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Mr Orbán said he can see that Brussels is preparing for war. This must be taken seriously, even if it appears initially amusing that leaders tell all European families from Brussels to stockpile enough food for 72 hours, the Prime Minister stressed, adding that “if you look behind this, it makes you terrified more than anything else: What’s going on in these people’s heads? Are they preparing for something?”
The Prime Minister said for the time being, he does not see a threat of war in Europe. There is a Russo-Ukrainian war, there is no doubt about that, but that this war should come to us is not a realistic threat. Simply put, the probability of anyone attacking a NATO Member State is zero, he pointed out.
Mr Orbán highlighted that if someone does prepare for war, it is because they want to initiate some act of war. There are countries in the EU, “and as far as I can see, Brussels is their advocate, which want to go into this war,” he said.
The Prime Minister has the feeling that the proposal mentioned serves to lay the political groundwork for a deeper involvement in the war.
Mr Orbán told Hungarian families that they were not required to do anything special. “There is no threat of war, Hungary is not going to war with anyone, we’re staying on the side of people, and if Europe goes to war, we will surely not go to war,” he stated.
In the Prime Minister’s view, we are witnessing a major transatlantic split as America is working for a ceasefire and the conclusion of a peace deal, while European countries are working for the continuation of the war.
Mr Orbán is of the opinion that we Europeans should fully support the American peace efforts, rather than plan a war strategy – that is contrary to the American strategy – as most European countries are doing. He observed at the same time that there were some who disagreed with this view. Hungary stands for this position most staunchly, but “neither are the Slovaks happy,” while in the case of the Italians he saw “some reluctance.”
The Prime Minister recalled that the Minsk Agreements were peace agreements between Ukraine and Russia, and at the time, Europe decided that these agreements would be guaranteed by Germany and France. However, the French-German guarantee was not enough, it turned out that Europe did not have enough strength and the ability to enforce such peace agreements, Mr Orbán said, highlighting that the answer to this is not war, but to find someone who is able to enforce them.
We should realise that we must involve the Americans, they are stronger, they have a better chance of achieving a ceasefire and a peace deal which they can also enforce, the Prime Minister said, adding that “if you want peace, you should support the Americans.”
Mr Orbán was also asked about the multiple demonstrations held this week in connection with the amendment of the assembly legislation with a view to the protection of children, while there were demonstrators also outside the building of the public service media during the interview. The Prime Minister said as far as he can see, “there is a provocation contest among opposition parties.”
He added that it was not easy for the opposition parties, especially when the government was busy doing many things at once. They have just announced a year of economic breakthrough, and are planning to implement many changes in the realm of politics as well. At times like this, the opposition has two options: either it is constructive, or waves the whole thing away and resorts to provocation instead, he said, observing that “it would be good to believe” that the demonstrators are outside the radio building because “our interview has fired them up, but I’m afraid that’s not the case.”
He stressed that an absurd situation had developed. Demonstrators are even closing down bridges, and whilst claiming that democracy is finished in Hungary, and you are not allowed to assemble anymore, they are assembling. Events themselves refute their claims, but this is about a political race: there will be elections in Hungary in a year’s time, there is reshuffling among the parties of the opposition which are struggling with visibility problems, and as they are not a constructive opposition, they are competing with each other in being anti-government and in provocation, he pointed out.
He said closing down bridges in an almost sports-like fashion is not normal, and the non-demonstrating majority has a right to lead a normal life.
He said he understands if someone has an objection to one law or another, especially when it comes to “a Pride kind of affair” because this is a topic which “always makes the liberals cry out.”
At the same time, he stressed, they must also have regard to the other people. Even according to the current statutory rules, no one is allowed to close bridges down, and freedom of expression must be based on the premise that no one is allowed to unnecessarily restrict the lives of others, he added.
In answer to the question of whether this warrants any legislative measure on the government’s part, the Prime Minister said they will consider it. In reference to the Parliament smoke bomb incident staged by Members of Parliament for the party Momentum, he drew attention to the fact that there had been an unprecedented incident in Parliament, which had then been followed by the closure of bridges and roads. He took the view that there was some tension on the opposition side; the government side and the majority must “keep their wits about them,” they must not overreact, and must be careful with legislative amendments. But, he continued, the bridge closures have brought home the conclusion that the laws must clearly guarantee that the interests of the non-demonstrating majority are duly taken into consideration.
Villages must be upgraded, not downgraded; villages are not the past, but the future, the Prime Minister stated.
Mr Orbán said villages are a great tradition and a major resource for Hungary. The Hungarian village is an ecosocial unit where – especially in the old days – every condition was available for a quality life, he explained.
The Prime Minister described the Hungarian Villages Programme as one of the most successful initiatives, and highlighted that since its launch population decline had stopped in 1,200 settlements.
The programme has been ongoing for five years, as part of which schools, nursery schools and cemeteries are being refurbished, and it is now being extended to cover new elements. Small shops are a recurring problem; if there is no shop, it is difficult to live in a village. They are refurbishing local pubs and churches, and ATMs are also very important so that people in every village have access to cash, he listed. He said good things could come out of the concurrence of the government’s intentions and the people’s instincts.
Regarding measures supporting families, he said they are now turning the Hungarian economic system into a family-centred system, and in this we are number one in the world. The future lies with a family-oriented economic system, and Hungary is the first to implement this in Europe.
Mr Orbán said they have submitted to Parliament the bills that seek to motivate people to have children. However, beyond the specific measures, he drew attention to the fact that a debate on an historic scale was now being concluded in Hungary. This debate is about what we regard as the basic unit of society: the individual or the family? The liberals regard the individual as the starting point, and in their opinion, who lives how is a private affair, he recalled, adding that while there is some truth in this, it is far from irrelevant for the community whether children are born or not.
National conservatives say that the family is the basic element of society and the life of the nation, and if that is the case, we should build also our economic system on this premise. We should introduce family household management forms, and should build our tax system on this, he stated.
The Prime Minister believes that the western world, too, may one day realise that unless they give families the respect, appreciation, support and acknowledgement they deserve, unless they support families, they will lose something without which it will be very difficult to build a happy life and a successful economic system.
Evaluating the results of the profit margin cap, he said prices have decreased in the case of 874 products, on average by 17 to 18 per cent; this is unprecedented in modern Hungarian history.
After two weeks, we have to say that it is working, this is a workable regulatory system, he stated.
He added that traders would, no doubt, make attempts to somehow avoid the profit margin cap, but this was why inspections were ongoing. “We have two or three more aces up our sleeve with which we’ll be able to respond,” the Prime Minister said.
By his account, he consults with Government Commissioner Róbert Zsigó on a weekly basis about the development of prices. There are products, the prices of which have decreased not by 17 or 18 per cent, but by more than 50 per cent, including some milk products, yoghurts, sour cream, cheese curd and cooking fats, he pointed out.
He added that they had introduced the profit margin regulation until the end of May, hoping that by then the situation would normalise and traders would realise that they would have to be content with 10 per cent. At the end of May, there will be a major debate regarding the experiences of this measure to determine whether it should be extended or not, he stated.
In connection with the foot-and-mouth disease affecting the cattle stock, he indicated that right now the task in hand was to prevent the further spread of the disease, and in this, they had to cooperate with Austria and Slovakia. Should the infection spread to the whole country, that would have very serious implications even on the level of the national economy, but for the time being, it has serious implications locally as it is causing serious difficulties for those who work on the livestock farms concerned, he said, adding that it is the job of the Minister of Agriculture to help in these settlements so that the disease should not affect the security of the livelihoods of the farmers concerned.
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