Orbán’s minister: Rogán banned from USA because of George Soros, PM Orbán will soon meet Trump
The opposition is in its deepest moral crisis 18 months before the election, the head of the Prime Minister’s Office Gergely Gulyás said on Thursday.
Head of the Prime Minister’s Cabinet Office Antal Rogán will not be on the US sanctions list by the end of this year, Gulyás said in an interview with news channel ATV. He added that even the US administration could not deny that a purely political decision had been made in the case of Rogán. HERE is what you need to know about the scandal.
“The Americans have also admitted that there had been no secret services information behind the decision, only [US businessman] George Soros and the corrupt reports of various civil organisations that could not be considered a legal source or even evidence in the case,” he said. “It is political witch hunt, the petty revenge of the outgoing US ambassador,” he added.
American ambassador Pressman hated the government and the country
He said that during the US presidential campaign, President-elect Donald Trump had referred to the Hungarian prime minister more than a hundred times. “Unfortunately, the Democrats had sent here a US ambassador who hates the government and the country. “As a result, when talking about sanctions against Hungarians in his own Democrats milieu, he could achieve easy success,” Gulyás added.
He said Hungary had no “democracy deficit” and it was a false claim that the Hungarian government maintained too close links with Moscow or China.
“The new US administration is organising a Trump-Putin meeting. Yet, I would not accuse the US of drawing close to Moscow. The German chancellor recently had a long telephone conversation with Russian President Putin, but this does not make him an ally of Russia. It is best to be careful with such remarks. Hungary pursues politics and diplomacy along Hungarian national interests, we are not trying to please anyone either in the previous or the new US administration,” he said.
Gulyás said the banning of Rogán would be a short-lived measure that would remain a perfect symbol of the “petty Hungary-hatred” of the outgoing Democrats administration.
Removing Rogán from the ‘global Magnitsky list’ will be difficult
He added that removal from the list would not be a presidential decision but a decision by the US Department of the Treasury. He said the procedure was regulated by law and in order to be removed from the list, it was the banned person who must prove that the decision lacked any basis.
“Despite this I think that considering the obvious motivation behind the decision and the complete lack of evidence, a relatively quick decision could be made,” he said.
In response to another question, Gulyás said there would be no early election or government reshuffle before the 2026 election, and President Tamás Sulyok would fulfil his mandate. “The only question is whether his mandate will be five or ten years long, considering that the president can be re-elected once,” he added.
Hungarian opposition in deep moral crisis, says minister
Commenting on polls showing the popularity of the opposition Tisza Party, he said “it is the best situation for us that 18 months before the election, the opposition is in its deepest moral crisis and the leader of the strongest party is insane”.
He said the basis for victory at the election would be the government’s performance, and the situation was favourable to the ruling party. “Pollsters that indeed assess public opinion instead of just trying to meet political demands or commissions show that Fidesz maintains a very considerable lead,” he added.
In response to another question, he said Tisza served not only a guarantee for Fidesz’s victory in 2026, but even Fidesz’s success in 2030. “This is my sincere opinion. There was a mid-term election this Sunday, national elections were held last June, and there are public opinion polls, all showing the same,” he added.
Asked whether he would talk to Magyar ever again, Gulyás said
“it is ruled out, I consider him a traitor,”
adding that “not every traitor is an agent of Brussels, but every agent of Brussels is a traitor, and Magyar belongs in that latter category”.
Trump and Orbán will meet soon
Asked about Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s absence from the inauguration ceremony of Donald Trump, Gulyás said that in line with the protocol, Hungary will be represented at the event by Hungary’s ambassador. “Viktor Orbán has been an ally of Donald Trump long enough so that he does not need to push himself ahead among the several thousand participants just to demonstrate his importance and closeness to the new president,” said Gulyás, adding that “there would certainly be a meeting between Trump and Orbán in the foreseeable future.”
Regarding the issue of EU funds for Hungary, Gulyás said Hungary is among the best in drawing them down. “There is pre-financing, we send the invoices to Brussels and they pay,” he said. “So there is no reason for particular concern, there are plenty of free resources that can be drawn down, and our goal is to also access what is not yet available,” Gulyas said.
Magyar slammed Gulyás and Orbán in reaction
Tisza Party leader Péter Magyar said in a statement that Gulyás had given “his usual meaningless” ATV interview. Magyar accused him of betraying “the most vulnerable … for power and money while donning the mantle of Christianity” and of accepting a big wage rise “while 3 million of our compatriots” live below the poverty line.
Gulyás, he added, “clinks glasses of expensive French champagne with the state secretary for health and the head of the ambulance service … while they deliberately dismantle the state health-care system…” Magyar also accused Gulyás of helping to direct public money towards the purchase of “castles, railway stations and airports” for the prime minister’s “family and oligarchs”, while “wasting EU funds in the billions”. The opposition politician also blamed Gulyás for every day failing to report “serious corruption cases” and of operating a “North Korean-style propaganda” to mislead citizens.
Read also: