on the avoidance of double taxation between the two countries to expire without renewal. He indicated that this had come to an end when Donald Trump had entered into office again.
He said they could return to where they were in 2016 with the difference that today, the US President is much better prepared, he assessed the magnitude of his enterprise, the enterprise of changing the governance structure of the western world. “For years, he recruited the right people for the job here in the United States. We, too, took part in the development of their programme, and now when he returned, he returned to the stage of world politics in full armour; he’s an elderly man based on his age in vain, he returned with youthful energy, with a veritable Trump tornado. This is good for us Hungarians,” he said.
Mr Orbán also said he will only be able to answer the question of what it will take to convince President Trump to grant Hungary exemption from the sanctions after the talks. “From among the topics now on the table, this is the gravest and most important for Hungarian households, Hungarian families and Hungarian businesses. And here, I will have to achieve a result tomorrow,” he laid down.
He added that this was not about us seeking some gift from the Americans. We simply want them to realise that the sanctions that they most recently imposed on Russian energy land countries in a similar position to Hungary, countries without access to the sea, in an impossible situation. Mr Orbán said he will ask President Trump to realise this, to see reason and to accept one of the Hungarian proposals.
“But rather than achieving this on a business basis, I want to achieve it on the basis of common sense and reason,” he pointed out. “There are energy and other business issues which we would like to negotiate on a business basis […], but the issues relating to Russian energy are not such issues, there, I would like to appeal to the President’s reason,” he indicated.
Regarding the Russo-Ukrainian war, he stressed that the US President was a man of peace, and this was not just a political objective on his part. He added that the US President – described by the Left as an almost diabolically strong individual – was in actual fact a kind man who was convinced from the bottom of his heart that bad things had to be rooted out, and war was the worst among the worst things.
He recalled that in eight months, Donald Trump had succeeded in closing eight conflicts, some major, some minor. However, he had yet to resolve the biggest task in hand, the closing of the Russo-Ukrainian war which is a formidable challenge even for a US president, he pointed out.
Mr Orbán also said the peace summit will take place as it has been announced. The question is whether the summit is intended to move the parties closer to peace, or the parties will wait until they manage to agree on all issues. This has not yet been decided, but the peace summit will take place. Whether this will be a final peace summit that will also bring about a solution or just an important station leading to peace, we do not know yet at this point in time, he stated in summary.
The big question of the next six months of European politics will be how to retreat from the dead-end street of Brussels’ current pro-Ukraine policy, Mr Orbán stressed.
He highlighted that the Europeans believed in the solution of the war on the frontline and that a defeated Russia could be obliged to pay damages. However, they have no elaborated script for the event that this should not happen. He added that the Brussels plan was “miles away from reality when contemplated with the Hungarian mindset,” “an illusion a serious person cannot possibly deceive themselves with.”
The question is whether, once the war is over, Ukraine will be able to exist as a self-sustaining state, the Prime Minister said, observing that the answer to this question is negative, rather than positive, and the general conviction is that the neighbouring country will not be able to stay on its feet without substantial foreign assistance. In this regard, he said, the question is who will foot this bill, and we must therefore find a solution which allows Ukraine to stay on its feet, but which “costs Europe as little as possible” at the same time.
Mr Orbán said he wants to prevent all further payments under any circumstances as “they would also take the Hungarians’ money to Ukraine.” He observed that the enormous amounts paid so far paled in comparison with the amounts that Ukraine would need in the coming years. Europe has no money to pay for this, the Prime Minister concluded, observing that “this is not our problem because we’re not taking part in this war;” we are helping the Ukrainians from a humanitarian point of view, but we have no obligation of any kind to give them soldiers, money or weapons.
He mentioned that there was unimaginable pressure on Hungary “to toe the line,” but the good relations with the United States, his talks in Washington and the Hungarian people’s united stance during the collection of anti-war signatures “should give the Hungarian prime minister of the day enough strength to withstand even the greatest pressure, and to keep following the course that serves the Hungarians’ best interests.”
In the context of Ukraine, he said another important question is how to avoid the escalation of the war, and how to avoid the Europeans being sucked in. He stressed that with the weapons supplies, “this policy is balancing on the verge of risk and tolerance,” but a single bad decision is enough to lead to the escalation of the conflict. This could have unimaginable consequences, extending all the way to World War III, Mr Orbán added.
He also spoke about the fact that the Ukrainians wanted to achieve a change of government in Hungary, and that the data leaked from the Tisza Party’s application, too, should be construed in this light. He pointed out that Ukraine was a country at war, and additionally, it had a dispute with Hungary about how the Hungarians should support the Ukrainians as well as a dispute about Ukraine’s EU accession.
Mr Orbán said the Ukrainians want a change of government, they are looking for people, agents, parties, journalists, ordinary members of the electorate who might help them with this because they expect a pro-Ukrainian government to take Hungary closer to the war and to provide more assistance for Ukraine than the incumbent Hungarian government. Today, Hungary has a pro-Hungarian government, and it is not friendly with Ukraine, he added.
The Prime Minister said evidence connected to the development and operation of the whole data management system leads to Ukraine, Ukrainians, too, were involved in the development of the system, additionally, businesses associated with the Ukrainian government, and some of the data controllers are located in Ukraine. The Ukrainians have a vested interest in convincing the Hungarians to give them soldiers, weapons and money, and to let them into the EU. Therefore, they are gathering the data and names of those whom they will seek to influence, for instance, in an election, he said.
Mr Orbán also spoke about the fact that the Fidesz-Christian Democratic People’s Party alliance pursued a national, right-wing policy based on the reduction of taxes and supporting families, while the Tisza Party and the Democratic Coalition stood for the left-wing, liberal policy of raising taxes and taking money away from the people. He said the essence of left-wing, liberal economic policy always lies in increasing taxes and taking away from the people things that this side believes the people are not entitled to, including the thirteenth monthly pension or a thirteenth monthly salary.
He added that by contrast, the Right always believed that taxes had to be reduced, and rather than the government deciding what people should spend their money on, it was best if the people got to keep as much money as possible. This side of the political spectrum regards the raising of children not as a private affair, but as a common affair of the nation, and therefore, right-wing economic policy always features a family support element, he stressed.
The Prime Minister said the national consultation launched regarding the issue of taxation helps to clarify a few crucial questions. Should there be or should there not be tax increases? Should pensions be taxed or not? Should the government retain the reduction of household energy bills? Should the government keep the system of family support? He listed the questions. He said the people can now clearly state their opinions about these issues.
Mr Orbán said the tax exemption granted to mothers “is truly close to our hearts” because the financial stability and the security of the situation of mothers determines how many children they will have, meaning the future of the national community. Therefore, from now on, not only will there by a family tax benefit available in relation to children – the value of which will be doubled – but mothers with three children will not have to pay personal income tax for life, he pointed out, indicating that this measure concerns some 250,000 women.
He added that from 1 January, in a gradual system, women with two children would be granted personal income tax exemption. According to the Prime Minister, this makes the Left “vomit blood” because for them “we are mere taxpayers.” However, according to the Fidesz-Christian Democratic People’s Party alliance, society is comprised of families.
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