The Hungarian strategy would not have to be reconsidered even if Kamala Harris were to win the US presidential election, the prime minister's political director said.
Viktor Orbán recently stated that a new world economy has been created, and we must adapt to the new world economy, and the Prime Minister is convinced that economic success can be achieved for our country through economic neutrality. But what does economic neutrality mean? How blackmailable is Hungary? What will happen to the Hungarian strategy if Donald Trump does not become the next president of the United States? Economx also asked Balázs Orbán, the prime minister's political director, about this.
- The most important question in today's politics is how the security and geostrategic challenges result in a change of strategy in the decisions of the individual great powers.
A new strategy has appeared within the Western, liberal world, the essence of which is that the world economy must be divided. This is what we call blocking. From here on, the most important aspect for us is whether this is good for us, Hungarians. Our belief is that this is not good. Not only because of the structure of the Hungarian economy - Balázs Orbán began his explanation, pointing out: the Hungarian economy is open; exports in proportion to GDP exceed 81 percent.
"In addition, our economy is also investment-driven, as the investment rate is above the EU average, and the stock of foreign investments has doubled since 2010. And finally, the Hungarian economy is complex, as it is the eleventh most complex economy in the world. If market, investment, investment, energy and technological issues are handled on a geopolitical basis, then we are not actually looking for the best solution from the point of view of the Hungarian economy and the Hungarian people, but completely different aspects come into play. This process must be countered by announcing the policy of economic neutrality," said the political director.
According to Balázs Orbán, this means that we are neutral in terms of the market, that is, we want to produce for all markets and we do not want to get involved in trade wars, and we also stay out of conflicts between blocs in a geopolitical sense.
"We are also neutral in terms of technology, we choose technology based on quality and not on an ideological basis, the same is true for investments, who can bring good business to Hungary is not a function of worldview. We must also remain neutral in terms of financing," he stated.
"It is not possible to finance the Hungarian economy only from EU sources, only from London investors, alternative financing strategies and channels are also needed. The same is true for energy.
The competitiveness of the Hungarian economy must be ensured by seeking the lowest energy prices. This does not include renouncing the products of some energy exporting countries. "Economic neutrality is based on Hungary's interests, it depends on the sovereign decision of our country, and it may result in a situation that some actors of the blocs do not like, but it is actually a key step from the point of view of the development of the Hungarian economy," emphasized Balázs Orbán.
According to the prime minister's political director, one should not fall for the propaganda, if, for example, Ukraine were to block the delivery of natural gas or crude oil, we have an answer for that.
"With the exception of Slovenia, natural gas interconnectors have been built with all neighboring countries, and we have electricity network connections with all our neighbors. This year, nearly 280 million cubic meters of natural gas will arrive from Turkey, and we have an agreement in principle with Qatar on LNG imports. The filling ratio of domestic natural gas storage facilities is above the EU requirement.
In Azerbaijan, we are buying a stake in one of the largest natural gas fields in the world, and Mol is the third most important player in the largest offshore oil field in Azerbaijan. They can't put us in a position to blackmail us. They cannot initiate the sovereign Hungarian policy," stated Balázs Orbán.
The prime minister's political director stated in connection with the upcoming American elections: Donald Trump's victory is very important to us for two reasons.
"On the one hand, because of its peace policy, it would stop the war taking place in our neighbor and endangering us as well, and on the other hand, it would open up the preconditions for a strategic agreement between Hungary and the United States to be formed again". At the same time, however, he also stated that: in the last four years, we lived in a period in which the American president was not called Donald Trump, and we did not agree with the American government on the most important issues, such as war, migration, gender. "But the world did not collapse, the military and economic basis of American-Hungarian cooperation did not collapse. Of course, we are also ready to try to continue this kind of cohabitation, a not very pleasant coexistence, we will see if it succeeds. We have four years of routine in it," said Balázs Orbán, who believes that the Hungarian strategy should not be reconsidered even if Kamala Harris were to win the elections.
The full interview can be read on the Economx website.
Cover image source: Facebook/Balázs Orbán
