At the event, the Prime Minister recalled that “four years ago, we pledged to accomplish something, and we have accomplished it at above 100 per cent.” The government has also accomplished feats that they did not even dare to think of four years previously and that were not featured in the election agreement. These feats include that mothers with two children are exempt from paying income tax for life. “We only planned to introduce this during the next term, and yet, we have succeeded in accomplishing it. The fourteenth monthly pension, too, was on the horizon, but we did not promise to be able to do it; yet, now, we managed to start it,” he listed.
Recalling past elections, Mr Orbán said until we reach the final moment, until we find out who worked how much, there is no way of knowing what the final outcome will be, “you can win, but you can also lose.”
He stressed that since 2022, Brussels had “placed the bets on the table” and they would like to win; however, we are the obstacle to this. The weight of the Brussels plans has increased, the stakes of the Brussels concepts have increased, and Hungary stands in the way of many things that they would like, the Prime Minister pointed out.
He added that from this respect the upcoming elections would be more difficult because Brussels would mobilise far more energy against us than they had done in in 2022, for instance.
In answer to a question relating to their election chances, he said they delivered on what they had promised, but at the end of the day, an election is about mobilisation, about whether they are able to induce their own supporters to go and cast their votes. “We may be able to when we get there,” he said, observing that if the campaign started tomorrow morning, there are 106 constituencies in half of which “we would achieve a 100 per cent result, while in the other half we would need the remaining 60 to 70 days.”
Hungary has a reputation in the world because we do things differently, he stated, listing that we do not allow migrants in, we do not give in to gender ideology, “you can’t mess about with the family” because it is not some readily changeable configuration, the father is a man, the mother is a woman. Today, Hungary is recognised for being different from Western Europe, he said.
Mr Orbán also spoke about the fact that a smart government was not enough to stay out of the war, you also needed the people’s will that could be readily expressed time and time again. There is a route which if we follow, we will stay out of the war, he said, mentioning that this requires, in addition to a stable government and leadership, “popular masses clearly supporting it regarding the intention of peace.”
He indicated that “they will always try to offer us something from outside,” and the upcoming elections will be no exception. He said if we fall for the Brussels tricks, that will lead to trouble.
Regarding opponents, the Prime Minister argued that there had been a change “morphologically,” but “there is no change in what our challenger stands for. They have tried something in every election,” he said in continuation, “we have already beaten them many times, but they are constantly preparing for revenge.”
Mr Orbán also highlighted that there had been changes in world politics as well: the United States is no longer an enemy of ours as during the Biden Administration; however, Brussels has taken a very sharp turn in the interim.
The Prime Minister stressed that the question was not “whether we would have them for breakfast”, but whether we would be able to have those who were behind the opposition for breakfast.
At this point in time, the real challenge, the real opposition stems not from the Hungarian opposition’s own strength, but from foreign financial sources, IT services and political assistance, he pointed out.
We are seeking the answer to the question of how we want to live our next 20 to 30 years because the model that was evident in the past is no more, he said. “We must not attach any hope to the European Union during the period ahead,” he stated, adding that this is no easy task from a psychological and emotional point of view.
He said there is censorship in the EU, they want to push us into a war, they want to take our money to Ukraine, they want to tell us how to raise our children, they want to tell us whom we should live together with and to let migrants in, meaning that they are saying “terrible things” over there.
“So, it’s evident that what there is is no longer attractive for us,” he laid down.
The Prime Minister observed that what the future of the Hungarians would be, which foot to take the first step with, left or right, and whether we would have to turn this way or that way or continue straight ahead was for us to decide, to think over and to deduce from the Hungarian national interests.
During the stage discussion, he pointed out that at present there were two systems to choose from: the patriotic system such as the one we have here in Hungary or the Brussels system. This is the greatest stake of the elections because while we will also elect a government, we will in actual fact choose a fate. If we switch from the patriotic system to the Brussels system, “we won’t be able to switch back from there to the patriotic system, or if we are able to, we will sweat blood for it,” Mr Orbán laid down. We must not accept the Brussels offer, must not copy what there is over there, we must not allow those who are trying to sell this anywhere near the steering wheel, he laid down.
Regarding The Board of Peace called to life by US President Donald Trump, he said the Americans are right in that something must be done because the old institutions have failed. He added that The Board of Peace had points that he himself could criticise, but the truth was that the UN had “become paralysed,” international institutions were unable to settle war conflicts. In his words, either they idly watch the paralysed old institutions or they try something different.
Mr Orbán stressed that Hungary also provided assistance with restoring peace, putting an end to the Russo-Ukrainian war because the Hungarians had a vested interest in the war coming to an end within the shortest possible time. One thing is certain: we cannot just wait for the old institutions to solve these problems the usual way, he pointed out. We need not insist on the traditional approach to international law because it has failed, we need not insist on the traditional international institutions, and should be happy that finally there are people in international politics who are trying to rearrange international relations, he argued. There are risks involved, you can also lose on this, but there is a good chance that in the end this will lead to a more favourable international situation for us than we were and are in, he stated in summary.
He also said he agreed with both US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin that if there is a peace summit, it will be held in Budapest.
The Prime Minister said it will be of significance that “we clearly stated right at the very beginning what we wanted, why and how, and what we didn’t want and why.” We occupied this position, we openly persevere with it, and “rather than resorting to finesse,” we clearly state where we stand.
Regarding national unity, he said it does not mean that a hundred people out of a hundred agree, but that there is sufficient power concentration in the government and the people supporting it which overrides the minority position to the contrary effect.
According to Mr Orbán, directing Western European soldiers to the territory of Ukraine without an agreement with the Russians is a lethal move.
He added: when “they take home the first, then the tenth, then the hundredth and two hundredth coffin,” everything will change, and the current calm and composed thinking will be replaced by something else. He said the moment war logic comes to the fore, politicians will be pushed to one side and power will shift to the generals.
Mr Orbán pointed out that we must do everything we can to prevent a Slavic war of brothers from turning first into a regional, then a European and finally a world war.
“This prospect is not out of the question. I’m not saying that we will get this far, but the threat of a regional European war is on the cards,” the Prime Minister stated.
He said that the war will come here “is not a problem for tomorrow morning,” but it is more that our young people will be taken away as soldiers and our money to the front.
Regarding the elections, the Prime Minister said if they win them, Hungary will be saved from one source of trouble, but the real battle will have to be fought in Brussels afterwards in order to stop them from pushing us into the war.
According to Mr Orbán, around 40 to 43 per cent of voters in Hungary have never before voted for right-wing parties, and this is the situation they must consider upon devising political strategies because the country is divided historically and socially.
He said Hungary is a country with a difficult fate and a complex past where it is difficult to create national unity on a number of issues, including the approach to war and peace.
Hungary is fundamentally a patriotic country with national feelings where the majority are passionately attached to their country, he pointed out. “I even dare to say that Hungary is a Christian country,” the Prime Minister added, because the social teachings preached by Christianity govern the actions of the majority of the Hungarian people.
In the context of the campaign, Mr Orbán said “the stakes are high, there are tensions,” and evidently, there is also hatred on the other side. When they accuse us of hatred, they sow the seeds of incitement to hatred, he pointed out.
He added that the positive side of the campaign was that it was possible to meet and talk to members of the electorate, and thinking about the country’s common affairs was important because this served as foundations for building the community and the nation also after the elections.
He indicated that there was a job to be done each day, “one layer to be built after the other” which would eventually show how much work had been done on each side. If we do this job, we will have what we would like and will be saved from what we are afraid of.
Analysing the European situation, he also mentioned that in Western European countries, the price of energy had increased, the cost of living had risen, and it had turned out that “the Ukrainians are asking for 800 billion dollars and another 700 billion for weapons.” Therefore, ever more Europeans are now saying that they want to come out of this war, but “their leaders have already dragged them into it.” He stressed that the same Western European leaders had already signed an agreement on sending soldiers to Ukraine. Meanwhile, the Russians announced that they would regard anyone entering the territory of Ukraine as legitimate targets. “So, this is where we stand, on the verge of a war, the only question is whether common sense can prevail at the right time and we can return from this,” he stated.
Answering another question, the Prime Minister asked everyone not to be deluded into believing that if at a given point the Americans have a vested interest not in cooperation, but in a conflict with Europe, they will not readily take it on. He mentioned the 15 per cent customs tariff levied on Europe as an example.
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