German Troika in EU Would Remove Government in a Coup

The unprecedented foreign interference in Hungary’s elections, along with intelligence operations carried out against our country by the Ukrainian state with Brussels’s backing, all serve the ultimate goal of subordinating Hungary once and for all to imperial interests, with a controllable Tisza government as the guarantee of that outcome, Laszlo Kover said in an interview with our newspaper. In connection with Easter, the Speaker of the National Assembly also emphasized that on the feast of the Resurrection, we must remember that even in the most extreme circumstances, we must not drift to the side at Jesus’s left hand.

Laszlo Kover, Speaker of the National Assembly. (Photo: Balazs Ladoczki / MW)

– After the 2022 parliamentary election, it emerged that the opposition campaign had been financed from abroad, largely by a network linked to George Soros. Now the same thing is happening again, but with much larger sums and a broader toolkit, as the Ukrainians are now also intervening on the side of the Tisza Party. The previous series of actions went unpunished, and the Hungarian state now again appears powerless. What is the reason for this?

– I understand and accept the criticism. Indeed, we were not forceful enough, particularly in our struggles with the European Union, to secure for ourselves the right to establish a regulatory framework to safeguard our constitutional order—one that is protected by real sanctions. We were content to stigmatize, in moral and political terms, those who are willing to betray their own country for money. Looking ahead, this is untenable not only from Fidesz's perspective, but it must be so for anyone who considers Hungary their homeland.

Laszlo Kover: The situation is untenable not only from Fidesz's perspective! Photo: Balazs Ladoczki

Because in 2026, 2030, or at any time, regardless of the composition of the government, I do not believe anyone would willingly assume responsibility for leading the country 

while all manner of foreign agents and “gold vans” come and go in Hungary, deploying a wide array of tools to undermine the legitimacy of the government of the day.

No one should have any illusions: those who now look on with schadenfreude at what is happening to the Fidesz–KDNP government could see the same thing repeated in the future. The ultimate goal is to subordinate the country once and for all, for which only a weak government can serve as a guarantee.

– During the first Orban government, you oversaw the national security services as a minister without portfolio, so you presumably view differently the phenomenon of a foreign intelligence service intervening so openly in Hungarian domestic politics. What is really happening here?

– Probably in most countries — especially where significant foreign interests are present — intelligence services from other nations are also active. In more fortunate cases, they act merely as observers; in less fortunate ones, they organize operational actions aimed at exerting influence. In the worst cases, they may even induce citizens of the given country to commit acts that are otherwise strictly punished under criminal law. It is not only the Ukrainian intelligence services operating in Hungary; others are here as well, including those of so-called allied states.

“It is not only the Ukrainian intelligence services operating in Hungary; others are here as well.” Photo: Balazs Ladoczki

Let me recall the wiretapping of Chancellor Angela Merkel’s phone, carried out by American services with Danish assistance. We can see that even among allies, this system of relations is quite complex, not to mention states outside the European Union or NATO.

– But now an unprecedented series of actions is underway, in which the Ukrainian state apparatus is supporting the Tisza campaign: billions are allegedly arriving off the books from Zelensky’s circle to Peter Magyar’s camp. What can the government or Fidesz do about this?

– The national security organizations and investigative authorities are doing their jobs, and the government is making public what it can. The foreign-funded press is engaged in whitewashing, if it cannot simply suppress the scandal. In the end, it will be up to the judiciary to declare that

there exists a national interest above political struggles, and attacking it constitutes a criminal offense.

As the election approaches, foreign intelligence services have crossed boundaries they previously respected. We must inform Hungarian voters about the external forces attempting to manipulate our sovereign and democratic decisions, and about the internal actors offering themselves up as accomplices—for money, for other advantages, or for power, the acquisition of which would, of course, later require repayment.

– Has anything similar ever occurred in our history?

– Certainly not since 1918. Peter Magyar is only an opposition figure in political life, so he cannot be compared to the principal criminals of the twentieth century. However, if we look at the ruinous activities of the greatest traitors—Mihaly Karolyi, Bela Kun, Ferenc Szalasi, and Matyas Rakosi—there is an important difference between them and the leader of Tisza. This is by no means to excuse them, but it is worth noting that they believed in the terrible things they proclaimed and carried out. Peter Magyar, by contrast, believes in nothing whatsoever. He is a man without convictions, driven by simple vindictiveness, something he cannot even conceal, as he lacks self-control.

According to Laszlo Kover, Peter Magyar is driven by a desire for revenge. Photo: Balazs Ladoczki

– However, there has certainly never been a case where a journalist—namely Szabolcs Panyi—suddenly produces from a drawer a ministerial wiretap transcript prepared by a foreign intelligence service and publishes it without batting an eye.

