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After his talks with the German politician in the Carmelite Monastery, Mr Orbán pointed out that all the important points of AfD’s programme – from migration to energy policy – would benefit Hungary. He observed that the piquancy of the meeting with Alice Weidel was that AfD was not the party whose leader was readily received by prime ministers in all European countries, but “it’s time to change this.”
He highlighted that German-Hungarian relations are special relations within Europe. Hungary could do much better if Germany were successful as the two economies are very closely tied together. We look forward to a new era when Germany is successful again, and when in the slipstream of Germany’s success the Hungarian economy, too, could gain extra impetus, he said.
Mr Orbán also spoke to Alice Weidel about Europe, and regarding this topic, he was the more radical of the two of them. The Prime Minister is convinced that the European Union is in grave trouble. It is in trouble because of the content of its politics, and because of the way in which it seeks to realise its politics. “What is being done in Brussels today dooms us to failure against our competitors in the world economy,” he said, stressing that with the present policies Europe cannot be diverted onto a course of growth.
“What is the most important is that we finally realise that the green deal is dead,” it cannot be reformed, “we must quite simply forget it,” he said, adding that while we need a green approach and the climate issue is important, the green deal – the way it was put together – “is destroying us” because as a result of it we are paying two to three times more for electricity and three to four times more for gas than our competitors. This competition cannot be won, he stated.
Mr Orbán said he is convinced that the energy sanctions must be lifted and that we must put an end to discrimination against nuclear energy. We must reopen the energy supply routes that have been closed down and must reintegrate into the European economy the energy sources that have been phased out, he listed.
In his view, already now the European economy has visible ailments, but as the Hungarians say, ‘the black soup,’ the worst is yet to come. The truly painful consequences of the flawed European economic policy, in particular, the flawed green deal, have yet to come, he said in summary.
He pointed out that the European Union was in grave trouble because it sought to pursue policies against the people. He said while the people clearly do not want migration, Brussels stands for a pro-migration position. The majority of people in Europe want peace, while the European Union wants to win a war against Russia. The European people want to protect the purchasing power of their salaries and want policies that support the middle classes, but what they receive is the very opposite of that, and they are becoming ever poorer.
In his view, there is a content problem, a policy problem and a democracy problem. If the ruling elite is not prepared to pay attention to what the people expect from them on important issues and is not prepared to integrate that democratic will into its own policies, there is a democracy problem. Today, the problems of policy, content and democracy are present in Europe all at once, and if things continue like this, there is no way of knowing who will save the European Union, the Prime Minister pointed out.
He also said Hungary is the only country in Europe which has been on the side of peace in the Russo-Ukrainian war right from the beginning; we regard this war as a bad war. He recalled that right from the beginning, they had recommended that the European Union isolate the war. “Let’s isolate it, let’s limit it, and before it should escalate, let’s make it manageable in its embryonic stage,” he said, adding that the EU opted for the very opposite of that. It embarked on a path of war, dug up the hatchet, covered its face in war paint and declared the war its own war. Therefore, expensive weapons and precious financial resources are being poured by Europe uncounted into a hopeless war in Ukraine, he stated.
He indicated that he had reiterated to the co-chairwoman of AfD that Hungary continued to remain pro-peace. At the same time, he believes it is an historic change that the United States, too, has turned pro-peace. Today not only the Vatican and Budapest, but the Vatican, Budapest and Washington stand for peace as the US president seeks to implement a policy of peace. He interpreted this to the co-chairwoman of AfD as encouragement and a positive sign which will – it is to be hoped – bring the war to a conclusion within the shortest possible time.
In addition to the rise and renewed vitality of the German economy, this is the other very important pre-condition of the Hungarians finding easier advancement in Hungary, he said, adding that he told the co-chairwoman that Hungary was unable to save the European Union. That job must be done by the French and the Germans, while we must work hard to make Hungary successful and strong. If there is a European Union, with it; if there is not, also without it, he observed.
In answer to a question from a member of the press, Mr Orbán pointed out that he always spoke about the German people and Germany in a voice of respect. Only a single issue is an exception to this, the issue of migration. “We have almost been destroyed,” he recalled, adding that from the respect of migration, today Hungary would look just like Germany had we submitted after 2015 to the combined pressure exerted on us by Germany and Brussels, later intensified by the US Democrats.
Hungary has survived very difficult years under enormous German pressure – pressure that has not relented to this day – to change its migration rules and to let migrants in, he indicated.
