PM Orban: We Must Make Hungary Strong to Be Able to Stay Out of the War

"If we have a Brussels-aligned government, they will drag us into the war. If we have a national government, then we have a chance to stay out of it,” Viktor Orban stated, stressing that every other issue pales in comparison to the question of war and peace. Hungary's Prime Minister was in conversation with host Jeno Csiszar at the anti-war rally in the town of Kecskemet.

Viktor Orban and Jeno Csiszar at the anti-war rally in Kecskemet on December 6, 2025 (Photo: Attila Polyak)

Families are held together by women; men come and go, but women remain, said Viktor Orban at the Kecskemet stop of the anti-war roadshow organized by the Digital Civic Circles (DPK). He told host Jeno Csiszar that every year on December 6, his mother calls to tell him she has a St. Nicholas gift package waiting for him. In his view, men in Hungary are too often absent from family life, and this is reflected in the upbringing of children.

Cool vs. Boorishness

The Prime Minister recalled that in the 1990s, when everything felt a bit superficial, a radio program emerged that "went deep."  "I used to go to the gym, and the radio was always on there. Jeno, I lifted weights to the sound of your voice," Viktor Orban said. 

Jeno Csiszar then introduced his two recurring categories: the boor of the week and the cool one of the week. In the 'cool' category, he proposed voting for either the 11-percent minimum wage increase or the success of the women’s national handball team. In the 'boor' category, he listed the Tisza Party blocking its own candidates, as well as dismantling the country's reduced utility costs scheme.

In response PM Orban said that "there is something human about being a boor. Boorishness is when you ignore the other person. In Brussels, our perspective is nowhere to be found in the decisions. They do not care what happens to us, to our families. Trump never treated us that way. He understood us and granted an exemption. Brussels did not. They reclassified the veto, and that is boorish," said Viktor Orban.

Jeno Csiszar and Viktor Orban (Photo: Attila Polyak)

According to PM Orban, it is also 'boorish' that the EU devised a way to reclassify sanctions as trade-policy measures, which no longer require unanimous approval. This, he said, was how they circumvented Hungary.

He argued that it is another form of boorishness when people continuously dip into the Brussels cash box and then lecture Hungarians about corruption. "This is what is happening in Brussels." Csiszar countered by saying this was actually 'cool,' because the Brussels officials involved were arrested.

Viktor Orban stated that the EU wants to impose all kinds of severe sanctions on Hungary, abusing its power by demanding accountability in areas in which Brussels performs worse than Hungary. "It is an impudent abuse," he said.

The Prime Minister insisted that this must be fought, and he thanked the people of Kecskemet for their support: "This is a very strong Christian right-wing bastion."

The War Is Close in Time and in Space

"War is painful wherever it is. People die, and every dead person is a human tragedy. This is a war between two Slavic nations, and Slavs are tough and ruthless. War is bad, and we owe thanks to the Good Lord that Trump hates war. This is what we must seize," Viktor Orban said.

He continued by addressing the question of proximity: how close the danger actually is, whether the warnings about being dragged in should be taken seriously. "The war is not far, politically it is close. European leaders have decided that Europe will go to war. There is an official position that by 2030 Europe must be ready. They are building a war economy and they are preparing."

He explained that wartime expansion has four stages: breaking diplomatic relations; economic transition; reinstating conscription; and preparing for direct confrontation. "We are in the last phase," he said. "To stay out of it, we must pray, because it exceeds our strength. The question is whether we can stay out of the war, which neither Istvan Tisza nor Miklos Horthy managed. For this, we need strength. We must make Hungary strong, so that we are not only able to say no, but to actually stay out."

 Viktor Orban: It is the government’s task to fight for Hungary and rescue it from the approaching danger of war (Photo: PM's General Department of Communication/Zoltan Fischer)

Last Chance in 2026

Orban said that "the devils of war" always try to convince people that they will benefit from conflict. "We must brush this away and stand up for peace," he said.

He argued that the 2026 election will be the last one before the war. "It is the government that must fight for Hungary and rescue it from the danger of war approaching us. If we get a pro-Brussels government, they will drag us into the war. If we have a national government, we have a chance to stay out."

Jeno Csiszar cited American economist Jeffrey Sachs, who said Hungary has achieved a rare diplomatic position in Europe and that Viktor Orban is a grandmaster of dual-track diplomacy.

The Prime Minister noted that Hungary must be clever and move forward. "You must never elect stupid people to lead a country, because you will pay the price many times over." He added that professional working groups are already planning for the post-election period. "We are negotiating with the Americans and with the Russians about what kind of economic cooperation will be possible after 2026," he said. "Right now we are in a sanctions environment, but once an agreement is reached, the world will open up."

