PM Orban: We Are Extremely Strong and Will Win the Elections

The most important issue in the European Parliamentary elections will be the number of pro-war versus pro-peace MEPs there will be, regardless of which political group they sit in. In an interview for Mandiner, the Hungarian prime minister spoke about the assassination attempt on Fico, the idea of a European army, relations with China and Ursula von der Leyen's chances of re-election.

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban (Photo: MTI/Hungarian PM's Press Office/Vivien Cher Benko)

With the upcoming elections drawing closer, Mandiner posed extensive questions for Viktor Orban's views on relevant topics, such as the escalation of the war in Ukraine, nuclear weapons, European conscription and the chances of Ursula von der Leyen's re-election.

Assassination attempt on Robert Fico

Regarding the attempt on the Slovakian prime minister's life, Orban said: 

I have a unique relationship with Robert Fico, who has gone from being an anti-Hungarian politician to a sovereignist politician.

"We have in the mean time become allies on the European front line, so my first thought was that we have suffered a serious loss", the Hungarian PM added.

Regarding the onslaught of hate speech following the attack, Mandiner asked Mr Orban if he feared that such an attack could happen in our country.

"No doubt, such a danger exists. For months, they have been rallying the Slovaks against Fico for turning a pro-war country into a pro-peace country. In such a situation, a pro-war person might feel morally empowered to kill the head of the government," he said.

On the hateful comments, the prime minister noted that we need to think about setting clear boundaries and rules in this area, as well.

"Otherwise, this one-off attack could become a daily practice,"

Is there a chance of stopping the escalation?

On the subject of sending troops to Ukraine and the escalation scenario that could unfold, Hungary's leader said that since the Ukrainians feel that the more countries they can involve in their war against the Russians, the greater their chances of winning, so they are pushing for involving the European Union and even the whole world in the war.

"From the Ukrainian national point of view, escalating the war is logical,"

he indicated, adding that "Hungarians, however, know that we must stay out of the war, because it would be contrary to Hungarian national interests to get drawn into it". 

If a major European war breaks out, we will all be the losers in it,

he said.

Does Europe need nuclear weapons?

Meanwhile, European People's Party (EPP) chief Manfred Weber is talking about the need for European nuclear weapons. Mr Orban's views on this:

If there were ever a nuclear war between Russia and the United States of America, the Americans would only fire from Europe.

In a nuclear war, the other side would fire back at where the first country fires from.

"Therefore, the Americans will never even launch a retaliatory strike against the Russians from US territory, but will always do so from European territory. Instead of proliferating nuclear weapons, Europe should seek their disarmament," he said.  

Will there be conscription in Hungary?

"NATO guarantees the collective defense of its members, so Hungary can afford the luxury of not introducing universal conscription, but instead maintaining only a professional army. We increasingly try to show our appreciation to our soldiers, as they guarantee the security, freedom and independence of our country.

Restoring conscription is not on the agenda in Hungary,"

the PM stated. 

"It is a serious problem that Weber is talking about European conscription, he wants a European imperial army. To the Hungarian ear, the idea of Hungarian soldiers participating in an imperial army based on any conscription is deeply disturbing. Instead of a European imperial army, we need an independent Hungarian army, over which only we have control, because this is, after all, a matter of who can exercise control over Hungarian lives, and we cannot transfer the responsibility for this to any empire," Viktor Orban explained in reaction to the notions of European conscription and the European army.

Will the war change after the European Parliament elections end on June 9? 

"There are three dimensions along which to interpret the results of the election. The first is the question of war or peace. Regardless of who sits in which parliamentary group, the most important question will be how many MEPs are pro-war and how many are pro-peace. The second dimension is the question of competitiveness. We need a majority in the European Parliament and in the camp of European prime ministers that understands that we have no future without strong European economic performance."

We need to rethink the green transition, cut red tape, strengthen agriculture, and move away from the left wing's nightmarish chasing of a mirage of social justice and go back to a policy of tax cuts across Europe,

Viktor Orban said.

Power and institutional issues are only the third important dimension. In the best case, the third decision should derive from the first two questions, as we need institutions that are pro-peace and seek to improve competitiveness, and politicians who want to implement this policy should be appointed to EU positions, he said.

Ursula von der Leyen running for a second term

There are two options for a Commission president: either I have to say that I am one of the key leaders of the European Union and I take on conflicts within the European institutions, or I have to hand the political debates over to the prime ministers and then implement what the prime ministers say. Von der Leyen, on the other hand, was caught between the two roles, she was a politician and she was not. That was where the trouble came from.

We need a ommission president who knows that we are the employers. Von der Leyen is an employee of twenty-seven prime ministers,

PM Orban noted and asked "Why is she taking decisions for us, for example on European foreign policy?"

The Council of the heads of state and government should take back the power of governance, the Commission should be pushed back to its executive role, and the European Parliament should be abolished in its current form and we should return to national parliaments delegating MEPs. This would be a viable European structure, he said.

Who does Hungary support for the post of NATO secretary general?

International press reports say Hungary is the only country standing in the way of Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte becoming NATO secretary general. Viktor Orban reacted to this by saying, " It is not only Hungary that opposes Rutte's candidacy, as there is one country that not only opposes Rutte, but has nominated its own candidate, and that is Romania."

We support Romania,

Hungary's prime minister stated.

Hungary has two issues with Prime Minister Rutte. One is a matter of honor, the other is a military policy demand. As far as honor is concerned, there is no Western politician in Hungary with a worse reputation than Mr Rutte. First he said that Hungarians should be excluded from the European Union, and then that Hungary should be brought to its knees, he recalled.

With regard to the military policy demand, PM Orban said that Hungary cannot support a NATO secretary general who represents the position that all NATO member states must commit themselves to participating in military actions outside the territory of the alliance.

We would like to conclude an agreement with the future secretary general that Hungary will not participate in NATO military operations against the Russians in Ukraine, despite being a NATO member,

the Hungarian prime minister said.

Hungary-China relations

"Hungary wants to be a friend to two actors at loggerheads, to maintain good relations concurrently with both the United States of America and China," Hungary's premier said.

The Chinese do not replace the Russians,

Viktor Orban emphasized and indicated that Hungary intends to intensify cooperation with the Russians in areas not affected by EU sanctions.

We do not do this surreptitiously, like some Western European countries,

he pointed out, adding that if a cooperation is national interest-based, it can be undertaken, and it is undertaken.

Local elections

Speaking about the local elections also held on June 9, PM Orban said that like the majority of Budapest residents, he has "only bad things to say" about the mayor's performance. He compared Budapest Mayor Gergely Karacsony to footballers who "miss a penalty kick and then blame the shoes or the grass". 

In his view, the governing parties are the biggest political force also in the capital, and they have found Budapest's long-term leader for Fidesz in the person of Alexandra Szentkiralyi.

Demography

Hungary's prime minister admitted that although progress has been achieved on demographic indicators, there is stagnation now. However, he noted that he does not equate demographic policy with family policy, because the success of family policy cannot be measured by demographic indicators.

"The government does not want to pursue a migrantion-based demographic policy, but wants to resolve this issue within the country's national, Christian culture,"

Viktor Orban underlined.

The expected trend in this area is not continuous improvement, but impulse-like improvement, and many people are working to enable the government to give a new, large-scale, demographically motivated boost to the Hungarian economy, from tax policy to home creation, he said.

If there is a war, then three percent of the GDP must be spent on security, if there is no war, then only two, and a good part of the problems would be solved if the difference between the two could be spent on families, PM Orban pointed out.

Cover photo: Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban (Photo: MTI/Hungarian PM's Press Office/Vivien Cher Benko)