The Hungarian prime minister spoke at the 90th anniversary celebration of the conservative newspaper Weltwoche.
On Wednesday, November 22, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Péter Szijjártó, and János Bóka, the Secretary of State for European Union Affairs at the Ministry of Justice, were guests of Weltwoche's 90th anniversary panel discussion in Zurich, which was moderated by Weltwoche's editor-in-chief, Swiss People's Party member of parliament Roger Köppel .
Köppel: Mr. Orbán, you are one of my great role models
In his greeting, Roger Köppel called Viktor Orbán his great role model. As he put it:
Viktor Orbán is a great fighter for Hungary and freedom, a great European.
The Hungarian Prime Minister "knows that what is written EU does not necessarily include Europe," added the Swiss People's Party member of parliament.
Viktor Orbán: Today I will talk about European problems, without starting
At the beginning of his speech, Viktor Orbán also greeted those present. As he put it: Václav Klaus is the benchmark in European conservative politics, to whom we all try to live up. The Prime Minister wished the paper a happy birthday and added:
"I don't know who was more surprised that this meeting took place, Weltwoche or me."
According to the prime minister, "an Adenauer or Helmut Kohl should be standing at the event, but today they have to put up with me."
"I am one of those who believe that European politics would be poorer without the Weltwoche," stated the prime minister, adding that
it is reassuring that conservative values are still represented in German-language newspapers"
Speaking about Hungarian-Swiss relations, Viktor Orbán said: "there is Swiss-Hungarian friendship."
The prime minister recalled: Neumann, the father of the computer, studied in Zurich, and also recalled Ábrahám Ganz, but also pointed out that there are Swiss freedom fighters on the Hungarian card as well, because Hungarians were not allowed to be depicted on it. That is why Vilmos Tell is there instead of Lajos Kossuth, said the prime minister.
"Europe has lost its capacity for self-determination"
The prime minister also recalled that he is the longest-serving head of government in Europe, along the lines of which he "has his own vision" for Europe. As he explained: "we Hungarians and Swiss have a common problem, the European Union". As the prime minister explained: Switzerland is not a member of the EU, but the decisions of the EU also affect the Swiss.
Viktor Orbán stated: "today I will talk about Europe's problems, without beginning". As he said: the topic is serious, so if someone had missed his morning coffee, he would be shaken by what he was going to say. According to the Hungarian Prime Minister
Europe has lost its capacity for self-determination.
In other words, Europe cannot recognize what its goals are and what means it must choose to achieve them, he explained. What we see in Europe today is painful, said the Prime Minister. Speaking about the development of the situation, Viktor Orbán said: before the Second World War, Europe had the ability to decide its own destiny. Unfortunately, he was unable to take advantage of this opportunity, and the end of the matter was that the forces outside Europe became stronger.
Thus, Europe is not the master of itself today, the economic weight of the union is constantly decreasing, and the community apparently cannot cope with the expansion of the EU. Europe has lost its capacity for self-determination, the Hungarian Prime Minister concluded.
Viktor Orbán also pointed out that after the two world wars, the western half of Europe did not copy the Anglo-Saxon model, but instead created a Christian-democratic model, with which "a specific European quality was created" and the Christian tradition was preserved in the economy. That was how it was possible
the leaders of that time were able to represent European interests.
Compared to this, today there is already liberal-progressive rule in Europe - pointed out the prime minister, underlining that after 1990, progressive liberal forces took control on both continents.
As the prime minister pointed out: in addition to the American loss of space, there is also, by definition, a European loss of space, as well as the additional problem of trying to export progressive-liberal principles to the non-Western part of the world. This is how it can happen
according to the prime minister, when a European politician talks about European values, the interest of a large EU member state is usually hidden behind it.
This is how the world views the United States
Speaking about the United States, the prime minister tried to point out what happens when Europe follows American interests instead of its own interests. As he pointed out: if we think about the war between Russia and Ukraine, the question arises: what if there is a change of power in the USA and the Republicans come to power? According to the Prime Minister, America will then redeploy its forces, and we Europeans will remain here in the middle of a huge geopolitical conflict, and we will have to bear all the costs of the settlement.
"There is a shortage of politicians in Europe today, there are bureaucrats everywhere"
Speaking about other problems in Europe, the Prime Minister pointed out:
the European Union should be led by the Council of Europe, in which the leaders of the 27 member states sit, instead more and more decisions are made by Brussels institutions. But the bureaucrats are there to implement the politicians' decisions, not to make their own decisions.
Regarding the development of this, Viktor Orbán pointed out: under Barroso, the Commission consisted of bureaucrats, implementers. Juncker transformed the Commission into a political committee, but this is not their profession, they do not understand it. Bureaucrats can lead politically when the sun is shining, but when the crash hits, top politicians are needed, underlined the Prime Minister of Hungary. He added: a politician is someone who can say that we have done things this way until now, but it is not good from now on, we will do them that way from tomorrow. According to the Prime Minister, we cannot expect this from bureaucrats.
Today in Europe there is a shortage of politicians, there are bureaucrats everywhere
the Prime Minister pointed out.
"What can Central Europe and Hungary do in such a situation?"
Hungary has a special responsibility in such a situation - pointed out the Hungarian Prime Minister. We do not have liberal hegemony, we have broken this several times since 2010. There are no coalition squabbles because we have a clear mandate. We have no migration, not a single migrant, zero - he recalled.
