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The Prime Minister said for the European Union “we’re black sheep, but for us Hungarians this is not a problem. We have always stood outside the choir, even when we were behind the Iron Curtain during the time of the Soviet Union, and were the first to fight for freedom.”
Mr Orbán spoke to the daily on the occasion of the Wednesday funeral of former Italian Prime Minister-President of the Forza Italia party Silvio Berlusconi. He said with the interview he seeks to defend his friend against the Left that keeps attacking him even after his death.
He said he had been friends with Mr Berlusconi since the autumn of 1993; he contacted Mr Orbán as he prepared to enter politics. Mr Orbán recalled that thirty years ago Mr Berlusconi had embarked on establishing relations with the political leaders he had found most interesting in order to learn the ins and outs of politics; “I initially had reservations, but he presented me with enticing bait that I could not resist, he invited me to AC Milan’s training centre in Milanello, promising that I will have lunch with van Basten and Capello.”
Mr Orbán recalled: Mr Berlusconi told him he wanted to learn from politicians who were not pack thinkers.
The Prime Minister added that also most recently Mr Berlusconi had shared very similar views to his on the war in Ukraine as well as on Europe which had – with a variety of manoeuvres – toppled Mr Berlusconi’s government of the day “known to be universally pro-Europe” because Mr Berlusconi had refused to bow to the German and Dutch rules.
He added that anyone who shares a view on the war in Ukraine that is different from that of US President Joe Biden is branded as Putinist. He said he sees the situation in the same way as Pope Francis, “however, our view is in a minority in Europe.” He observed that Italy was far from the Ukrainian border and could only feel the distant heat of the bombing in Ukraine; Hungary can “burn,” however.
He stressed that members of the Hungarian community of some two hundred thousand in Ukraine were being called up for military service and were sacrificing their lives; in the meantime, Hungary has taken in one million refugees.
Mr Orbán took the view that there is little hope for peace because the West, “or I could even say, the United States wants to defeat Russia, and regards Ukraine as a means to do so. In Europe no one, other than us, dares to open their mouths because they don’t want to earn the wrath of Washington.”
He added that “the silent majority, however, think as I do, and I’m convinced that the atmosphere will change within a few months, I can already see the first signs of this.”
“Europe regards me as a black sheep because I stand for freedom and peace,” he stated. He said in Budapest there is democracy and the government is following the people’s will, while Brussels has a Soviet-type leadership.
Mr Orbán added unless Europe changes, it will be a loser. We cannot continue to pretend that there are no more effective and more competitive economic models than those dating from the sixties and seventies that Europe keeps insisting on to this day, he stated.
He said Mr Berlusconi attempted to change Europe, but failed against Brussels “against which everyone with the exception of Berlin and the Hague loses.”
“I’m trying, and perhaps I’ll be luckier. We’re a small country, our sovereign debt is not sky-high, and so we can resort to different recipes than those the EU is forcing on the large Member States,” Mr Orbán pointed out, observing that Hungary is being attacked on the score of the rule of law because Brussels does not share the sovereign nature of the Hungarian economy.
He added: he will stay in Europe because “I believe in the dream and want to make it come true, stepping out of the current nightmare.” He said instead of the present European Parliament, national delegations should represent the Member States, and the European Commission furnished with excessive powers should function in accordance with the decisions of the European Council representing the votes of the European people. “In a year’s time, the composition of the European majority will be different,” he said in reference to the 2024 EP elections.
In answer to a question claiming that he is regarded as Europe’s ‘bad boy’ Mr Orbán explained that this is so because we Hungarians can never stay quiet, we are used to speaking our minds without biting our tongues, and this is where problems begin.
In the context of migration, he stressed that the Hungarian government wanted Europe as a whole to say no to illegal immigration and for every Member State to be free to decide on its own migration policy, independently of Brussels’ guidance.
