"This year I did not receive a diplomatic demarche from Bukarest, but instead received an invitation from the prime minister. When I met for talks with the Romanian prime minister yesterday, I could say that 'this is progress'," Viktor Orban opened his speech at the Balvanyos Free Summer University (Tusvanyos) in Baile Tusnad, Romania.
The PM continued by saying that Romania is now Hungary's third most important economic partner and promised to put Romania's Schengen membership on the agenda and to push for the construction of a high-speed rail link between Budapest and Bucharest.
We did, however, receive a demarche from Brussels,
he pointed out, explaining that Brussels is offended by the peace mission and that the attitude of EU leaders is termed pro-war.
Brussels creates peace by constantly supporting war,
he added, stressing that since the beginning of the peace mission, Western leaders have been conducting negotiations, so the fermentation process has begun, and Europe is slowly nudging towards a pro-peace policy.
Three major topics
There are three major topics on the table today to cover, Mr Orban said, listing them as: first, an unforeseen side-effect of the war that revealed the underlying power situation in Europe; second is what will happen after the war, and whether a new world emerges and the third big topic is how Hungary must prepare for this new world.
A pan-Hungarian approach is needed, which justifies talking about these interrelations to Hungarians outside of our borders.
Hungary's government is the longest serving one in Europe and he is the longest serving prime minister, he recalled.
War is our red pill, he said referring to the scenario in The Matrix film: if the protagonist swallows the blue pill, he can remain in the world of appearances, while if he swallows the red one, he can descend into the world of reality.
War is our red pill. With its ruthlessness it takes us to a high vantage point and gives us a completely different perspective. In this reality, the ideologies and distortions of the media and the tactical lies of politicians lose their power,
he stated.
The US is fighting a proxy war
The PM noted that the belligerent parties in the war have suffered a brutal amount of casualties since 2022, yet they still refuse to reconcile. One reason for this is that both sides believe they can win, and both are fueled by their own truth. The Ukrainians see it is as a Russian invasion, while the Russians don't want NATO troops and weapons in Ukraine.
There will be no peace if it is up to the two parties, it can only be brought in from outside,
he stated.
The United States is waging a proxy war with Russia and is accusing China of supporting the Russians, in PM Orban's view. Ukraine had previously considered itself a buffer state, but now the prospect of belonging to the West dawned and with it the country's new raison d'etre.
Russia's economic capabilities are outstanding, he said, while European leaders have been insisting that sanctions will bring Russia to its knees.
Everyone has a plan until they get punched in the mouth,
he quoted the boxer Mike Tyson, stressing that after the events in Crimea, the Russians learned their lesson and developed a capacity for adaptation. Hungarian food stuffs weren't allowed to go to Russia because of the sanctions, but through adaptation Russians have become food exporters, one of the largest producers in the world.
The claim that Russia is a rigid Stalinist autocracy is false.
Europe acquiesced, a new power structure is emerging
The new picture of reality is that European politics has collapsed, Orban pointed out, continuing that the sanctions imposed are damaging fundamental European interests, driving up energy prices and making the European economy uncompetitive.
Germany's silence regarding the blowing up of the Nord Stream pipeline - a blatant act of terrorism - is an act of submission. The fact that nobody has clarified this, nobody is talking about it, is also an act of submission, even though it was an act of terrorism directed by the US.
He recalled that the Paris-Berlin axis used to be the core of the European power system, but since the war, another axis of power has developed, that new center of power has become London-Warsaw-Kyiv, the Baltic and Scandinavian countries.
When the German Chancellor announced that he is sending helmets, and then shortly afterwards he sends weapons, when he said that sanctions are not necessary, and then two weeks later he says that they are, he was not being absent minded.
The media is penalizing Franco-German policies that are not in line with US interests, hence the Franco-German flip-flops,
the PM pointed out.
Our Polish brothers are pursuing the most spurious policy
The prime minister said that Poland has severed cooperation with the V4 Group and is bypassing the Franco-German axis. The idea of bypassing the Franco-German axis had existed before, and the Poles were the basis.
He wants to make Poland America's number one base in Europe in order to counterbalance the Germans and the Russians. This is an age old plan: weaken Russia and out-develop Germany,
he added, noting that Germany is also contributing to being out-developed by cutting its industry.
Our Polish brothers in Warsaw are pursuing the most spurious policy by attacking our country for having business ties with Russia, while at the same time they are unabashedly doing business with the Russians.
The peace mission is also urging Europe to finally pursue an independent policy.
According to Viktor Orban, the West has issued instructions to take a moral stand with them and against Russia, but an increasing number of people are siding with the Russians.
The West is weak and fragmented, while Russia is too big for its population, so what it is doing is logical, understandable and predictable. By contrast, the West is not understandable and predictable, its behavior is not rational and certainly not capable of dealing with the challenges from Asia, the PM said.
The West denies existence of nations
We are trying to understand the West in light of the war, he stressed, asking "What if they are behaving logically, but we are not understanding their logic? ". The worldview of Central Europeans consists of nation states, while the West thinks that nation states no longer exist.
