David Pressman Gravely Confused About His Role, PM Orban's Policy Chief Says

"Hungary sets an example that even in the middle of Europe, it is possible for a medium-sized country to pursue a sovereignist policy with national interests in mind,” Balazs Orban posted on Facebook. The Hungarian PM’s political director hit back at US Ambassador David Pressman for his recent criticism of Hungary purchasing energy from Russia despite the war in Ukraine and the sanctions against Russia. He also summarized the government’s achievements and plans in diversification for the US diplomat, who regularly interferes in Hungary’s internal affairs.

David Pressman, US Ambassador to Hungary on January 6, 2023 (Photo: MTI/Tamas Kovacs)

Balazs Orban, the Hungarian prime minister's political chief, has shared a lengthy post strongly criticizing David Pressman, the US ambassador to Hungary, who regularly interferes in Hungary's internal affairs. In his post, he recalled that "the US embassy in Budapest recently attacked Hungary for continuing to purchase natural gas from Russia". Balazs Orban began his post by pointing out that

energy security is a sovereignty issue. Any ambassador accredited here lashing out against Hungary over such specific policy issues shows a complete confusion about their role. These issues are no business of any incumbent ambassador or foreign power. 

"The Hungarian government can be held accountable only by Hungarian voters," he added. Energy sovereignty, he said, can only be achieved if "new, alternative channels of energy supply are built alongside existing ones", and Hungary is doing that. Balazs Orban stressed that switching from one dependency to another would not be in the interests of the Hungarian people, pointing out that a large part of Europe has cut its energy ties with Russia, and the continent's economic development has come to a stall.

Economic growth in Europe is forecast to be around one percent this year while it will be more than twice as high in the US and more than four times higher in China. Europe is falling behind the rest of the world's developed regions,

he shared his concerns in the post.

There are already visible signs of a slowdown in economic growth in Europe this year, with the fuel poverty rate in Europe rising to ten percent since the war, Balazs Orban went on. "We don't want that for the Hungarian people, even if that is exactly what Ambassador Pressman is calling for," he added. He also pointed out that it is actually the US economy that has benefited from the Russia-Ukraine war saying that "the US in fact sold three times as much natural gas in Europe in 2023 as it did in 2021. And on top of all this, the United States is holding our country to account while Russia continues to supply an increasingly significant part of the enriched uranium imports for US nuclear power plants."

"If a superpower that is half a continent could not become completely independent of Russia, how can this very superpower set this expectation for Hungary in Central Europe," asked the Hungarian prime minister's political chief.

To conclude his post, Balazs Orban summarized Hungary's progress in diversifying supply sources. "We have taken strategic state ownership of one of the proportionally largest European gas storage capacities and have built high-capacity gas interconnections to all but one of our neighboring countries, and we have just recently started to receive gas transports from Turkey. In addition, we have increased domestic gas production, which also contributes to ensuring our energy sovereignty and mitigating external exposure. In the meantime, we are doing our utmost to reduce our consumption and thus our reliance," he said.

Balazs Orban, the Hungarian prime minister's political director (Photo: MTI/Noemi Buzak)

He also shared the Hungarian government's plans for the future:

• we will continue the transition to green energy, which will also strengthen our country's energy sovereignty
• by the early 2030s, we plan to be able to produce enough electricity to fully meet our own needs 
• pursue an industrial deployment strategy that will make our country a European hub for experimenting with new types of green energy storage. 

At the end of his post, the politician concludes: 

It seems that the real issue of the Embassy and the progressive Democratic leadership is not the withdrawal from Russian gas, or the lack of it. But, that Hungary is a shining example of how even in the middle of Europe, a medium-sized country, can pursue a sovereign policy that is in the national interest.

Cover photo: David Pressman, US Ambassador to Hungary on January 6, 2023 (Photo: MTI/Tamas Kovacs)