Quote from Orban is Message to Trembling Brusselites

Hungary's head of European affairs and the government commissioner for the country's EU presidency both react to the dread in Brussels.

Budapest, 2023. december 1. A Miniszterelnöki Sajtóiroda által közreadott képen Orbán Viktor miniszterelnök interjút ad a Jó reggelt, Magyarország! címû mûsorban a Kossuth rádió stúdiójában 2023. december 1-jén. MTI/Miniszterelnöki Sajtóiroda/Fischer Zoltán Fotó: Fischer Zoltán

"The concern of the Brussels bubble is strange... Are they afraid that someone would finally lead Europe?" Judit Varga, chair of the European Affairs Committee of the Hungarian Parliament, posed the hypothetical question on her social media page in response to the confirmation of European Council President Charles Michel that he will run in June's European Parliament elections. If elected and sworn in, his Council head seat would become vacant, leaving the prime minister of the member state holding the rotating presidency in an exceptional position. The news has sent shockwaves of fear through the current ruling elite in Brussels.

In her post, Judit Varga wrote that she was "relieved to read the terrified analyses of the Brussels mainstream media," regarding the possibility that PM Viktor Orban fills the post of interim European Council president.

Zoltan Kovacs, the government commissioner for Hungary's 2024 EU Presidency, also reacted to the events that kicked off the new year in Brussels by posting what has become a classic quote from Viktor Orban:

Let's preserve our strategic calmness,

he recommended on X.

❗️To all those voices wondering whether @PM_ViktorOrban could serve as an interim President of the European Council, should @eucopresident become an MEP: Let's preserve our strategic calmness. pic.twitter.com/Dm7iVYPGpM

— Zoltan Kovacs (@zoltanspox) January 8, 2024

The PM introduced the term "strategic calmness" into the Hungarian public discourse back in February 2022. At that time, the premier was referring to the course of Hungarian policy in light of the war in Ukraine, saying that "it is very important to have strategic calmness in a country that is close to the war zone".

Cover photo: Prime Minister Viktor Orban being interviewed on the "Good Morning, Hungary!" radio program on MR1 on December 1, 2023 (Photo: MTI/Prime Minister's Press Office/Zoltan Fischer)