He highlighted that in Hungary the number of migrants was zero; this is what they seek to change. They are penalising us to the tune of one million euros a day because we are not letting illegal migrants into the country. This, however, is still cheaper for Hungary than letting illegal migrants in, he added.
“We will not surrender on the issue of migration no matter how hard Berlin and Brussels – whether each one on its own or together – may try. We must protect our country. The crossing of a country’s border without permission is a crime. We convict those who commit crimes and deport them from the country,” he said.
According to the Prime Minister, the reason for the “bad feeling” of the Germans is that Germany has as yet failed to realise the obvious fact that we are their “captain of the fortress,” we defend Schengen, the whole European Union and the Germans from the South by not letting migrants in. “We would have reason to expect that even if they have nothing good to say about us, they should at least not penalise us,” he observed.
Mr Orbán indicated that he attached no hope of any kind to reforming the current migration pact because “it is bad as it is, it must be thrown out.” However, they are unable to convince the Brussels bureaucrats in this regard, and so in the present migration situation and against the background of the present regulations, there is a single solution: rebelling.
Hungary already rebelled in 2016, but most recently so did the Poles – though they are not being penalised for doing so – and AfD’s programme, too, would effectively adopt the Hungarian regulation. “I wish for nothing more than that Germany should finally rebel against the migration pact, thereby helping us out,” he said.
Regarding relations with AfD, he recalled that so far it had been an obstacle that Hungary had a vested interest in maintaining good relations with the incumbent German government, regardless of its composition. “Meaning that there is the world of interstate relations in which there is a Hungarian interest. And there is the world of party relations. I will never allow myself to destroy the Hungarian interests attached to interstate relations in the interest of party relations,” he pointed out.
By his account, this is why he has been cautious with AfD so far. However, it is now perfectly obvious that AfD is the future. If a ruling elite is unwilling to side with the people, and a party comes along that is willing to do so, the future is theirs. And as AfD’s support has reached 20 per cent, their political camp is twice the size of Hungary’s total population, he highlighted. In his view, the moment has come when no one can punish relations with AfD, not even the German government.
Regarding the new US administration, he stressed that the first and most important thing was that “the American liberal and progressive boots have been removed from our chest,” and with this the enormous international pressure against which we must make Hungary succeed has been minimum halved. Additionally, after the change of government in Washington, it has been revealed that all the opponents of the Hungarian government were financed from the money of US taxpayers, including the progressive liberal media, NGOs, everyone. This is now over, and so political competition will be fairer than it had been to date, he said.
By his account, President of the United States Donald Trump has changed or will change the world on six issues: he stated that migration was not good, but bad, the same as war was bad and peace was good. The new US President will also change our approach to the Green Deal, highlighting that a green policy which fails to take the criteria of the economy into consideration is bad.
Point number four is Christianity. The progressive liberals turned making fun of Christian values into a trend, but this is now over, he pointed out, adding that making fun of the family is over, too. The sixth issue is that free speech is good, political correctness is bad, he said.
Regarding European-US economic relations, he believes the problem is that the leaders of the European Union “are sitting in a furrow like cowardly rabbits, awaiting their fate,” awaiting what the US President will do next. He stressed that this was the worst possible approach to adopt because the US President would come along and would do things “that will make us sweat.”
Europe has a single option, it must bravely stand up with vigour and self-confidence, and must make proposals to the Americans. As the European institutions cannot be taken seriously, only two countries can be considered as fit to do that job on behalf of Europe. The future of Europe is in the hands of the French and the Germans. If they provide leadership for Europe, there will be leadership; if they do not provide leadership, there will be no leadership and that will ruin the entire continent economically “because there is no mercy for the weak,” he said.
In the context of the German elections, the Prime Minister said the Hungarians have no say in this, but he sincerely hopes that Germany will have a government whose economic policy will also serve the best interests of the Hungarian economy. “Today, I have ascertained that AfD has such a programme,” he pointed out, adding that he also sincerely hopes that the new German government will not allow Brussels to abuse its power. We would like a German government which stands up for fair treatment that respects nations.
Regarding Alice Weidel, Mr Orbán said she is a leader and a freedom fighter whom he invited because he is happy to welcome all candidates for chancellor, though “there hasn’t been much queuing in this regard.” He added that the chair-woman of AfD had chosen the date of the visit, but he himself regarded it as advantageous.
“I’m convinced that after the elections everyone will see AfD as a success party, and then many will queue up to congratulate,” Mr Orbán said.
