Viktor Orban on the “Ot” Program: There’s a Difference Between Retribution and Revenge + Video

In Hungary, the situation remains that there are more jobs than workers. Under such circumstances, the specter of unemployment is not a threat, in fact employers are actively seeking employees, Prime Minister Viktor Orban pointed out.

Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orban and journalist Andras Hont on the OT program (Source: Ot.hu)

"Anyone who does not subordinate everything to our common victory can expect that we will not forget it," Viktor Orban said on the "Ring" program on Ot's YouTube channel where he was asked about the gathering in Kotcse.

In his speech at that event, the Prime Minister had said:

Nothing will be forgotten: everything will be noted down, and everything will be settled.

According to Mr Orban, every campaign reaches a point where mistakes can no longer be corrected.

He stated there is a difference between retribution and revenge, since revenge makes a person look backward, which is why it is unwise to begin a new period with it.

The Prime Minister explained that after every election, there are reshuffles. After elections, everyone has to assess the results, accounts must be settled among one another. Orban added that he does not form a government based on past merits, but looks ahead to the upcoming challenges of the next four years and selects his people accordingly.

Viktor Orban also responded to accusations that the newly announced national consultation represents the gravest transgression the Fidesz government has committed since 2010, with analyst Gabor Horn outright calling it electoral fraud.

"This only shows that reason does not always serve a person’s good. They are running ahead of themselves. Calm down—once they see the questions, then it might be worth making such weighty accusations," the Prime Minister said, calling such claims nothing more than intellectual arrogance.

When questioned about the Hatvanpuszta estate, a recurring talking point of the domestic opposition, Mr. Orban replied briefly: he has nothing to do with that property.

The PM added that his tolerance threshold is at a higher level than the journalists questioning him, remarking that such political attacks are a daily part of propaganda. As an example he recalled how opposition politicians once even plastered posters of him in prison clothes. He said the estate has always been a farm and he hopes it will soon be operational again.

Commenting on Akos Hadhazy, Orban said the member of parliament had never contributed anything substantive except “snooping around around me,” and reminded that Hadhazy was once a Fidesz member.

On Tisza Party chief Peter Magyar, the Prime Minister recalled quotes from when Magyar was still a part of Fidesz, praising Orban’s governance and saying Hungarian youth had never had it so good.

Regarding taxation, PM Orban stressed he is not in favor of sectoral surtaxes or any kind of tax hike, for that matter.

"We must guard against anyone burdening Hungarians with some kind of wealth tax. If you look at serious economic analyses, you’ll see regarding the background of capital groups here, that they are split fifty-fifty," he noted, adding that this has developed over the past 35 years under both left- and right-wing governments.

The Prime Minister said that regarding this issue, it is important to examine the past 35 years and see from which periods the capitalist groups originate. “To claim that this is exclusively tied to right-wing activity, I cannot accept, because the past 35 years must be viewed as a whole. And I would not want to name those capitalist families that rose to prominence during left-wing periods, as that is not my role, but Mr. Hadhazy’s. I would caution us against imposing any kind of wealth tax,” Viktor Orban indicated.

Mr Orban underlined: “We are incorruptible, unshakable, we will not yield. Economic policy must serve the benefit of the Hungarian people.” In his view, the key question is how Hungarian society will accept that we have moved from an era where "nobody had anything" to a new era where there are richer and poorer people.

On former State Secretary Pal Volner, PM Orban said he awaits the court’s judgment, which he will naturally respect, emphasizing this shows no one stands above the law. Regarding the Pegasus case, he argued then Justice Minister Judit Varga bore no responsibility since that authority rested with her deputy. According to the prime minister, there are politicians who are born and politicians who are made. He believes that Judit Varga was clearly a born politician and added if she had been successful, she would have remained in her position. She was talented, but ultimately unsuccessful.

The politician suggested that Peter Magyar's mother was the delegate from the judicial office when the executors were appointed. Show host journalist Andras Hont called this strange, as Peter Magyar then rushed out into the street. The Prime Minister commented: it is bad luck to marry someone like that. Viktor Orban believes that this was a case of Budapest liberalist overthinking.