He also pointed out: Hungary has succeeded in developing a Hungarian model, one of the main elements of which is the construction of a work-based economy, an important element of which is to increase prosperity through this. Another element of the Hungarian model is that the government wants to base its policy on supporting families instead of migration, he added. Viktor Orbán also pointed out that the essence of the Hungarian model is that
we do not want the East and the West to be separated from each other again.
We want the best Eastern and Western technologies to meet in Hungary. It has already been achieved that Hungary had an investment, employment and export record in 2022 and this is expected in 2023 as well - recalled the Prime Minister, and then went on to mention that all this is happening while we are under the financial sanctions of the EU. and the European Union illegally refuses to pay the funds to Hungary.
We have to rehabilitate our political leadership ability, we have to forget the postmodern madness in the field of leadership, we have to train a new political generation, because politics is not attractive today, talents don't come to politics - pointed out the Prime Minister.
As he put it:
Hungary is not a black sheep, but the first swallow, we are waiting for the others.
***
The panel discussion of the event has begun
At the beginning of the panel discussion, the Hungarian prime minister was asked: what is the key to his success?
In his answer, Viktor Orbán said: his experience in football helped him a lot in politics, which taught him that he had to fight for respect, and pointed out:
family is the key.
As the Prime Minister put it: emotional stability is of particular importance. His wife and children love him, "I am very lucky," explained Viktor Orbán.
In response to the following question, the Prime Minister pointed out: while the British were part of the European Union, Hungary, together with the United Kingdom, was able to curb attempts at centralization in the EU. As he recalled: for example, rule of law issues did not arise in the EU while Great Britain was a member of the EU. However, with the departure of the British, this balance was upset.
So if Switzerland is thinking of joining the EU, think twice
advised the Prime Minister.
What should Switzerland do in the coming years?
When asked what Switzerland should do in the coming years, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán pointed out: in the coming years, Hungary will take over the presidency of the EU, which means that it will have a greater influence on the processes taking place in the EU. As he pointed out:
From July 1, 2024, there will be a Hungarian presidency of the EU, and thus our country will be able to raise many more topics to the EU stage.
In relation to the EU, however, he recalled: despite the problems of EU membership, our country cannot follow the path of Switzerland. As he pointed out: one of the main importance of our membership is the European market, while the other is the political dilemma, according to which, if you are not a member of the EU, the decisions of the EU still affect you as a European state.
What parallels are there between Switzerland and Hungary?
In response to a question, the Prime Minister said: culturally, Switzerland is not at all foreign to Hungarians. And although our country cannot be independent as a member of NATO, we would like to be as neutral as Switzerland. However, due to the geopolitical location of our country, it cannot afford the luxury of being outside NATO, like Switzerland, the Prime Minister pointed out.
About the migration situation
In response to a question, Viktor Orbán recalled: his biggest clash with Germany was in the case of migration from non-Christian countries, back in 2015, when Angela Merkel announced "Wir schaffen das!" he wanted to act according to his principle, while Viktor Orbán took the position that migration involves too much risk.
"The Germans wanted everyone to take responsibility for the migrants, because it is a common European matter, while I said that it is the internal matter of each country who they want to live with, but that the acceptance should not be forced on others. Overnight I became a black sheep"
said the Prime Minister.
In his reply, the prime minister also touched on the fact that Hungary has built a strong border defense by building the fence, with which it protects not only Hungary, but also the Schengen zone and Germany. Viktor Orbán also stated: it is not a good solution to bring the problem here instead of taking help to where it is needed. The Prime Minister underlined: we do not want to tell you who should handle the migration situation, we just want nothing to be forced on us. As you pointed out: we may not be right that this is the right solution, but
"we have the right not to be right."
In response to a question, the Hungarian Prime Minister also pointed out that the integration of migrants should not be confused with guest workers, because strict rules are needed in the case of the latter. The prime minister also pointed out that due to the unsuccessful integration of migrants, "parallel societies have emerged, and this is a dangerous situation," he added.
About the Russian-Ukrainian war
In response to a question, Viktor Orbán pointed out: (despite EU sanctions - ed.) the USA significantly increased its purchase of Russian uranium.
I am deeply disturbed by the hypocritical behavior of Western leaders in this matter
said the Prime Minister.
In relation to the war, the Hungarian Prime Minister underlined: it is absolutely clear that the attack on Ukraine violates international law, but at the same time, it is also extremely important what kind of response we give to this. As he pointed out: the Western strategy that the Ukrainians fight and win, and then the Russian leadership fails, has clearly not been realized, underlined Viktor Orbán.
Plan A failed, and now a plan B would be needed
- said Viktor Orbán, underlining that since this strategy has failed, we will not support Ukraine without any kind of plan. As he put it: some countries may decide to continue supporting Ukraine, but this cannot happen at the EU level until there are concrete strategies.
More than 100,000 Hungarians live in Transcarpathia, where Hungarians die, so a ceasefire is of paramount importance to Hungary, the Prime Minister underlined.
About the United States, about Trump
In response to a question about Donald Trump, the prime minister stated: of course he supports Trump. As he pointed out: Trump's foreign policy strategy is that America is first, that is, Hungary can also say that Hungary is first, and Switzerland can also say that Switzerland is first. Every patriot can say that his own country comes first.
And so, if the interests are obvious to everyone, instead of negotiating about universal values (which is a hidden screen of American interests), we can negotiate and make a deal, which is much better for us. That's why I support Trump and hope he wins.
What will the Prime Minister do for Christmas?
The last question of the conversation: what will the Hungarian Prime Minister do at Christmas?
Trying to get the family together for Christmas dinner is a very complicated logistical problem
- said the prime minister humorously.
Mandarin
