FM Hungary: Election Stakes Are Hungary or Ukraine

Hungary’s Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Peter Szijjarto, was the guest on Monday’s broadcast of The Hour of Truth, where he spoke about the national petition and what he described as Ukraine’s interference in Hungary’s parliamentary elections. According to the foreign minister, the stakes of the election are clear: Hungary or Ukraine.

Peter Szijjarto, Hungary’s Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade (Photo: AFP) Fotó: ATTILA KISBENEDEK Forrás: AFP

As a guest on Monday's Hour of Truth program, Foreign Affairs and Trade Minister Peter Szijjarto talked about the national petition, the details of which were also discussed by Prime Minister Viktor Orban at the anti-war rally in Kaposvar.

Peter Szijjarto, Hungarian Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade. Photo: AFP

A qualitatively new phase began over the weekend in preparations for the Hungarian election, as Ukraine, openly and shamelessly abandoning every remaining diplomatic restraint, launched a crude intervention in Hungary’s domestic political process,

“We always knew that the outcome of the election mattered to the Ukrainians,” he said. “Because if a sovereign pro-nation government remains in place, they will not become members of the European Union, they will not be able to drag Hungary into the war, and they will not be able to take Hungarian money to finance the operation of Ukraine’s corrupt regime.”

By contrast, he argued, if the Tisza Party were to win the parliamentary election as “Brussels’ party,” Ukraine would be given a clear path into the European Union.

Szijjarto pointed out that

the Tisza Party had polled its own members and supporters, who overwhelmingly back Ukraine’s EU accession. 

“The Ukrainians know that if the Tisza Party comes to power, its leaders will say yes to everything Brussels demands, including handing over Hungarian money to finance Ukraine,” he said.

Szijjarto cited figures discussed in Brussels:

They said €800 billion to fund the Ukrainian state and an additional €700 billion for military spending—€1.5 trillion in total.

 

Tisza Stands by Ukraine 

“The Ukrainians understand perfectly well that the outcome of Hungary’s parliamentary election is decisive for them,” Szijjarto said. “If Fidesz wins and the national-minded government remains, Ukraine cannot enter the EU, cannot pull Hungary into the war, and cannot take Hungarian money. If the Tisza Party wins, Ukraine can join the EU, Hungarians can be dragged into the war, and Hungarian funds can be sent to Ukraine.”

This is the stake of the election—both from Ukraine’s perspective and from Hungary’s,” he added. “Based on this new situation, the choice is Hungary or Ukraine.

Szijjarto went on to claim that President Volodymyr Zelensky and Ukraine’s foreign minister had effectively “announced their candidacy” in the Hungarian election under the Tisza banner, alleging the creation of a Kyiv branch of the Tisza Party and warning that no tactic would be off-limits over the next two and a half months to influence the vote.

He said Fidesz remains the favorite but stressed that intense work is needed in the remaining 76 days to turn that advantage into victory. At the same time, he said, desperation is clearly visible on the other side.

Drawing a sharp contrast, Szijjarto criticized Zelensky for traveling to Davos and attacking Prime Minister Viktor Orban. While hundreds of thousands, perhaps a million have died, millions have fled Ukraine, entire cities lie in ruins and the mayor of Kyiv calls on residents to flee the city, increasingly extreme rhetoric comes from Ukrainian officials, and in Davos Zelensky main message is slamming Viktor Orban and saying he should be smacked in the head. 

All this shows how crucial the Hungarian parliamentary elections have become for Kyiv. And for us, too. What do Zelensky's speech in Davos and Sibiha's extremely civilized post about Nazism, Hitlerism, and money laundering show? They show that Kyiv is acting no holds barred. The outcome of the Hungarian parliamentary elections is a key issue for them, and in the next 76 days they will not shy away from using any means to interfere in the elections and influence the final result,

the minister stressed.

Szijjarto also highlighted the national petition unveiled by Prime Minister Orban at the DPK anti-war rally in Kaposvar. The petition focuses on three points: rejecting the financing of the war, rejecting the financing of Ukraine, and refusing higher household utility costs as a consequence of the war.

It is simply not normal,” Szijjarto said, “that in Europe’s current dire economic situation, European leaders want to spend Europeans’ money to create an 800,000-strong army in Ukraine. Ukraine is not part of Hungary’s alliance system and funding such a force would run counter to Hungary’s national security interests. And that is why Hungarians must now stand firm and make it clear that we will not allow our money to be sent to Ukraine. Nor will we allow political adventurers of any kind to cut Hungary off from cheap energy sources just because the Ukrainians demand it.

He also rejected Ukrainian demands that Hungary stop buying Russian oil and natural gas, warning that cutting off those supplies would make secure energy provision for the country impossible and would immediately triple household utility costs.

In Ukraine, people are practically hunted down on the streets

Turning to the broader European context, Szijjarto noted that two European nuclear powers have already decided to send troops to Ukraine. 

