In an interview on the the television program Tenyek, Prime Minister Viktor Orban was first asked about his conversation with Hungarian astronaut Tibor Kapu. It would be amazing to see the entire Earth as one, which is why he told the Hungarian astronaut that right now, everyone in Hungary wants to be Tibor Kapu, PM Orban said.
These are big years for us, Viktor Orban said, pointing out that in recent years, Hungary has produced two new Nobel Prize winners, and now a new astronaut, which increases Hungary’s recognition abroad.
"Kapu Tibor told me that they experience day and night 18 times a day, and just before we spoke, he saw Hungary at sunrise, meaning he was right above us when the sun came up,” Viktor Orban said during the interview. He almost became visibly emotional when talking about how moving it is that a Hungarian is in space, and even from up there, his focus is still on Hungary.
New Sheriff in Town!
Regarding last week's NATO summit, PM Orban pointed out that a year ago, everyone was enthusiastically discussing Ukraine’s membership and continuing the war. Now, the situation has completely turned around. "There’s a new sheriff in town! America has a pro-peace president. NATO was created for defense and there’s no talk anymore of Ukrainian membership," he said.
The prime minister emphasized that the most important thing is to avoid the threat of a third world war and an arms race. "That can only be done if we reach an agreement with the Russians," he stated.
He emphasized that an arms race ruined our world once already, we have no interest in repeating it. "For Hungarians, it’s best if money goes where it’s truly needed," he added.
"We have successfully prevented NATO from admitting Ukraine, but we haven’t yet achieved the same in Brussels. Hungary does not — and will not — support Ukraine’s EU membership," Viktor Orban stated in the program.
Admitting Ukraine to the EU would be tantamount to admitting the war as well,
PM Orban said. "If we admit them, we’re not helping them but putting ourselves in a difficult position," he explained.
The Hungarian prime minister recalled that he played a major role in Hungary’s NATO and EU accession talks. First came NATO, and the EU only afterward. But now, that sequence cannot happen because Ukraine will not be admitted to NATO. "We don’t even know how big Ukraine is or where its borders lie," he pointed out.
Peace would be in danger if Ukraine gained membership and the EU would find itself at war, he stressed. "We'd become a passageway," he said, emphasizing that internal security would also be endangered. In addition, all the money would flow to Ukraine, he said, noting that Hungary is already helping to fund the Ukrainian state and army.
After EU accession, it would become impossible to limit the amount of money flowing to Ukraine, Viktor Orban warned, and proposed instead that the bloc should sign a strategic agreement with Ukraine and rule out any participation on its part in the war.
Pride: This Is Not Pride!
On the topic of Pride, he stated that he does not see it as something to be proud of. "In Felcsut, I’d call it shame. In Budapest, I’d call it prejudice," he said. He recalled that during the 2022 child protection referendum, the Hungarian people were able to voice their opinion and 3.7 million people said 'no' to gender ideology.
"There is some support for gender ideology in Hungary, but far more people reject it," the prime minister underlined. He made it clear that no Pride event will change his opinion.
He pointed out that Brussels decided there must be a Pride event, and that the capital, governed by the opposition, has embraced the issue. "The capital and the opposition have rallied their supporters. If they governed the entire country, the same would happen with migration and Ukraine, and it would be the end of Hungary. That’s how politics works if directed by Brussels," Hungary's prime minister said.