In our understanding, the nation state is rooted in a particular culture, it has a common set of values from which common moral requirements are derived by common consent, and nation states have a biblical basis,
he noted, adding that:
In the West, there is a denial of common culture and morals, which was evident at yesterday's Olympic opening ceremony.
The prime minister said that migration is also a way of getting rid of ethnic homogeneity - the foundation of a nation -, and this is the essence of liberal progressivism. In the east of Europe hundreds of thousands of Christians are killing each other, while in the west hundreds of thousands of people alien to Europe are being allowed in, which is utterly absurd.
The West's goal is to transcend nations, in essence to have sovereignty transferred from nation states to Brussels. This is what underlies all decisions,
he pointed out.
In his view, the western half of Europe is in a post-nation situation.
This is a new mind set, and where the root of the clash lies. This is also the battle being fought in the United States. Donald Trump's goal is to bring the American people back from a post-nation liberal state to a nation state, and that's why they want to jail him, kill him or take his wealth. The attempt is likely not going to be the last one in the campaign,
the Hungarian prime minister said, alluding to the assassination attempt. He had spoken to Trump yesterday, who asked him to convey his heartfelt best wishes to the people Tusvanyos.
Incompatible world views
"The great illusion of the 1960s was an expression of the belief that if the individual became freer, he would be free of all collectives. Since then, it has become clear that the individual can only become great in community, while alone he is doomed to solitude, Viktor Orban said, noting that
the West no longer aspires to great ideals and goals. The secret to greatness is to serve something bigger than yourself.
"There aren't many things in this category: your God, your country and your family. If instead you focus your efforts on your own greatness, you will not achieve greatness, you will become pompous. That is why we are seeing arrogance in Western leaders," he added, pointed out that there are two differing world views between Central and Western Europe.
Societies are showing increasingly stronger resistance to migration, war, gender ideology and globalism, which is creating a conflict between the elite and the people.
The elites condemn the people for drifting towards the Right, and the people accuse the elites of not doing what they should be doing, but instead drifting towards globalism.
Brussels under occupation
Brussels remains under the occupation of a liberal oligarchy, a leftist liberal elite that in fact coalesces the transatlantic elite.
The familiar categories [from communism in Hungarian called the three T's] are back in Brussels: banned, tolerated and supported. We are in the banned category, while our domestic opponents, especially those who have recently joined the European People's Party, are in the supported category.
The PM went on to explain that today's Western values are not acceptable in a growing number of countries around the world. It turns out that
modernity is not exclusively Western, as China, India, the Arabs and the Turks are also modern, but these countries did not become modern on the basis of Western values.
Those not embracing LGBTQ ideology are automatically considered backward countries by the Western world, and now the Ukrainians, Japan, and Taiwan have passed pro-LGBTQ legislation.
Viktor Orban concluded that the war has helped in understanding the real state of the world.
One needs intellectual courage
This implies, according to Mr Orban, that intellectual courage is required, and the fate of Hungarians depends on whether they understand what's happening in the world, because, after the war, a new world is coming.
We are going through a change that has not been seen for five hundred years. During the changes of the last 150 years, the leading powers have always been in the West, but this is not the case now, because this time the Western world hasn't been challenged from within. We are facing a change in the current world order, which will start out from Asia, and Asia will be the dominant center of the world,
PM Orban emphasized.
He said he believes that Asia boasts a demographic advantage, as well as a technological advantage and the advantage of having capital, and the West has ushered Russia into this. He said the process began in 2001 when China was admitted to the World Trade Organization (WTO), and he believes that Donald Trump's attempt will be the last to try and maintain the global leading role of the US.
According to Mr. Orban, the goal of the US is to rebuild North America, adding that its place in the world will become less important.
The Americans are building up their ability to draw in capital from basically everywhere, and they'll squeeze the price of everything out of everyone. The US will make everyone pay for the price of defense,
Mr. Orban said, adding that it will give up on its idea of "exporting democracy."
Skanzen or autonomy
Regarding Europe's response to the change in the world order, one response is that the continent remains subordinated to the US. The other option is strategic autonomy and thus entering the race,
Mr. Orban added.
He said the EU must abandon itself as a political project while strengthening itself economically and militarily. In his opinion, Ukraine will revert to the role of a buffer state, and the Polish experiment will fail.
What should Hungary do?
PM Orban then began to elaborate on what he thinks Hungary should do. He recalled
that five hundred years ago, Europe was the winner of the transformation of the world order, while Hungary was its loser: we were unable to enter the new economic space, and Islam's conquest turned us into a war zone.
As we were unable to break free from this situation on our own, we had to integrate into a German-Habsburg world.
Although the Hungarian elite understood what was happening, it had no tools or means to prepare society. King Matthias attempted to conquer the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation (in short: German Empire), and Tamas Bakocz became a papal candidate, but these attempts ultimately failed. This is why the Battle of Mohacs became a symbol of Hungary's failure, and that's when the Western powers rose up,
Mr. Orban explained, pointing out the connection.
Regarding the current situation, he underlined that we'll either have to swim with the EU and the US, or we'll have to go our own way, pursuing a national policy.
Mr. Orban favors the latter, but whether or not he has the necessary prerequisites remains a question.
