I am optimistic, the reason given after the election is that people in 27 countries voted for change, Viktor Orbán stated, adding that peace will be at the center of the Hungarian EU presidency.

The Prime Minister gave an interview to the current channel M1 in Brussels, in which he said:

Viktor Orbán took over the post of EU president from the acting Belgian prime minister.

"It is not a very good sign to take over the EU office from a person who failed the presidency.

But Belgium has done a good job in the last six months, the Spanish, the Belgians and we take over the work and the files from each other, so I can say that it has done a good job. My situation is different, we can record a 45 percent election victory, we can rightly feel that trust in the government has been strengthened and we can start work with this momentum," said Viktor Orbán.

The prime minister listed what official programs will be held during the EU presidency.

"We need to change, the voters said that, which is why we started a new European representative group, which is growing at an incredible pace.

The reason for the success is that the leaders of the EU could not accept the demand for change, this strengthens us, who want change, even more, we will soon have the second strongest group of representatives", stated the Prime Minister.

Viktor Orbán reminded: "Five years ago, Manfred Weber was nominated to head the European Commission, and this had to be prevented anyway because of his anti-Hungarian attitude. He said he did not want to become president with the Hungarians' vote, that gave us ammunition. You can't insult a country, you can't treat it badly, I stood up for the country and that's why Weber didn't become committee chairman. Ursula von der Leyen seemed like a better choice at that moment. Today, we want a politician with better skills to head this body, which is why I voted against him the other day, so that he remains the chairman of the Commission," recalled the Prime Minister.

"It is necessary to separate the procedure in which the decision on the person of the top EU leaders was made and the nomination itself. If I were Italian, I would speak like Matteo Salvini, who complained that the Italians were left out of the position negotiations.

This is also how Brexit began: large, founding states must be treated fairly.

The procedure was not correct, Salvini and Giorgia Meloni were right," Orbán stated.

Regarding the candidates, he said: he supported António Costa because he considers him a fair partner. He refrained from nominating Kaja Kallas because he is not sure that he can perform his task well.

"Patriotism is also called nationalism, it has good and bad sides. Anyone who loves their country to the point of trampling others is a bad nationalist. On the other hand, he who loves his country for its own sake is a patriot. People with such a mindset are starting to gather under the flag that the three of us raised in Vienna on Sunday. A few more days and many will be surprised. Patriots gather under this flag. The inaugural meeting of the faction meeting will take place on the 8th, and there will be surprises," Orbán said.

Photo: MTI/Prime Minister's Press Office/Zoltán Fischer