Good afternoon.
Former Presidents Áder and Schmitt and your Dear Wives, Mister Speaker, Leaders of Hungarian communities from beyond our borders, Ladies and Gentlemen,
As you are certainly aware, around two weeks ago a devastating earthquake shook Türkiye and Syria. The death toll is now over 44,000, and sadly this is not yet the end. Sorrows come suddenly, without warning, without knocking on the door, but simply smashing it open on us. In our sorrow, we find out who we can count on. We Hungarians can be counted on: 167 of our compatriots took part in the rescue work, and thirty-five people were rescued from the rubble by experts and volunteers who risked their lives in the process. Some of them are here with us now; let us salute our heroes, who have honoured us with their presence here. Ladies and Gentlemen, thank you for your sacrifice, a country is proud of you! Please stand up and let us see you!
Ladies and Gentlemen,
So much has happened in the past year – an election, the war, an energy crisis, inflation – that in fact I should spend several hours talking about it. Please do not start making for the door: it is too late now, if you are here, you are here. Tomorrow, on Sunday, you can rest yourselves after a speech of Atatürk or Fidel Castro proportions. But I will keep it shorter after all, because during a long political speech people lose their zest for life – and we are not here to lose our zest for life, but to renew our zest for life. And with that I have dived headlong into what I have to say. Today the most important question for the future is whether the enormous changes taking place in European life – which are bringing us new intellectual, political, economic and military challenges – will enhance or diminish Hungarians’ zest for life. These changes are putting pressure on the whole of Hungarian life and are confronting us with new questions. The success of the year 2023 will depend on whether we are energised by them or deflated by them.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
As I circulate in international politics, I often think of the old Hungarian song: “Mother, I Didn’t Want That Kind of Horse”. And indeed, we Hungarians did not want to live in such a chaotic world. But, as my mother would say, “Son, life is not a request show.” And she is right.
Everything had been so well thought out: we had cut our way through the piles of rubble left behind by the socialist governments ousted in 2010, through the ruins of Wild-East socialism, through unemployment, through an economy gasping for breath, through foreign currency loans, through disaffected envy, through prostration to the West, through sky-high utility bills, through illicit gratuities in the healthcare system, through cheating the system while living on welfare benefits, and through resigned acceptance of the second-rate. We were just beginning to believe that there would be a place in the sun for every Hungarian, and that such a place would be here. It turned out that it is possible to live better from one’s work than from benefits, that having children is not a burden but a joy – or, to be more precise, a burden that is a joy. We were beginning to believe that life here would be fruitful, that there would be enough for everyone. We came to think that in order to get ahead we do not need to take from one another or take that which belongs to others, because the cake we can bake will be much bigger than any we have seen so far. One million people have been given work, and never before in Hungary have so many people been in work. The Hungarian economy has tripled in size and the minimum wage is now higher than the average wage was under our Socialist predecessors. We have brought forth a national Christian constitution that is worthy of us. We have reorganised the Hungarian state with courage that if not death-defying is at least Brussels-defying. And, brushing off the naysayers, we have built a new Hungarian economy in which everyone has received the chance to find their own destiny. True, it has been an arduous ten years, we have sweated a lot, our knees and elbows have been grazed and bruised, and we have collected our fair share of blisters; but we feel that it has been worthwhile. We have learned how to make headway in the renewed Hungary, we have seen that the effort has not been in vain, and it has dawned on us Magyars that “once more our name and story shall match our ancestors’ in glory”. This is why, after our first historic two-thirds majority in 2010, we won a two-thirds majority in each of the three subsequent parliamentary elections. We still gained such a majority now, even though the entire Left in Hungary combined their forces against us, even though Brussels tried to starve our treasury, and even though Uncle George [Soros] rolled 4 billion forints here from America to provide his comrades with ammunition – to shoot at us. They came a cropper, they shot wide: not a little, a lot. They fell flat on their faces, and I think they will pay the price.
Do you remember the film “Once Upon a Time in the West?” The dialogue at the beginning of the film? The Charles Bronson character, “Harmonica”, questions the three bandits waiting for him:
“And Frank?”
“Frank sent us”, they reply.
“Did you bring a horse for me?”
“No.”
Seeing their three horses, Harmonica says, “You brought two too many.”
This is what happened in Hungary in 2022. And as far as I can see, right now the Hungarian Frank, our “Feri” [Ferenc Gyurcsány], is trying to round up the horses that are left without owners. The lesson is that when you look at your opponent you should judge them not by their numbers but by their ability. It seems that God loves us.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Election victories – especially two-thirds majorities – are not something that people just hand you on a plate. There is work behind them, and the result of that work is appreciated by the people. Otherwise there will be no victory – and certainly no two-thirds majority. Of course, there are always malcontents, who think that we were just lucky. Fine, call it luck – once. But four times? If you are always lucky, it is also possible that you have something to offer; for example, you love your country and you are prepared to fight for it – at home, if need be, or in the world at large, if need be. The Left should understand that for victory millions of dollars and influential patrons are not enough. For victory, Dear Friends, luck is not enough: you need heart.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Just when we thought we were finally standing up straight, COVID hit us, in the spring of 2020 – three years ago now. It brought us pain and irretrievable losses. But we were right to hope that we would pull through it, get back on our feet and pick up where we had left off. I thought that we would arrive at where we always wanted to be. We would occupy the level in the world entitled to us by our talent, hard work and history. We would be among the best, somewhere in the vanguard. Once again, there would be many children, many millions of hearts who awaited the good news of an orderly, attractive and safe country, a green Carpathian Basin that can withstand climate change. And even though the lion and the lamb would not lie down together, we hoped that the Left would finally understand that this is a common homeland, and that we have no other.
