According to the Prime Minister, in such a situation the question is not how to shape world politics, but what consequences it has for Hungary. “For me, the number one question is always what consequences this has for Hungary,” he pointed out, adding that it is not his job to envisage what the United States should do, but to consider the consequences for Hungary.
As far as he can see, many Hungarians believe that other European leaders, too, act like this, but this is not the case. “What I do is not general in Europe at all,” he stated.
The Prime Minister said, earlier, national interests were not enforced in this fashion; now, however, the world has returned to the state where great powers act according to their own interests, and the United States, too, is doing just that. The elimination of the regime in Iran may take us closer to peace; at the same time, if this attempt fails, it may lead to an even more extensive, more complex and more protracted war, he pointed out.
Regarding the situation in the Middle East, he referred to his own experiences, indicating that he was prime minister at the time of the war in Iraq, at the time when Afghanistan was attacked and also at the time of the 11 September 2001 terror attacks. “I’m an old fox,” he observed, adding that he knows precisely how difficult it is to achieve anything in that region.
“You can go in, but it’s almost impossible to come out,” he pointed out. In his words, the question is not how the Middle East should be reorganised – “that’s for the big boys” – but what consequences Hungary should expect. In this regard, he mentioned two main risks: migration and energy prices.
Regarding migration, he said several countries in Europe were unable to say no to earlier waves of migration, and now they are in enormous trouble, they cannot see a way out, have lost their identity. By contrast, Hungary was able to defend itself, and neither does it have an imperial past, on account of which other populations could lay a claim to settling down here. In the case of Iran, he highlighted: we are talking about a country of 90 million where some four million Afghan refugees live. If Iran is unable to handle this situation any further, then these people may set out via Turkey for the Balkans and may reach Hungary.
In the context of energy prices, he recalled that after the beginning of the war in Ukraine, the price of Hungary’s energy imports had increased, in just one year, from EUR 7 billion to EUR 17 billion, which meant a loss of EUR 10 billion. If due to the conflict in Iran prices start rising again, that will have further grave economic consequences, he added.
Regarding Europe, he said they made two serious mistakes: one of them is that the European political elite made fun of US President Donald Trump and thereby ruined relations with the United States. The other one is that for political reasons, they surrendered cheap Russian energy – a decision he described as political madness. In his view, sooner or later, Europe will be forced to go back to these sources.
In his view, Europe is heading “in an imperial direction,” while its true strength stems from the nation states. He described the original concept of European cooperation – cooperation among nations and avoiding wars – as a “fantastic” idea, but what is happening now is a bad direction in his opinion.
Europe has lost its Christian roots, and is unable to answer the question of what its own mission is. Central Europe is, however, “completely different mentally” from Western Europe and “is ready to jump,” he pointed out. In his view, this region has energy and faith, and therefore, it may become more competitive in the next ten years. This, however, requires the maintenance of reasonable relations with Russia because “we can’t be successful without doing business with Russia.”
In connection with the outbreak of the war in Ukraine, the Prime Minister said Russia had for years indicated that they looked upon Ukraine’s western integration as a security issue, and the situation could only be stabilised if Ukraine did not become a part of the western structures, but remained a buffer zone between Russia and the West because in a case to the contrary, conflicts would re-emerge time and time again.
Regarding his relationship with Donald Trump, he said he was the only one in Europe who had a positive approach to Mr Trump already in 2015. Already at the time, he took the view that the western elite “is fatigued, boring, without new ideas,” is overly academic, and there is a need for a different kind of leader who does not just talk, but also acts.
Concerning world order, he stressed: it is a mistake to believe that anyone can defeat China because “China is simply invincible.” The world will not remain unipolar, but will operate with minimum two determining centres, and western countries will have to compete and cooperate with China all at once, whilst defending their own economic and political systems.
He also recalled that in politics it was easy to lose focus: leaders easily slip into the mistake of wanting to solve global problems, while this is not their duty. A politician’s primary duty is to deal with their own people and to represent their interests. Therefore, in every situation, they must return to and focus on what one specific decision or another means for their own country, the Prime Minister said.
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