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)

“Tusnadfurdo [Baile Tusnad] is the summer escape for Hungarian politics,” Viktor Orban said in an interview on Kossuth Radio’s Good Morning, Hungary program. Speaking in Transylvania at the site of the annual Balvanyos Summer Open University and Student Camp (commonly known as Tusvanyos), Hungary's Prime Minister explained that politics is a world that deals with daily affairs. He described it as an enormous experience when people involved in public life can occasionally break free from the confines of this narrow perspective.

The whole thing gains intellectual vibrancy and opens up new horizons. That’s why everyone loves coming to Tusnadfurdo,

he added.

He noted that last year at the event, he spoke about grand strategy, and stated that in tomorrow's speech he will present some key elements of Hungary’s grand strategy.

A Nation Has No Borders

Speaking about nation-based policy, he said that states have borders, but nations do not. He added that Hungary had territories taken from it, leaving a third of the nation outside its current borders, which is why for Hungary, the state’s borders and the nation’s borders do not align. The prime minister said that thinking in terms of the nation means viewing the fate of Hungarians within a broader context, and that the Tusvanyos meeting reminds us of this. He added that he personally prefers the term “historic Hungary” in referring to the nation.

He noted that there were left-wing parties in the past that did not consider Hungarians living outside of our borders as part of the nation, but these parties have now faded away.

PM Orban stated that introducing dual citizenship was one of the Hungarian government’s historic achievements. He also highlighted cross-border economic development, educational and cultural projects, and the construction of domestic highways up to the Hungarian border. He added that in all these areas, thinking in terms of the nation was always present.

Joint Success with Romania

He also mentioned that during Hungary’s EU presidency, Romania joined the Schengen Area. Because of this shared success, his Wednesday meeting with the new Romanian prime minister began from a good position. He noted that Romania is in a very difficult situation, facing serious economic challenges. “It’s similar to the end of the Gyurcsany era in Hungary,” Orban remarked.

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)