Hungary must continue to follow policy of sober voice

The two most dangerous months of the Russo-Ukrainian war lie ahead of us; Hungary must continue to follow the policy of a sober voice, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán stated on Friday on Kossuth Radio's programme 'Good morning Hungary.' At the same time, Mr Orbán announced that Hungary would invite Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on a visit to Hungary.

Mr Orbán said with Donald Trump's election victory, peace is now well within reach; however, the departing US Democrats evidently want to leave a graver legacy to the new president than the situation was at the time of his victory in the presidential election. He added that the fate of Hungary, too, was indirectly at stake in this conflict, and therefore, he will proceed in a careful, predictable, plannable and calm manner in the months ahead.

The Prime Minister said Ukraine is Hungary's neighbour, meaning that this is not the further escalation of a conflict that is somewhere in a remote part of the world. He added that one did not need much imagination to realise how swiftly the developments of a war taking place in a neighbouring country can have their effects felt in one's own country, not even mentioning the fact that there are indigenous Hungarians living in Transcarpathia, and so the threat is direct. He pointed out that weapons were now being deployed in the war which could easily reach countries beyond the territory of Ukraine, primarily neighbouring countries. These news reports are about us, not about conflicts of international diplomacy; they are directly about Hungarian interests and the threat the war is posing to Hungary, he stated.

He recalled that Donald Trump, the next president of the United States would take office on 20 January. In this context he said this is the darkest hour we are in, there are only two months left and then suddenly dawn will break, but until then we will live in even greater darkness than before. In summary he said that we are facing the two most dangerous months of the war.

Mr Orbán further recalled that at the meeting of the Defence Council, they had reviewed the military implications of the war. The Prime Minister said in a military sense the situation is clear: if the Americans stop supporting the Ukrainians, Europe will not be in a position to support Ukraine with the slightest chance of success, not even mentioning the financial and economic consequences of supporting a losing war. He added that this thought, too, compelled Hungary to conclude that we would have to survive these two months - until Donald Trump took office - with a smart and calm policy.

In answer to a question concerning the threat of the deployment of heavy weaponry, Mr Orbán said this conveys a significant risk. He recalled that the German government had been toppled within 24 hours of the result of the US presidential election having become evident. "We Hungarians are not used to this, Hungary is a country pursuing a sovereign foreign policy, for all we care the entire world could come tumbling down, we make independent decisions based on our own national interests and do not tie our lot to that of other governments," he said. Events in the United States create an almost immediate impression on the behaviour of some not insignificant Western European governments and countries, he established, pointing out that it follows from this that if the Americans take certain steps, some countries believe it is their obligation or perhaps it is their obligation to follow the American line. He observed that the weapons, the use of which the Americans authorised for the Ukrainians were extremely complex, and according to the available reports, the Ukrainians were unable to guide them to their targets on their own. There is therefore a strong assumption - which he believes is a correct one - that these missiles cannot be guided to their targets without the involvement of American personnel. This is why the Russians responded - unsurprisingly - suddenly and robustly, he said.

He also mentioned that today the weight and significance the spoken word carried in relation to political events were different in Western Europe than in Russia, and Western European decision-makers fail to take this into consideration with sufficient gravity. In Western Europe there is much chit-chat and idleness, messages delivered have no direct consequences, and European leaders in senior positions unleash tirades about geopolitical and military issues, thinking that this is only a communications, an internal political struggle, he stated. The Russian communication system is very different from this; there, if the president says something, it is not idle chit-chat, it carries weight, it has consequences. When the Russians alter the doctrine relating to the deployment of their nuclear might, it is not a communications stunt, it is not a mere trick, he stressed.

He also said in his televised message delivered the night before, the Russian President described the situation in very clear terms and said that in this regard they feel authorised to declare any country that provides Ukraine with such weapons a target. This is not a communications trick, we must keep our wits about us, he warned, adding that Russia fundamentally builds its policy and the place it occupies in the world on its military might. It is key in its concepts regarding the future that it has one of the world's strongest armies and commands some of the world's most modern and most devastating weapons. Therefore, when they say something on this matter, it should be taken as read. In the next two months, rather than proceeding from the laws of Western European politics relying primarily on communication, we must think in terms of a war logic. Every sentence, every word should be carefully considered, we must proceed according to the rules of common sense, or else we will find ourselves in trouble, he underlined.

