PM Orban: Polish Drone Incident Could Have Happened in Hungary

The Poles are our historic friends, so Hungary must be the first to respond to anything that concerns the sovereignty of Poland, the Hungarian Prime Minister emphasized.

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

"We must strike while the iron is hot," said Viktor Orban, who traveled to Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates, on a brief working visit. Speaking on Kossuth Radio’s Good Morning, Hungary! program, the Hungarian Prime Minister said that rapid-paced economic growth is unfolding between Hungary and the Emirates.

"So far, investments from the Emirates have not targeted Central Europe and Hungary, so we thought we would seize the opportunity to become this country’s strategic partner in the region," the Prime Minister said. PM Orban highlighted that during the talks, they identified industries where the two countries could work together in the future: the energy sector, digital infrastructure, and artificial intelligence.

"In the next round of negotiations, we may already be able to close some larger-scale programs," said Viktor Orban, noting that trade between Hungary and the Emirates has increased by 24 percent.

The Prime Minister said that the incident in Poland shows the dangerous circumstances we are living in. "When trouble happens, suddenly everyone looks up. The threat of war is direct; we are neighbors of the country where the war is taking place," he added.

Regarding peace efforts, he took the view that things are moving forward quickly. "While we focus on the Russia–Ukraine war, negotiating partners are not concentrating only on this," Orban noted, citing Russia’s integration into the international economy and energy issues as examples.

"The Poles are our historic friends, so Hungary must be the first to respond to anything that concerns Poland’s sovereignty," he said.

Regarding European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen’s speech on Wednesday, Viktor Orban stressed:

For three and a half years we have been bearing the consequences of a war that we have nothing to do with, in which we never participated.

Viktor Orban emphasized that the Western political elite, led by Von der Leyen, wants to push Central Europeans into the war.

On the motion of no confidence against Ursula von der Leyen, he said:

public support is fluctuating, but I don’t believe in opinion polls. What is clear, however, is that the Commission President’s political foundations are flawed.

According to the Prime Minister, the green transition, sanctions, trade and migration policies must be reviewed, as the European Union is currently heading for disaster under Von der Leyen's misguided leadership.

"The Commission President represents flawed political foundations," stated Hungary's PM.

Viktor Orban said that Hungarian politics has a tradition whereby some parties always serve foreign powers. "Brussels has its parties in Hungary today, they are called the Tisza Party and the Domocratic Coalition (DK)," he added. If people give them the mandate to govern, they should not be surprised if Brussels’ misguided policies appear in Budapest, he noted.

He highlighted that Brussels is funding the Tisza Party and blackmailing it over immunity issues. "There is a power center in Brussels that wants to help certain Hungarian party leaders into power so that Brussels’ economic and energy policy will prevail also in Hungary."

Behind all this is money: companies want bigger profits and are squeezing Hungarians dry,

he added. The Prime Minister stressed that the Tisza Party wants to raise taxes because it wants to waive taxes on Multinationals. Brussels demands this, he underlined.

Speaking about the Tisza Party's tax plans, the Prime Minister said that in the case of an average income, the progressive taxation proposed by the Tisza Party would mean a deduction of 240,000 forints. He added that this would mean an annual extra burden of 360,000 forints for teachers, 460,000 for soldiers, and more than three million forints for doctors.

It’s better to talk about this in advance, so that after the elections voters don’t say they were misled,

Viktor Orban said, adding that Hungary is not yet in a position to introduce higher taxes.

"For a long time to come, Hungary will not be strong enough to give up low taxes. We need everyone’s property, wealth, salary, and private life to be respected," he emphasized, adding that Hungary will need low taxation for another decade or two. 

Regarding the massive interest in the Home Start program, PM Orban said they had expected this. As he noted, a solution is needed so that entire generations do not feel they have not been in a position to buy their own property. "This has been a serious problem in Hungary for years," he added.

In his opinion, the fixed 3 percent loan is a scheme that Hungarians see as feasible. They wanted to give everyone a chance, which is why they left the circle of those eligible for the loan as wide as possible. The Prime Minister is optimistic and noted that the rise in rental prices appears to have come to a halt. The construction industry has also picked up, and tens of thousands of apartments will be built. He emphasized that the loan is only available for a limited range of homes, so the program will not drive up real estate prices.

"It would have been enough if they had listened to us," Hungary's Prime Minister said  speaking about the migration crisis. He stressed that a mixed society brings serious consequences, with the rule of law and public security breaking down.

They cannot solve it, and meanwhile they have lost their future to maintaining those who arrived in Europe. It is like toothpaste—once you squeeze it out of the tube, you cannot put it back in,

Viktor Orban added, emphasizing that he empathizes with those who want to enter Europe. 

"It must be hard to endure the difference in living standards between Europe and an African country at war, but it cannot be that they just move over here, come here, and take our place in the country," said Viktor Orban.

On the murder of Charlie Kirk, the Prime Minister said that moderation and a civilized pace are needed in Hungary.

"Let us preserve our sobriety," concluded Viktor Orban.

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