Orbán: The experience of the past 15 years was that Hungary could trust Russia – Interview
Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, in an interview to Swiss daily Neue Zurcher Zeitung on Monday, said a multi-polar world order had emerged, criticised the European Union for its “weakness” and “hypocrisy”, and declared that US President Donald Trump offered an opportunity for a new balance to be created in geopolitics. He also said that he will meet Alice Weidel, co-leader and chancellor candidate of Germany’s AfD, next week.
Open door for the AFD
Orbán is due to host the co-chair of the far-right AfD, Alice Weidel, in Budapest. Orbán said that the AfD is more a movement than a party, and in a movement it is easier for madmen to rise up. There is no formal link with the AfD, but in Hungary, there is no firewall around any party – people take seriously who they vote for, Orbán said. “The firewall makes political thinking primitive. The AfD can get 20 percent in the elections: if their boss wants to meet me, why should I say no?” As we wrote yesterday, Orbán cabinet said, German leaders ‘siding with terrorists’, details here.
Orbán: Hungary could trust Russia
During the interview, Orbán referred to Russia as a belligerent aggressor, and the reporter asked him if he personally felt the same way. Orbán replied that the question was left to historians to decide.
“I am a politician and there is an EU decision on this. It obliges me to talk about Russian aggression.”
During the conversation, Orbán’s previous meetings with Putin were discussed. I asked him directly if he had a problem with Hungary’s membership of NATO. He said no. Because we do not station weapons in our region that pose a threat to Russia. He meant tactical long-range weapons. It’s hard enough to imagine the Hungarians invading Moscow,” he recalled of their 2009 meeting. Orbán also said
he had agreed with Putin to leave the fraught history of the two countries to historians, and that the experience of the past 15 years was that Hungary could trust Russia.
The questioner also drew Orbán’s attention to the fact that in his speeches, he paints Brussels as a more significant threat than Moscow, to which Orbán said that
it is easy to reach a rational agreement with Russia but almost impossible with Brussels.
He said Brussels only funds its domestic political opponents.
As we wrote yesterday, will Hungary reclaim territory from Ukraine? Romanian politician’s plan shocks Europe! Details HERE.
Dissatisfaction, Péter Magyar
Orbán was also asked about his domestic rival. The interviewer noted that Orbán had not once said the name of his new challenger, Péter Magyar, and asked whether his rapid rise did not send a message that people were unhappy with the government. The answer is that yes, it does. The war and sanctions have created a challenging situation over the last three years, with high inflation, increased energy prices, and low growth. I don’t like war for several reasons, the economic reason being one,” said Orbán, who was also asked if he was tired of a decade and a half in government.
“At the moment, my support among the population is still higher than that of my party. As long as this remains the case, I will lead the fight,”
Orbán said, adding that he wanted to remain a member of parliament as long as he was mentally able and wanted to continue in politics for the rest of his life.
Trump tornado
Orbán said Trump’s return to politics was a favourable development for Hungary which had been under pressure from both Brussels and Washington before Trump’s return. He critisised the EU for its economic and security policy “weaknesses”, called for pragmatic cooperation with Russia, and said the sanctions were ineffective. He said Hungary could not rely solely on Europe in terms of the economy, and had to nurture relations also with China and other emerging powers.
In response to a question on Trump’s return, Orbán said, “The world has changed more in ten days than it normally does in years,” thanks to “the Trump tornado.”
“We were the black sheep of the West. Now it is clear: what Trump is doing and what we have done in the last fifteen years is the future,” he added. Orbán said he hoped that the Americans will invest more in Hungary again, adding that “they have recently even fallen behind China”. He critised the Democrats’ approach to Hungary, saying that they “hated us”. “We had opposing positions on issues such as migration, gender and the war in Ukraine,” he said. “They supported all the organisations and media in Hungary that were against me. Trump put an end to that.” He said “if the Europeans do not make the Americans a good offer of cooperation, they will no longer offer us security.” “Sitting around and waiting is not a solution. We have to come up with ideas. Europe may be rich, but it is also weak,” he added.
“We were able to enjoy the peace dividend for a long time. Under Trump, we lost it,” Orbán said.