The Prime Minister said he is an advocate of the idea of reducing the number, dimensions and extent of the conflicts present in the world with every available means. At the same time, the situation is that international institutions do not proceed with caution when adopting one decision or another. Mr Orbán announced in the radio interview that he would invite Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to visit Hungary. The Prime Minister described the arrest warrant issued by the International Criminal Court as a shockingly impertinent and cynical decision. They are interfering with an ongoing conflict in a legal disguise, but in actual fact driven by political motivations, he pointed out. He said this in itself is wrong, and utterly discredits international law, but may even add fuel to the fire. We have no choice, we must resist this decision, Mr Orbán laid down, adding that in the invitation to be extended to the Israeli Prime Minister he will guarantee that should he accept the invitation, the warrant of the International Criminal Court will have absolutely no effect in Hungary, and "we will not follow" its provisions. We will solely focus on the quality and state of Israeli-Hungarian relations, and the prime minister of Israel will be able to conduct meaningful talks here in Hungary in perfect safety, he stated.

The Prime Minister further said the goal is for the Patriots for Europe group to become the most influential political group in the European Parliament by the end of the term. To this end, they must now build alliances and induce an accumulation of influence through politics conducted within the parliament, said the Prime Minister, taking the view that there will be agreements and group alliances in the EP which will significantly increase the influence of the Patriots over European decisions. He mentioned that in international politics "you have as much influence as you have strength," adding that it was not a bad start when "we kicked the pub door in on European politics," saying "here come the representatives of common sense." This was enough to establish the third largest group in the EP. He recalled that the Patriots group held "at times harsh, but clear opinions," for instance, on the issues of migration, child and family protection that are different from the mainstream, the former centre. Mr Orbán said they are past "the period of the European Commission requiring all sorts of talks behind the scenes," meaning that they can return to "a period of open, straightforward speech." He added that they wanted to strengthen their group.

Regarding the reality of Eurasian cooperation, Mr Orbán stressed that in education there was far less emphasis on this topic than on relations between the United States of America and Europe, despite the fact that our continent's most integral connection is not with the far side of the ocean, but with the territories situated East of us. This includes not only Russia, but also the Caucasus, China, India, Korea and Japan, he stressed. It appears to be difficult for Hungarian discourse "to change orientation," he observed, adding that there are three maps on the walls of his office: one of Europe in the middle, another one of the United States, and a third one of Asia.

"We Hungarians do not look at the world in this way, we are used to a single viewpoint. I think it's time to speak more in education, in public discourse and perhaps also in interviews like this about the fact that Europe constitutes a single integral geographical unit with Asia," the Prime Minister pointed out. Mr Orbán stressed that the task in hand was to reorient Europe and Hungary which we would do well to carry out not only in our economic, trade and investment policies, but equally in our own thinking.

Regarding the national consultation, he said those who oppose the consultation are, in actual fact, not interested in the people's opinion, do not want a direct link between political decisions and the people's will. He took the view that this approach also carried a degree of contempt. The Prime Minister spoke about "a negative threatening tone stemming from contempt" which is now emerging in politics as a new phenomenon. According to this, "people are smelly, some colleagues are braindead, while journalists must be pushed into the Danube." Earlier when someone accidentally made a slip of the tongue, they immediately apologised and retired from politics, Mr Orbán observed, saying that it is unprecedented that this kind of vulgarity should be the essence of someone's political behaviour and that "it should keep flowing like a boundless river." He added that verbal vulgarity leads to physical aggression sooner or later, and we would do well to spare ourselves of this as well because "we don't need a war in politics," "we're a single community, we must treat each other with respect."

The Prime Minister spoke about increasing the purchasing power of wages as an important element of the government's new economic action plan. He indicated that while it was for employers and workers to agree on the minimum wage, it was the government's duty to affix a seal to the agreement. At the same time, if the parties fail to reach an agreement because their positions are too far apart, the government is ready to help. This was the situation also most recently, and with the government's assistance, a three-year agreement was concluded which will soon be finalised. As a result of this agreement, the Hungarians can rest assured that in 2025, 2026 and 2027, the minimum wage will increase in excess of the rate of inflation, meaning that the purchasing power of the Hungarian people's money will increase, not decrease. He observed that this year they calculated with an inflation rate between 3 and 4 per cent, while there had been a wage increase above 10 per cent.

"We would like to maintain the dynamic of this robust wage increase with this agreement," said the Prime Minister, observing that this is good news, making the lives of families plannable and predictable.