Developments in the US are unfolding in our favor, but we have no better option than EU membership. However, the US offer must be considered. We have received the maximum offer from China, but China is far away, and our country's EU membership—even if it limits us—is of value to them.
When the mouse is called to dance by the lions, it must always pay more heed. The Chinese offer announced during the May visit means investment, resources, and a stake in the market there,
PM Orban said.
EU loses out, change in the world order is coming
PM Orban believes that the EU has lost the war and it will have to pay its price. The price, he said, will be high and it will have a negative impact on our country.
If there's a change in the existing world order, then our country needs a suitable Hungarian grand strategy. And we have it,
Mr. Orban said.
A Hungarian grand strategy in the making
Following the elections in 2022, the government began to draw up a Hungarian grand strategy.
We joined Trump's team in writing the agenda, Hungary's National Bank (MNB) has aligned the Chinese and Asian banks, and we've also set up camp in Brussels with the EU ministry. The strategy is not yet in good shape, as its language is way too intellectual, so it needs another six months to get into the right shape,
Mr. Orban remarked.
He briefly outlined that
the essence of the Hungarian grand strategy is connectivity, so Hungary must be present in both the eastern and western economies, therefore it will not participate in the formation of blocs. The second chapter revolves around national sovereignty as its core.
Hungary has 15,000 internationally competitive mid-sized companies, compared to only 3,000 in 2010. Strengthening financial independence is an essential element of sovereignty, with Hungary already providing sovereign loans to friendly countries in the region. It must remain production-oriented rather than service-oriented, although services are also essential. We must not make the same mistake as the West, where certain jobs are done by guest workers, as this could trigger a decomposition that will be difficult to stop,
Hungary's prime minister said.
Mr. Orban underlined that
as part of Hungary's grand strategy, society must be stable yet flexible, and we must stop its demographic decline. By 2035, the country must become demographically self-sufficient.
If they can draft a peace budget, then child-related tax benefits should also be doubled. We must welcome those who, coming from the West, wish to live in a Christian country, and now we can select at will. Hungary's village scheme must be preserved, but we must provide urban services and establish towns and rural areas surrounding these, while preserving the historical significance of the village,
Mr. Orban said, outlining the individual elements of the plan.
The prime minister emphasized that
the essence of protecting sovereignty is that we must not assimilate. We must preserve our own character and language, and avoid becoming a so-called zero-religion state, which means we do not recognize same-sex marriages.
During their fight for the family, Christianity must at least serve as a moral guide for our community,
he said, warning against the religious zero state that we now see in the West.
Additionally, Hungary's grand strategy must be based on national pillars and include all Hungarian-inhabited areas. As a framework, "Little Hungary" is considered insufficient. All support that serves the stability and demographic development of Hungarians must be extended to Hungarian-inhabited areas outside the country's borders.
We're seeking young fighters with courage and strong patriotic sentiments
According to PM Orban, the common essence on which the grand strategy must be built is freedom, including the freedom of the individual.
This must also be the starting point for the policy that will lead the grand strategy to victory, he added, indicating that this would take 20-25 years. He remarked that attacks from political opponents on Hungary's grand strategy will be constant, as they'll seek to achieve integration.
The opponent lines up, spurred on by the liberal zeitgeist. The national camp, on the other hand, will only emerge at the sound of a trumpet, so we are looking for young fighters with courage and strong patrioti sentiments,
Mr. Orban said, concluding his speech.
In response to questions from the audience, Mr. Orban pointed out that the West interprets the world differently than us.
The reason for all troubles is that they think of the nation as a temporary construct, a phenomenon that belongs to previous centuries. When the nation goes out from under their feet, they see it as a different form of existence bringing new possibilities, which they are trying to shape. For us, this is incomprehensible, but we must try to comprehend because we will coexist with them for decades to come. Until now, they were the ones selecting our workers, and now we're the ones to choose from those who want to come here. We have to find partners in them. This is the most beautiful part of politics, in the intellectual sense,
Mr. Orban said, recalling that
they hated both the communist dictatorship and the occupation, but - on an intellectual level - it was all exciting.
Responding to a question, he said he had no idea whether his wife would ever listen to his speeches, adding that she usually promises to.
Regarding the opening ceremony of the Olympics, he said he would caution for calm.
Let's not offend the French, even if we feel offended by what we have seen, as they are going to be our allies. Moreover, there is a great overlap between Macron's strategy and the idea of national sovereignty. After all, every nation has the right to showcase itself, and this is what we saw,
he added.
In keeping with tradition, Viktor Orban gave a speech at the Balvanyos Free University (Tusvanyos) on Saturday. The Hungarian prime minister spoke about the most important political challenges ahead, about strategy formulation and the opportunities facing Hungary.
Cover photo: Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban (center) gives a speech at last year's Balvanyos Summer Free University and Student Camp (Tusvanyos), (left) Zsolt Nemeth, Fidesz chairman of the Hungarian Parliament's Foreign Affairs Committee, and (right) Laszlo Tokes, chairman of the Hungarian National Council of Transylvania (EMNT/CNMT) (Photo: Mate Bach)