Who Has an Interest in Bloodshed?

Viktor Orban addressed the question of 'Who would want war?'. "This seems absurd because, on the one hand, wars happened a long time ago, and on the other, the lived experience of suffering is different. We lost 900,000 people in the first war and 600,000 in the second, 200,000 Germans were deported, and in 1956, 200,000 people left Hungary. If these people were still here, we would not be talking about demographic problems. But not everyone has such a history of suffering. And then we can also talk about the bombing of Budapest, with the Germans, Russians, and British shooting and bombing," he said. He added that many Western European politicians do not think that war is bad and they want to make money from it.

Viktor Orban said Europeans thought they could seize frozen Russian assets and hand them to Ukraine. He noted that Ukraine recently agreed with France on the purchase of 100 fighter jets. "The economic lords of war are exerting growing influence on decision-making."

As the war advances, he warned, political leaders lose control over decisions but diplomacy must retain its authority.

The future of our children and grandchildren depends on whether the country can stay out of the war.
(Photo: PM's General Department of Communication/Zoltan Fischer)

There Are Only Two Paths

Responding to the controversy over the "nonexistent but forged" Tisza Party economic document supposedly generated by ChatGPT, the Prime Minister said many people mistakenly believe there are multiple economic-policy models. "But once the measures and plans are put together, it turns out they are either right-wing or left-wing."

"The core question is: where is money in the right place? The left believes money is where it belongs when politicians control it, correcting injustices in the economy. The extreme form of this is the planned economy. The right-wing view is that the state should take only what is necessary for common goals, and people decide about the rest. On the left this always ends in tax increases while on the right in tax cuts. The Tisza has a pure left-wing program," he argued.

Regarding the proposed dog tax, he added that Hungary has the most dogs per capita in Europe. "These little absurdities follow a left-wing logic that depicts a worldview: they want to decide what happens to our money.”

Those Responsible Must Be Held Accountable

Answering a viewer’s online question, Vitor Orban said all malice can be turned to some good. He said the Fidesz's economic program "is alive because we are carrying it out."

A question from a user calling herself  Klara Dovrev (sic) concerned the Szolo Street fake-news scandal. Orban said that those who "touch children must be ground to pieces." He added that under the left-wing government, only 80 pedophiles were imprisoned; today the number is around 700.

Regarding the MNB (central bank) case, Viktor Orban said: "Everything has someone responsible for it. It is not impossible to determine whose decision led to the disappearance of funds. There must be accountability, and if someone made a mistake, they must receive what is due." He hopes the wide-ranging investigation will reveal the truth.

To the question of "Where is the money?", the Prime Minister cited Kecskemet as an example: 57 billion forints spent on road renovations; numerous nurseries and kindergartens renovated; the city hall and the Kodaly Institute upgraded (the latter with 28 billion forints). "Credit support for businesses amounts to 100 billion forints in the county, 13 billion in Kecskemet. We have doubled the national wealth. In 2010 we had 3.5 tons of gold reserves and now we are at around 110 tons."

"I am not saying this government is flawless, but I hold everyone to account, and I reject the claim that it is not obvious that the entire nation has grown richer," he emphasized.

 

The Not-So-Distant Future

Viktor Orban said the United States recently released its new national security strategy, which includes a section on Europe. It notes that while most Europeans want peace, their governments "mock democracy." It also warns that if current trends continue, the continent will become unrecognizable within 20 years and may no longer possess an economy or military capable of making it a reliable ally.

To those who doubt that Europe is heading in the wrong direction, PM Orban said: "It is not only we who say there is trouble." Hungary must remain independent and sovereign as this is not only a matter of honor but also of economic survival. "We have only ever prospered when Hungary followed its own path," he pointed out.

At the end of the conversation, Jeno Csiszar announced the boor of the week: the Tisza Party, for denying its own austerity package and disowning its own experts. "Brussels got away this time," Viktor Orban commented. The cool one of the week was the 11-percent minimum wage increase. PM Orban admitted this surprised him as he expected the women’s handball team to win the cool category.

Anti-war rallies to continue across Hungary (Photo: PM's General Department of Communication/Zoltan Fischer)

Jeno Csiszar hosted a call-in radio program for young listeners until 1997, first on Juventus Radio and later on Petofi Radio. The former radio host now lives in Milan, where he serves in a diplomatic post.

Cover photo: Prime Minister Viktor Orban (Photo: Balazs Ladoczki)