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The Prime Minister stressed that there was no amount of money that would induce us to allow the development of situations such as those experienced in Western European countries. He mentioned the threat of terrorism, crime and parallel societies as examples.
He added that there was no amount of money that would induce us to surrender our children and grandchildren to LGBTQ activists. In Hungarian families this is impossible, simply “inconceivable,” the raising of children, in particular, sexual education, is the right and duty of families and parents. No one can take this right away from them, especially not schools, he stated, adding that even more especially not in such a way that children should meet people in schools that their parents would not like them to meet at home or even on the street.
They cannot blackmail us on these issues financially because these are more important issues than money, Mr Orbán laid down.
The Prime Minister likened Brussels to the French royal court where one can “turn on the charm” and where a separate language is invented for discoursing about reality.
When the elections are coming, sooner or later, the politicians in Brussels will have to start talking to the people who do not understand the “Brussels jargon” in which they talk about European politics. They must start talking straight, in a clear and understandable manner, he underlined.
This is what happened in the European Parliament, too, where every member is fighting for re-election, and President Ursula von der Leyen has ambitions of her own, he observed, highlighting that they must stop beating about the bush; this obfuscating, cunning language slowly disappears, only to be replaced by straight, direct, democratic talk. They must state loud and clear who wants what.
The President could not avoid this herself, she was required to state loud and clear what her problem was with the Hungarians, why they were not giving the Hungarians the money they were entitled to. She finally stated clearly that they were not giving the Hungarians the EU funds they were entitled to for two reasons: because they are not letting in migrants and because they are not surrendering their children to LGBTQ activists, he pointed out.
He said they want to achieve with any means necessary, including financial pressure, that Hungary change these laws. However, this will not work. The EP elections will be about these issues, too: about migration, our families and the war, the Prime Minister summed up.
He also spoke about the fact that the recently concluded national consultation proves that the country continues to remain strong, we are a strong nation, and the message will be heard in Brussels.
While Hungarian nationhood has a history of a thousand years, Western European national unity only has a history of a hundred or two hundred years. As we have no relatives around us, our sense of belonging together, our life instincts, “profound national thoughts are very strong in Hungary,” and the national consultation, too, serves as proof of this: one and a half million people completed the questionnaires “because they believed that this was important from the country’s point of view,” Mr Orbán explained.
The Prime Minister said after a difficult 2023, we are likely to face an easier, better year this year. He recalled that last year we had been compelled to fight against the impacts of the coronavirus pandemic and the war, “energy prices rose sky-high, inflation was up in the clouds.”
2023 took its toll on us, but we are now past this, we have resolved the problems, and we have an easier, a better year to look forward to. “That we did this together – rather than the Hungarians having resorted to individual escape paths – I think confirms the ability of the Hungarians to do better and better in the competition in the world economy, too. So, this raises the country’s quality of life and makes us a successful nation,” he said.
He added that we needed this as “the 20th century was not exactly a century of Hungarian achievements.”
At the same time, he also pointed out that in 2023 the Hungarian people had proved that the Hungarian economy was crisis-proof even without EU funds, and was able to survive even the most difficult periods. He stressed that just when we would have needed EU funds most – after the coronavirus pandemic or during the rise of energy prices – they were not forthcoming. In spite of this, however, Hungary has resolved both crises.
He took the view that it is good to have EU funds, but compared with the size of the Hungarian economy, this is not a large sum; it is more suited “to accelerate us.” He mentioned as an example the pay rise programme for teachers which they will be implement with EU funds over a period of 3 years instead of the planned 6 years.
He had faith in the fact that with salaries of HUF 700,000 to 800,000 expected to be reached by the end of the three-year pay rise programme and the more significant annual holiday option of 50 days, the teaching career could become attractive enough. He expressed hope that they would, as a result, also be able to address the problem of the upset balance between male and female teachers in the profession, and that ever more men would find the career of teaching an attractive option and would feel that they would be able to support their families from their teacher salaries.
The Prime Minister added that they had also succeeded in knocking inflation down from 25 per cent to around 6 per cent without EU help, and that in 2024 “we have a bright future ahead” as regards economic growth as well; “we will be at the top” of the European rankings.
In his view, the threat of inflation climbing back up is minimal in Hungary; a more relevant question is whether they will be able to increase the performance of the economy at the planned rate and whether the central bank will be able to reduce interest rates at a pace of its own choosing.
Growth must be a common goal of the central bank and the government, businesses must be helped to invest, to carry out developments and to create jobs, he said, adding that this requires lower credit interest rates which the central bank is, in his view, able to guarantee for this year whilst protecting the value of the forint.
He indicated that Minister for the Economy Márton Nagy is responsible for economic growth. “He must take care of this,” he stressed.
The Prime Minister confirmed that also this year pensioners will receive the 13th monthly pension according to the usual schedule. Mr Orbán said every year there is “a serious discussion” with the finance minister about whether they are definitely able to pay the 13th monthly pension in one sum, as expected by pensioners.
He pointed out that this discussion had already been completed, and so he is able to state with all certainty that pensioners will receive the 13th monthly pension as usual also this year, the Hungarian economy will be able to guarantee this this year, too.
The Prime Minister expects an intensive, busy year from a diplomatic point of view in 2024. Mr Orbán said they have started the preparations “for the long march” that will culminate in Hungary taking over the rotating presidency of the European Council from 1 July.
The Prime Minister described Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico’s visit to Budapest on Tuesday as a major event. He added that Mr Fico had been elected as prime minister for the fourth time now, and he had had as many as 33 bilateral meetings with him.
He is happy about the return of “an old warrior” with whom he has already worked together because it is always easier to work together with an old warrior than with a new partner, though that is not necessarily bad either because that, too, can lead to something great. Therefore, he regards cooperation with the new Romanian prime minister as a major opportunity for improving bilateral relations.
Mr Orbán said he had many disputes with Mr Fico in the past, but they have resolved all of them almost without exception, “by now Slovak-Hungarian relations have effectively almost exclusively positive elements; it’s been a very long time since we last had a situation like this,” he observed.
He said over a period of just over ten years, they have increased the number of border crossing points on the Slovak-Hungarian border from ten-something to forty. There is agreement between Slovaks and Hungarians that life in the border regions is a special scenario. If a border divides us, that is bad; if a border connects us together, that is good. Therefore, they have now set up a task force which will soon develop a proposal package about how to improve the quality of life for the people living in the border regions, Mr Orbán said.
“It was a positively good start for the year, we could hardly have hosted a more promising guest than the Slovak prime minister,” he said.
Regarding the visit of the Vietnamese prime minister to Budapest, he said the rise of Asian countries is not a temporary phenomenon. The West must understand that it no longer dictates the rules of the game on its own.
Mr Orbán spoke about the fact that studies rank Vietnam, a country of a hundred million, among the fastest developing countries, and Hungary has long-standing relations with the Asian country.
He added that cooperation between the two countries was making good progress. The Asians are good at trading, and so they gain more on trade. They are now working to supplement trade with investments, given that enormous capital has been accumulated in Vietnam, and the Hungarian government would like Vietnamese businesses to invest in Hungary.
He also said the prime minister of Moldova will pay a visit to Hungary next week.
