Deputy Speaker: 2025 Vital Stage in Hungary's Advancement

The Parliament and the government are doing their utmost to promote peace and boost the economy, Janos Latorcai, deputy speaker of the National Assembly and vice-president of the Christian Democrats, told Magyar Nemzet in an interview. There is a need to build further progress toward extending the family support system and stimulating economic growth, he said. Speaking about the political situation in Europe, he said that the European People's Party holds a federalist approach, which is why the KDNP left the group and joined the Patriots for Europe party family.

Janos Latorcai, Deputy Speaker of Hungary's National Assembly (Photo: Balazs Ladoczki)

Now that you mentioned the West, how can you pursue successful Christian Democratic policies in the European Union today?

It's extremely difficult! When Fidesz left the European People's Party, we stayed. We believed that the Christian Democratic parties - at least bearing this name - in Western Europe would return to the foundations formulated by their founding fathers: Adenauer, De Gasperi and Schuman, and that a political turnaround would occur in the foreseeable future. But the campaign leading up to this year's European Parliament elections convinced us of the opposite. Traditional Western Christian-conservative parties now see the future in a post-Christian Europe where faith and the social teaching of the churches have been relegated to the private sphere.

For us, this is unacceptable, which is why we left the European People's Party and joined the Patriots, a community whose members believe that social solidarity requires values, shared and practiced, stemming from Christianity. 

The KDNP left the European People's Party this year after a long time and joined the Patriots. In light of recent months, how do you assess the decision?

New fault lines have emerged in European politics that go beyond the traditional left-right divide. Today, the globalists stand in opposition to the Patriots, who promote national interests and national sovereignty as the defining factor. In this sense, the globalist approach has clearly become dominant in the European People's Party, and thus the federalist approach in European politics. With the formation of the Patriots, a strong group emerged that has already become a real opposition to the Brussels elite and will hopefully grow stronger in the future. It is a fact that we have to work against extremely strong headwinds, but the debates in the European Parliament during Hungary's EU presidency showed what it means to have not only the votes of millions of Hungarians behind the Hungarian prime minister, but also an organized political force at European level.

The setting up of the Patriots was an exciting new development in European politics in 2024, as were the government crises in France and Germany at the end of the year. What's your take on these changes that were unthinkable in 2023?

Politically, it has been a rather turbulent year indeed, and what is new - apart from the changes highlighted in your question -  is that parties that were previously hardly known or formed only a few months ago have gained significant social support in a short period of time. I need only to refer to the elections in Romania. In my view, all this is the result of the social division widened by the breakdown of the consensus on Christian-based values mentioned earlier. This, together with the change in communication channels, opened up space for a new type of politician to enter the scene. The consequences of all this are unforeseeable, but it is already clear that the purposeful use of social media is becoming more important to many than the expertise needed to govern. Expertise and the intellectual nature of politics are in decline.

What are the potential consequences of this phenomenon?

In the short term: a deepening domestic political crises and a further weakening of Europe economically and politically compared to its rivals. In the longer term it makes strategic planning impossible, which would be essential not only for closing the gap but also for maintaining and stabilizing positions. Indeed, in the absence of strategic planning, instead of defining the most important objectives, there is only opportunity for substitute actions. A good example is the EU's policy over the last decade, which has been  - with slight exaggeration - more concerned with the use of gender-neutral pronouns than with increasing economic competitiveness. 

Let us not forget that Mario Draghi's report was published only this year, while the productivity gap between the US and Europe has been at least ten years in the making.

Europe is still trying to feign strength. Prominent European politicians say that they are ready for a trade war with China or even the United States, while they are also looking to up the ante in the actual war in Ukraine.

The two are seemingly different, but they stem from one root: a misperception of Europe's interests and opportunities, coupled with a kind of arrogant sense of superiority. We are living in a globalized, capitalist social and economic system, where the policy of closing-off has unpredictable consequences. The dense network of ties connecting the world economy are now more like a spider's web, where pulling one thread sends reverberations throughout the whole web. Similarly, if, for political reasons, we try to cut off a state or a large company from the economic bloodstream, instead of the diversification that would otherwise be necessary, this can have ramifications in very distant sectors. The processes are obvious and a kind of restructuring of globalization along political fault lines has begun, but we must do everything possible to ensure that this does not become the start of a new Cold War.

It is therefore crucial - in addition to sparing human lives -  to bring the real war in our neighborhood to an end as soon as possible, which my hope is will happen in 2025. 

Media coverage of Parliament has mostly focused on the issue of war and peace, overshadowing the legislative process. As deputy-speaker of the National Assembly, how do you assess the legislative work completed this year?

We will likely conclude our work on December 20, and at that time, we can say that more than 180 bills will have been submitted to Parliament, of which nearly a hundred are expected to have been adopted, including some of the most important ones. However, the public debate in Parliament has been dominated by war and peace, with the key legislative debate in the first half of this year being the approval of Sweden's accession to NATO - which had already started in 2023. The war situation also made it necessary to change the customary practice of recent years, which is why we presented the 2025 budget in the fall, with the final vote on the budget to take place in the extraordinary session on December 20. Of course, the challenge and the question remains whether peace will really come in 2025 or whether new, unforeseen events and problems will make it more difficult to achieve. In any case, it is reassuring that the Parliament, as well as the Government with Prime Minister Orban at the helm, have done and are continuing to do everything possible to promote peace and economic recovery.

So what can we expect in 2025 in this country?

The year ahead will indeed not be easy, but if we work well and if some of the positive changes already underway in international politics come to fruition, next year will be a year of building in both the literal and figurative sense of the word. We must build to strengthen the foundations of our political community both at home and internationally, and we must also build to complete the family support system and to stimulate economic growth.

According to my calculations, housing and access to credit will be helped next year by at least eight even individually noteworthy and collectively decisive government measures, of which I must highlight the housing and student dormitory development capital programs and the rural home renovation program.

And what is your message for the remaining days of the year?

The end of the year is a symbolic time when the Holidays transport us away from the hustle and bustle of everyday life. Sandor Marai was right when he said that celebration is a rank, the higher meaning of life. As we approach Christmas, this idea has special weight, even if one of our most important holidays is becoming increasingly commercialized, becoming almost like a shopping frenzy in a blaze of lights. But light is also the most important symbol to help us better understand the mystery of Christmas. In the words of Pope Benedict XVI, the symbol of light evokes a reality that touches the innermost self of man: the light of good overcomes evil, love overcomes hatred, life triumphs over death. Christmas is a reminder of this inner light, this divine light, as it proclaims again and again the final victory of God's love over sin and death. While we admire the lights as we walk the streets, as we light a candle in church, or as we light the candles on the Advent wreath in our homes, may our hearts be opened to the true spiritual light and allow the Son of God to be born within us. With these thoughts I wish all readers and their families a blessed Christmas and a happy New Year!

Cover photo: Janos Latorcai, Deputy Speaker of Hungary's National Assembly (Photo by Balazs Ladoczki)