PM Orban: Utility Cost Cuts, Protected Prices Exist Because I Can Say No

PM Orban addressed a wide range of domestic and international issues in an interview.

In his interview with Andras Hont on the YouTube channel Ot, Prime Minister Viktor Orban touched on the case of police captain Bence Szabo, saying:

It is a very simple story.  He stepped out of line, thinking he had made a great discovery, but it turned out he was no hero, just a loser.

He emphasized that intelligence services in Hungary are allowed to collect information, but they do not have powers to investigate. At the same time, police officers do not always know exactly what case they are investigating.

The work of intelligence services is difficult to oversee. That is why there are sophisticated rules to keep them under control,

the prime minister said, adding that this is precisely why intelligence agencies do not have investigative powers. “We do not disclose anything that would harm state interests or counterintelligence, unless there is a compelling reason to do so.”

PM Orban stated that Ukraine deploys spies and agents not only to Hungary but to other countries as well, and also channels black money into these operations. “We know that this exists,” he said, adding that the presence of two such IT specialists in the Tisza Party does not mean the party itself is the focus. “We are watching the spies.”

If the question is how common this is internationally, I can say that Hungary is not an outlier,

he noted.

“I trust that national security services are aware of everything. These matters are only brought before the government when there is sufficient certainty for a decision,” Viktor Orban stressed. According to him, the key issue is not where Tisza Party data ended up, since Ukrainians keep records of anyone who may be useful to them, but rather that agents and IT specialists were embedded within the party.

Regarding a document made public by former Tisza Party program director Balazs Csercsa, PM Orban said:

The Tisza Party stated that a compromise must be reached with Brussels and that Hungary should break away from cheap Russian energy.

He added that while Istvan Kapitany speaks about diversification, in reality such proposals would make Hungary’s energy dependence even more one-sided. “The question is whether we are capable of saying no. Utility cost cuts and protected prices exist because in the end I can say no,” the prime minister said, stressing that Hungary's national government can say no because it is not part of the European mainstream.

Speaking about opera singer Andrea Rost, the Hungarian prime minister described her as “the nightingale of the nation,” a respected performer and person, but expressed hope that she would not receive a mandate from voters in Szolnok.

The Tisza Party supports cutting Hungary off from cheap Russian energy. They also held a referendum on Ukraine’s EU membership. These issues are connected,

Viktor Orban pointed out, adding that the opposition party is willing to harm its own country in order to harm Russia. “In recent times, I have not seen a European leader who supports Ukraine and does not want to move away from Russian raw materials,” he said.

PM Orban also noted that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is deliberately setting deadlines for restarting the Druzhba oil pipeline to a period after the elections, hoping that his preferred political allies will win and the pipeline will not ever need to be restarted.

On the privatization of MOL, the prime minister said such an attempt had already been made in the past but was prevented by the Fidesz government, which also reached an agreement with Russia to preserve Hungary’s remaining 25 percent ownership stake. “The left believes the proper structure of Hungary’s energy system is one dominated by market players, meaning private actors,” he said.

They believed the energy market should be privatized and regulated by the market. In contrast, we believe in a state-regulated energy market,

PM Orban explained.

Responding to a question about whether all parties will accept the election results on April 13, Viktor Orban said:

“Since the change of regime, every election result in Hungary has been accepted. I see nothing extraordinary now. The country will remain calm after the elections.”

On mandates, he added: “If there is a majority that does not force a coalition, it must be thanked as the will of the voters. The rest is a gift from God.”

 Regarding Russian and Ukrainian interference, the prime minister stated:

Everyone can be sure that Ukrainians have recruited IT specialists into the Tisza Party. They have also developed mobilization systems for the party without getting paid.

He emphasized that, in contrast, the governing parties have no cooperation whatsoever with Russia.

“When the political atmosphere is heated in Hungary, the election turnout is typically 71-72 percent,” Viktor Orban responded to the suggestion that the turnout could be as high as ninety percent.

There is a plan to fleece Hungarians, but I know how to fight it. The opponent either cannot or does not even want to resist it,

he said. "They want to fleece Hungarians in three ways: forcing Hungary to shift from cheap Russian supplies to expensive alternatives, involving the country in financing the war in Ukraine, and changing regulations that previously redirected large sums from major companies to families," PM Orban explained.

 “Two blockades have been imposed on us by Ukraine: one on gas in 2022, which we quietly managed to counter, and now an oil blockade has to be fended off, which is drawing greater attention,”

Viktor Orban said. “If we win, oil will certainly continue to flow through the Druzhba pipeline. The sanctions policy runs counter to Hungary’s economic interests by driving up and keeping energy prices high. So the price of all sanctions is partly paid by Hungarians,” he pointed out.

He also commented on global developments, saying the US president acts in America’s interest, and while Donald Trump sometimes takes Hungary’s position into account, this is not always the case.

The war with Iran has permanently removed a significant part of global energy supply,

Viktor Orban said, arguing that this is why Donald Trump decided to lift some sanctions on Russia.

“Russians can now sell their energy at twice the price and more easily,” he added, noting that this shift has undermined Europe’s war plans.

On the communication between Hungarian Miniter of Foreign Affairs and Trade Peter Szijjarto and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, PM Orban said he expects his foreign minister to maintain relations with everyone and dismissed criticism as ridiculous.

Regarding the Benes Decrees in Slovakia, he stated: “We have made it clear that we reject the principle of collective guilt. Such laws cannot be enforced.” The Hungarian government would intervene if even a single Hungarian had a problem because of it.

Every election has two possible outcomes: you either win or lose, and it is the voters who decide,

he stated, adding that he is preparing for victory and that Fidesz is already focused on governing after the vote. “After the elections, the most important task is to protect Hungarians’ money and ensure that large corporations contribute fairly to public burdens,” he pointed out.

Regarding Miskolc, the prime minister said that Miskolc is not only an industrial city, but also a historical one, and at the same time, it is evident that the presence of industry and the strengthening of the pride associated with it are of paramount importance to the people living there.

Looking ahead to the next four years, he noted that even the chairman of BlackRock has said that skilled workers are the future, as artificial intelligence may replace many white-color jobs.

The digital world has not sharpened but transformed campaign issues and the campaign itself,

Viktor Orban said. “I can say that if the economy performs at an average level, current welfare measures are sustainable. The Tisza Party expects to maintain support measures by using funding from Brussels, while these funds cannot be used for those purposes," the prime minister pointed out.

Finally, Viktor Orban said that since the rise of smartphones, traditional filtering of information has disappeared, allowing even nonsense to spread widely. “The structure of public discourse has changed, and this has mutiple consequences. This is a problem not only in Hungary, but also worldwide,” he concluded.

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