European leaders increasingly describe the conflict as 'Europe’s war'. As parties to this war they naturally want to win it. For that they have to plow resources into the project. But weapons shipments have failed to produce that victory,

the minister explained.

He noted that these shipments and aid are not changing the situation on the ground and Russia is advancing. Pressure will soon grow to involve all countries, not just financially but militarily as well. "There's no point in sending weapons if there's no one, or no one trained to use them, so as will the financial aid Brussels will demand European countries send troops."

“For this reason,” he said, 

I ask young people to choose the safe option—the certain option—for their future and their security. Vote for Fidesz. As long as we are in government, there is a pro-nation government, and we will not allow Hungarian youth to be sent to war under any circumstance. In the case of a non-sovereign government, unfortunately, the danger that young Hungarians could be sent to Ukraine to fight in a war is very real.

Peter Magyar Names His Candidate for Foreign Minister

Anita Orban is unsurprisingly tied to liberal, left-wing circles.

The situation is as follows: I know Anita Orban. She regularly came to me boasting about her supposedly excellent connections with American Democrats—Donald Trump's political opponents. So tactically, this may look like a clever move: presenting someone with good ties to Trump’s opponents as a foreign policy expert suggests an astute sense of timing," Szijjarto said with irony and spelling out for everyone to understand: "No—actually, it doesn’t,

 he added pointedly.

Szijjarto went on to say that Anita Orban has made it clear they would say yes to Brussels on every major issue: yes when Brussels wants Hungarians sent into war; yes when Brussels wants Hungary to stop buying cheap energy and instead purchase more expensive supplies; and yes when Brussels demands that Hungarian money be sent to Ukraine.

Hungary’s foreign policy strategy is built on ensuring that the world’s major power centers have a vested interest in Hungary’s success,” the minister said. “And that is the case today: in Washington, Moscow, Beijing, and Ankara, there is an interest in Hungary being successful. But someone who openly prides herself on close ties to Trump’s opponents and wants to cut the country off from affordable energy—unfortunately, we cannot expect anything more or better from that.

According to Szijjarto, both Istvan Kapitany and Anita Orban come from the world of international big capital. The program’s host noted that it appears the Tisza Party is now introducing far heavier hitters than Peter Magyar himself—figures effectively delegated to his side. He raised the question of whether international big capital has grown tired of Peter Magyar.

Szijjarto responded: 

I don’t think this is about personalities. What matters is who can be controlled—and who, as a result of not being a sovereign actor, will say yes to everything Brussels asks.

He stressed that the leader of the Tisza Party is currently being held in Brussels’ grip, adding that legal proceedings cannot be launched against him in Hungary because his immunity is protected by the European Parliament.

Brussels Would Scrap Utility Price Reductions

According to Szijjarto, the Tisza Party is executing Brussels’ will.

What does Brussels want? They’ve written it down for us several times,” he said. “Brussels wants us to abolish the utility price caps. They’ve demanded it repeatedly. Obviously, as Brussels’ party, the Tisza Party would be expected to carry this out if—God forbid—it ever came to power. And those who say the utility price cuts must be plowed under and eliminated are, clearly, saying the same about the price freeze as well.

He emphasized that on April 12, voters will also decide whether the utility price reductions remain in place or are abolished. “If we stay in government and the sovereign, national-minded government continues its work, the utility price cuts will remain. If the Tisza Party takes office, the utility price cuts are over,” he said.

Peter Magyar’s new allies have also claimed that Hungary is isolated and needs to search for allies. Responding to this, Szijjarto said:

What utter nonsense. Brussels is isolated. Brussels—and with it the European Union—has isolated itself through a foolish, incompetent, and over-ideologized foreign policy. Today in Europe there is one political leader, Viktor Orban, who is able to maintain relations, build connections, and sustain effective cooperation simultaneously in Washington, Moscow, Beijing, and Ankara—that is, in the key centers of global politics. I’ve been hearing this nonsense for eleven years, that Hungary is isolated. No—Hungary is not isolated. Brussels is isolated. We Hungarians have pursued a successful foreign policy strategy by building alliances that are essential to the country’s functioning.

Hungary Is a Board of Peace Member 

Szijjarto said existing international organizations have proven incapable of managing the staggering global crises of recent years—whether financial collapse, migration waves, the global health pandemic, or wars.

“Donald Trump has always been at the forefront of innovative thinking in international politics,” he said. “Who would have thought—many dismissed him—that the Abraham Accords, unlike the failed attempts of previous decades, would bring hope for peace and peaceful coexistence in the Middle East? I was the only foreign minister in the world who accepted the invitation in 2020, and I was sitting in the White House garden when the Abraham Accords were signed.

According to Szijjarto, it is a sound idea that international politics needs something new—something that offers hope of success instead of repeating past failures when addressing the major questions of the future. That, he said, is why it is significant that Hungary’s prime minister was invited to the founding event of the Board of Peace. “The Board of Peace could become the foundation of a new international system—a new world order,” he concluded.

Cover photo: Peter Szijjarto, Hungary’s Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade (Photo: AFP)