PM Orban: If Politicians Want to Carry Weapons Because They Feel Threatened, I Should be Carrying a Cannon + Video

The former chief of staff cannot place himself above other citizens, Hungary's prime minister said.

Hungarians Like Flat Tax

On the subject of the tax package of the Tisza Party, the PM Orban said that Hungarians like the flat tax because it means paying less tax. "You earn ten times more, you pay ten times more," he explained.

I don’t want to talk much about progressive taxation. It is enough to say the communists invented it. Every progressive tax regime is full of loopholes and open to abuse. We already tried both what Tisza represents and what the civic system represents, the family-friendly formula,

he said.

According to the Hungarian prime minister, the real question is not which tax is better, but rather that more than half of Tisza voters want progressive taxation, with over 50 percent supporting it. He noted that there is also a question of trust regarding the Tisza Party, namely who wants what and who admits to what. "The question is whether we see voters as the subject or the object of the election," PM Orban said, referring to Tisza Party experts stating that until they win an election, many things cannot be discussed, but after the election anything would be possible.

National Consultation Surveys Help

The prime minister said that in democratic politics one is exposed to the pressure of public opinion. He believes national consultations help bring important questions to the surface. Regarding the Tisza tax, he said it would mean 374,000 forints extra tax annually for teachers, 280,000 for nurses, 154,000 for police officers, 476,000 for soldiers, and 3.172 million for doctors.

This, he said, can seriously affect families’ financial situations. As he put it, he does not see individuals here, but families. That is why the government does not increase the universal family allowance but has introduced another type of family support system.

Agreement with Pensioners

The pre-2010 government took pensions away, PM Orban said, pointing out that his government has an agreement with pensioners. They promised to protect the value of pensions, and they have done this every year. As he put it, the value of pensions has not only remained unchanged, but has actually increased. In addition, the 13th month pension has been reinstated.

A Gun Itself Doesn't Look Good

Regarding Romulusz Ruszin-Szendi’s gun scandal, Viktor Orban said:

If politicians want to carry weapons because they feel threatened, then I should be carrying a cannon.

"When someone enters public life and mixes with people, they should be smart enough not to carry a weapon.  Because what are they going to do with it, pull it out and start shooting?" he asked, emphasizing that if someone is not smart enough to see this as obvious, then it is only right that the authorities remind them that they cannot do this.

As for what message the disgraced chief of staff’s scandal conveys, the prime minister said that a weapon itself does not look good, but the accompanying comments are much more painful.

That his palms itch, that he is trained and can handle it? Handle what, my dear friend? We don’t live in a jungle; this is a rule-of-law state, with rules. Just because you were chief of staff does not mean you can threaten people. Who do you think you are? You cannot say such things, even if your palms itch. You cannot make threats, especially when you deal with a large group of people. You cannot place yourself above other citizens just because you were chief of staff. Don’t walk around with a gun, my friend,

PM Orban stressed, adding that every citizen has the same rights.

Visa-Free Travel to the United States

Commenting on Donald  Trump’s recent announcement that Antifa organizations would be designated as terrorist groups, Viktor Orban said he welcomed the US President’s decision and would initiate the same in Hungary.

Antifa is indeed a terrorist organization. They came here too, beat people up in the streets, some nearly to death, then went to Brussels as MEPs and from there lecture Hungary about the rule of law,

he said.

Turning to the subject of Hungarians being able to travel visa-free to the United States again, PM Orban said: "The administration canceled it [visa-free travel] as punishment, since we disagreed on migration, on war, on gender. Even though a smaller portion of people want to travel to America, it is still a significant number, and this was a very unpleasant measure, a punishment that hurt. While still a presidential candidate, we agreed with Donald Trump that he would remove this measure. And though the ship is large and changing course is not simple, the US president kept his word. Friendship matters in politics too,” Viktor Orban concluded.

Cover photo: Prime Minister Viktor Orban at Kossuth Radio (Photo: MTI/Prime Minister’s Press Office/Zoltan Fischer)

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