Balazs Orban: The West Has Run Into a Dead End

The foreign policy reflexes of the 1990s no longer offer solutions to the continent’s grave crises, PM Orban's political director stated. According to Balazs Orban, it is not Hungary that has become isolated, but rather the foreign policy mindset that remains trapped in an outdated logic, demanding blind obedience to Brussels’ decisions.

Balazs Orban, PM Orban's political director (Photo: MTI/Tamas Purger)

There is indeed a dead end — but not where many believe it to be. According to Balazs Orban, it is not the Hungarian government’s position that has caused the country’s isolation, but the reflexes that still follow the rapid-integration logic of the 1990s. The political director published his views on Facebook after former Foreign Ministry State Secretary Ivan Baba accused the government, in an article, of isolating Hungary within the European Union by deviating from EU expectations.

Balazs Orban says it is not Hungary that has reached a dead end, but Brussels' foreign-policy mindest. PM Orban's policy chief urges a new doctrine in light of the EU’s crisis. Photo: AFP

Balazs Orban: The Old MIndest Is a Dead End

PM Orban's advisor acknowledged that Ivan Bába had played a major role in shaping the right-wing foreign policy doctrine after the regime change, which centered on the idea of rapid integration into the Western world. This outlook assumed that NATO and EU membership brought advantages far outweighing the costs of adaptation. For the sake of swift integration, both right- and left-wing governments were willing to make concessions.

That era is over,

– Balazs Orban declared, adding that today the situation is entirely different: the goal of integration has already been achieved, while the circumstances have radically changed. According to the adviser, Mr. Baba’s view rests on the outdated assumption that EU decisions continue to guarantee prosperity and security, and thus must be carried out even when they harm national interests. In contract, PM Orban made it clear that 

in today's Europe, two things are missing: security and prosperity

The prime minister’s political director argued that the European Union has become a war project, and its economic decline is the consequence of miscalculated decisions. Yet many still look to Brussels as if it dictated unquestionable norms.

I do not believe this to be the case. There is a circle who does: they are the federalist left-wing liberals,

– he wrote. According to PM Orban's policy chief, in the midst of the present crisis it is precisely this mindest that is perilous, because blind obedience is not a solution but a dead end. He cites the migration pact as an example: if Hungary accepted the EU proposals, it would have to admit some 16,000 migrants every year, or pay 20,000 euros per person to other member states. In addition, it would be mandatory to maintain reception facilities, provide social benefits, and implement asylum and return decisions.

Resistance to Migration Has Worked

According to Mr. Orban, the migration issue has shown clearly that there is an alternative to Brussels’ dictates. Had the Hungarian government not taken a firm stand from the outset, uncontrolled migration would by now have become the official policy of the entire Union. Instead — thanks in part to Hungary’s consistent resistance — it has become a divisive, disputed issue, and alternatives have appeared on the agenda.

We build political capital from our good decisions, not from the unconditional following of bad ones. That is the logic of this new era,

– he stated. The essence of the new foreign-policy doctrine, he argued, is active presence, openness, and the defense of sovereignty, rather than the uncritical adoption of external norms. He believes the old approach cannot be applied to today’s circumstances.

According to Balazs Orban, Mr. Bába's doctrine assumes that “we should not make trouble, but entrust ourselves to those who — with all due respect — have managed to ruin their own countries in just a few decades. This does not seem a viable proposal.”

 Balazs Orban emphasized that the European Union should not be changed from the outside: Hungary itself is part of the EU, and therefore has both the right and the opportunity to help shape common decisions.

We cannot change the thinking of the liberal elite in Brussels, but we can change the European Union, because we ourselves are the EU.

The goal, he said, is a Europe “where there is peace and vibrant economic life, not war preparations and the resulting impoverishment.” Instead of a federal superstate, Balazs Orban supports a union built on the cooperation of sovereign nation-states, making clear that

An oppressive superstate — the liberal dream — is something we do not want. That would be a nightmare.

Cover photo: Balazs Orban, the prime minister’s political director (Photo: MTI/Tamas Purger)