– Over the past three decades, I could cite thousands upon thousands of examples, based on personal experience, of the moral decay of this so-called left-wing intelligentsia. But Szabolcs Panyi cannot be considered a journalist; at most, he is a petty criminal who is clearly very flattered to have been allowed to crawl into the backside of some lower-level leader of a Western European intelligence service.

– Yet he is capable of causing upheaval in the public sphere…

– It is not Panyi’s person or abilities that matter, but the extent of the damage, and this must be put to a stop regardless of the election outcome, because

if we fail to do so, Hungary will sink to the level of a banana republic.

People like Panyi would receive government appointments as a reward in a banana republic—as he himself suggested when speaking about his friendly relationship with Anita Orban in the event of a Tisza government—but in a sovereign state governed by the rule of law, the “compensation” is measured in years of imprisonment.

– What guarantees that if another Orban government is formed after April 12, it will be able to offer stronger resistance and repel external interference more effectively than before?

– I have never harbored the illusion that, in dealing with the European Union, we are negotiating with a good-faith partner that will honor agreements if we reach compromises. All pressure has been aimed at narrowing our political room for maneuver, and they have now gone so far as to openly ally even with a non-EU country—Ukraine—in order to remove the government of an EU member state. Since Peter Magyar’s appearance in the European Parliament, the imperial troika of Ursula von der Leyen, Manfred Weber, and Friedrich Merz has made no secret of the fact that they are effectively preparing their chosen candidate and the Tisza Party for a coup. I am therefore convinced that we have reached the wall; there is nowhere left to retreat. We have already been walking a fine line between preserving and surrendering our national sovereignty, but one more step backward would essentially mean what Peter Magyar himself has outlined.

– What exactly?

– The surrender of “a little sovereignty,” beginning with joining the European Public Prosecutor’s Office, followed by concessions on the migration pact, abandoning cheap Russian energy sources, and then supporting Ukraine, which could be followed by military involvement in the war. Concessions would also come in favor of the “Sleeping Beauty believers,” and there would be no stopping. “Give me ten years, and you will not recognize Germany,” Hitler told the Germans.

Let's not allow four years to this little pocket fascist,

because we would not recognize Hungary either, reduced to a province of a Fourth Reich!

– We are in the final stretch of the campaign, while fresh opinion polls show extreme differences. Which ones should be taken seriously, and to what extent can such results influence voters’ decisions?

– I do not know whether the magazine Hocipo still exists, but I think they would gladly publish surveys like Medián’s, even weekly. I also suggest to the editor of the reportedly relaunching Heti Hetes that he invite Endre Hann onto the program, because he can say very entertaining things. He would find his true role there.

– Don't you think such polls can meaningfully influence people’s party preferences, for example by constantly maintaining the appearance that Tisza is far ahead?

– It is true that they try to use opinion polls as a political weapon, essentially pushing people into a false illusion, but I believe that the majority—even among Tisza sympathizers—does not believe these “surveys.” On social media, some people, driven by a kind of perverse urge, lock themselves into a virtual cell with others, where they hear the same noise they themselves produce, leading to the delusion that this is the outside reality.

Kover: They try to use opinion polls as a political weapon. Photo: Balazs Ladoczki

The position of a sober-thinking majority, however, cannot be significantly influenced by such manipulation techniques.

– The heightened atmosphere and blind belief in Tisza’s certain victory could carry the danger that, after a pro-government win, Peter Magyar’s misled supporters may not accept the result and could even spark unrest.

– That will happen even if Medián shows only a three-percent Tisza lead the day before the election. The emotional potential is already there; the energies of aggression have been gathered. We can cite international examples: there have been repeated street riots in Belgrade, the same happened in Tbilisi or even in Bratislava. When forces not backed by the global power network have won, attempts were immediately made to destabilize the legitimately and democratically elected governments.

– Easter may bring a few quieter days, the din of battle may subside, before everyone mobilizes again in the final week. What message does Christianity’s greatest holiday carry in this tense period?

– Speaking of mobilization, in contrast to Tisza, which has only the internet and “social media” as tools,

Fidesz has a real network of relationships built since 2002, existing among flesh-and-blood people, a political community based on positive values.

Our task is to make up for our disadvantage in the digital space—which we have essentially already done—while we also have a competitive advantage through this interpersonal network.

“We have a competitive advantage through our interpersonal network.” Photo: Balazs Ladoczki

Everyone has relatives, friends, acquaintances, neighbors, colleagues with whom they can talk in the days remaining before the election. We must trust in the strength of this community, because we are energized not by hatred toward our opponents, but by love for our homeland. On the feast of the Resurrection, we must remember, on the one hand, that even in the most extreme circumstances we must not drift to the side at Jesus’s left hand, and on the other hand, what our place and role in life are. As a dear Reformed brother once put it: “Jesus Christ has triumphed—and our task is to slow the advance of Satan in the world.”

Cover photo: Laszlo Kover, Speaker of the National Assembly (Photo: Balazs Ladoczki)