PM Orban Reveals Why Everyone Loves Tusvanyos

According to Hungary's Prime Minister, the campaign has begun.

Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orban (Photo: MTI/Prime Minister’s Press Office/Zoltan Fischer)

Time Is Not on Ukraine’s Side

He recalled that a year ago he visited Kyiv and negotiated with Zelensky, trying to help him, telling him that time is not on Ukraine’s side and that no one has ever defeated a nuclear superpower. At the time, Zelensky rejected the Hungarian prime minister's offer to mediate toward Beijing and Moscow. Mr. Orban said that a year ago, peace could have been made under much more favorable conditions, but now the situation is much worse.

The prime minister stated that Brussels is pushing for Ukraine’s EU membership, but as a neighboring country, Hungary finds Ukrainian membership unacceptable.

"If we admit Ukraine, this region of the world will become the battlefield of war,”

which according to the PM is utterly unacceptable.

He stated that there can be no talk of membership, as it would be irreversible. He added that Ukraine’s fate is to be a buffer state neighboring Russia. Hungary once had this role and does not want to return to that position. The prime minister said that while Hungary would be a partner in a cooperation based on contractual agreements, that is not what is currently being discussed. Furthermore, Ukraine is continuously threatening Hungary. As he put it:

Calmness is needed here; this is not a theater stage, even though the Ukrainian president originally comes from the stage.

PM Orban said that sometimes he takes these threats seriously and acts accordingly, and sometimes he ignores them. He noted that some parties, such as the Tisza Party and the Democratic Coalition (DK), support the Ukrainian position. Ukraine would increasingly seep into the body of Hungary, but Hungary will not allow this, he remarked.

The Prime Minister said it is difficult to illustrate precisely, but the money planned for Ukraine is eighteen times the amount Hungary pays out annually in pensions. Every European citizen loses from this, except the giant multinational companies already present in Ukraine.

"Agriculture ranks high on the list of those losing out," Viktor Orban said, noting that in addition to losing subsidies, farmers would lose their markets as well. He described as outrageous that a Tisza Party expert compared Hungarian farmers to “trained chimpanzees.”

On the rule of law, he said it is actually a political blackmail tool that Brussels continuously violates.

Campaign Season Is On

Regarding the banning of the antisemitic rap trio Kneecap from entering Hungary, he stated:

If you come to Hungary, you must respect our laws.

He added that the organizers of Sziget Festival should have had enough sense not to invite such a band in he first place.

Orban noted that in the United States, many artists align themselves with the Democratic Party, and something similar is now happening in Hungary.

“This is already the campaign season,” Viktor Orban remarked. In his view, voters do not like it when people in show business try to tell them what to think.

On Wednesday evening, the prime minister had a working dinner with Romanian Prime Minister Ilie Bolojan in Bucharest and then traveled to Transylvania the same night. Viktor Orban will deliver his traditional speech on Saturday at the 34th Balvanyos Summer Free University in Baile Tusnad (Tusnadfurdo).

Cover photo: Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orban (Photo: MTI/Prime Minister’s Press Office/Zoltan Fischer)