On unemployment benefits, Mr. Orban defended the current three-month limit, noting that afterwards the state still provides public work or training opportunities: "We want to help people return to the world of work as soon as possible, instead of being stuck in the rut of unemployment for long periods. I believe that if people want to and can work, they will receive their remuneration," he emphasized.

In Hungary, the situation remains that there are still more work places than workers. Under these conditions, there is no threat of unemployment; employers are actively seeking employees.

He also dismissed claims that Hungarian workers are vulnerable, pointing out the legal and financial protections given. "We have also continuously been increasing minimum wages."

On why there are no substantive policy debates, Mr. Orban said: “It would be beneficial to have debates on say a flat rate or progressive tax system. You cannot debate with opposition figures who say they're only willing to reveal their plans after the elections, for fear that if they revealed them now they would lose the elections. That’s not a policy debate, that’s deception - to put it mildly.”

According to Viktor Orban "It is preposterous for them to tell voters that they cannot reveal their plans, but that after the election, anything goes," the prime minister said reiterating that he has never hidden anything from voters and has always kept his promises.

On the Hungarian economy, he said the government has fulfilled the commitments made at the beginning of the year—such as the "flying start" and the "economic action plan".

"What happened was that we announced an economic action plan based on the assumption that the war and sanctions would no longer block economic development. This did not happen, because the war is still going on. But we are doing everything we promised to do, I am doing everything I promised to do, I just had to delay it by six months because of the war. It is true that not everything happened in January, but as of July 1, everything we promised has been done. Pensions, family support, tax cuts, we have delivered on everything," he said, emphasizing that all the measures he had previously announced were backed by economic policy.

What we are doing now in the coming months can be achieved even with the current performance of the economy. How long this can continue depends on how long the war lasts, because the war and sanctions are blocking economic growth. If we can eliminate these limiting factors – which is what I am working on – then the growth prospects for the Hungarian economy would improve significantly,

he stressed.

According to the prime minister, the question is not whether the Russians have won the war, but how to deal with them. In his view, a comprehensive agreement is needed, and only diplomacy can bring this war to an end.

Speaking about the Russian-Ukrainian negotiations, he said that it is impossible to rely on the credibility of either party, only on force.

"It is impossible to negotiate with the Russians on the basis of good intentions. This is a military force. Europe is stronger, but it is unsuccessful. This is due to a failure in leadership failure," the PM said.

Viktor Orban believes that we find ourselves in a completely different public structure than we have been in until now. We have to adapt to this. According to the prime minister, maintaining the seriousness of politics is a serious challenge, as there are daily impact campaigns. In the digital space, there are daily impulse campaigns. Someone says something on Monday and then says the opposite on Wednesday. The only thing that matters is what impact someone has on a given day. At European Council meetings, there are often only two people who are not tapping away on their phones, said Hungary's head of government, who believes that we must participate in these battles, but we must also somehow maintain the seriousness of politics. That is why he participates in discussion shows and podcasts, because he feels that otherwise we will become stupid. He believed that we cannot allow politics to become dumbed down and primitive. He used to think that if a prime minister speaks too often, it waters down the significance of his statements. He said he does not agree to rapid-fire interviews. In his opinion, it makes no sense when people fire questions at him and he dodges them. This benefits no one.

According to the Prime Minister, young people don't want fake things. They want their lives to have weight and meaning. You can talk to these young people.

This was not the Prime Minister's first visit to the Ot Studio; he last gave an interview to Andras Hont there in April. At the time Viktor Orban began the conversation by saying,

He gladly goes anywhere he sees an opportunity to have a meaningful conversation.

In the interview, he said, among other things, that he was not surprised when Peter Magyar entered politics, but he would not have thought that someone with such a background could be successful in Hungarian politics. He noted that Tisza is not a Hungarian party, but a Brussels party.

So Brussels is where their masters are. They do what their masters there tell them to do.

Viktor Orban commented on his main rival.

Cover photo: Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orban and journalist Andras Hont on the OT program (Source: Ot.hu)