And then war struck – or broke out. It is now one year old, and by every reckoning it could last for a long time – even several years, it seems. Everything has changed – including in politics and in the economy. The West has moved firmly in the direction of the Wild West. From the years of COVID the world has not got back on track, but we have moved into the years of war. In fact, since March 2020 – for almost three years – we have been living our lives under constant pressure. And this could easily turn into four or even five years. Of the thirty-two years since the fall of communism, 2022 was the most difficult. It was the most difficult year.
When the West entered the war with sanctions, we had to rethink everything. That occupied the months following the April election. We had to rethink economic policy, defence policy, military policy, and all of our foreign policy. In the glare of war, we had to re-examine all the major goals we had set ourselves in 2010, after our first two-thirds victory. We are nearing the end of this work. As I see it, there is no need to abandon or give up the goals, only to change the means by which they will be achieved. Our foreign policy remains: we want to continue to make friends, not enemies; we want everyone – East and West, North and South – to have a stake in the success of the Hungarians. The creation of connections instead of the formation of blocs. National unification will continue, and Hungarians beyond our borders can continue to count on us, because we are of the same blood. Our family policy will remain, our work-based economy will remain, our agreement with pensioners and the thirteenth month’s pension will remain, and so will the protection of reductions in household utility bills. We will continue the linking of universities to the economy. We can keep the strategic sectors – the banking sector, the energy sector and the media industry – in Hungarian hands, and we will even revive Hungarian ownership in the telecommunications and infocommunications sector. And we will not stop there, the windsock is already blowing in the wind. Sorry! And the promise made to the provinces remains: we are launching unprecedented developments and providing more resources than the Hungarian provinces have ever seen – even under the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Alongside agricultural production, we are building up agricultural processing. We will revive the Hungarian food industry, which has been devastated by privatisation, and we will have national champions in the food industry who will also be able to compete in the world market. We shall not tolerate Hungarians having to buy food that is dumped on us from abroad. And we are retaining our plan for the eastern part of our country to catch up with the rest. It is time to finally unite Hunnia and Pannonia – both economically and in terms of living standards. This is why we are building bridges on the Danube, why the one at Paks will be completed, and why the one at Mohács will soon be started. We are placing the Debrecen-Nyíregyháza-Miskolc triangle alongside the Győr-Szombathely-Veszprém industrial zone. This will require energy, a lot of energy – more than ever before in Hungary. This is why we will build power stations and pipeline systems, even if Brussels is unwilling to play a role. Later there will be more. And we will not give up our most daring plan: to ensure that families with children are better off financially than those who do not have children. So, war or no war, we will have new family support decisions every year. The same is true this year, with women committing to having children paying no personal income tax until the age of 30. This is how it will be. But I know that for us Hungarians this is not enough. We know the joke we inherited from socialism: “We know what will happen, but the question is this: what will happen until then?”
Dear Friends,
If 2022 was the hardest year, 2023 will be the most dangerous year since the fall of communism. Alongside migration, which is gradually becoming a permanent feature, two new enemies and two new dangers are lurking: one is war, and the other is inflation. If we want to return to the upward trajectory from which the COVID pandemic pushed us, we must fend off these two threats: we must overcome them, we must fight our way through them. But how? Today this is what I will talk about.
How do we overcome the danger of war? We want to simply put an end to it, but we do not have the power to do so – we are not in that league. Therefore, if we want to protect Hungary, if we want a peaceful life for ourselves, we have only one choice: we must stay out of the Russo-Ukrainian war. So far this has not been easy, and it will not be easy in the future, because we are part of the Western world, we are members of NATO and the European Union, and everyone there is on the side of war – or at least acts as if they are. Can Hungary afford to remain on the side of peace in such circumstances, in a way that is directly opposed to that of our allies? Of course we can, because Hungary is an independent, free and sovereign state, and we recognise no one but God above us. But is it right – morally right – for us to stay out of the war? I am convinced that it is the right thing – and indeed the only right thing. Russia has attacked Ukraine, so we must let Ukrainian refugees into our country, and we have done well in supporting them with the largest humanitarian aid operation in our country’s history. This is the imperative of basic humanity, and we are complying with it. But we also see that the war in Ukraine is not a war between the armies of good and evil, but a war between the troops of two Slavic countries: a war limited in time and – for the time being – in space. It is their war, not ours. Hungary recognises Ukraine’s right to self defence, to fight against external aggression; but it would not be right from any point of view – including any moral point of view – to put the interests of Ukraine before those of Hungary. The Left in Hungary is also on the side of war: it would supply arms, take on the financial burden of war and sever relations with Russia. We are not doing this. We are not supplying arms. We are also being careful with money, because in the end the money due to us will be given by Brussels to Ukraine. For us, humanitarian support for Ukraine does not mean severing our ties with Russia, because that would run counter to our national interests, which we have the right to define for ourselves. Therefore we shall not agree to gas, oil or nuclear sanctions that would ruin Hungary. From the national consultation we know that there is national unity on this. This is why we are maintaining our economic relations with Russia; and indeed we are advising the whole Western world to do the same, because without relations there will be neither a ceasefire nor peace negotiations. This is why we do not agree with priests and church leaders being placed on sanctions lists; it is bad enough that this could happen to artists and athletes. And it is also important not to narrow our vision, and not to be provincial. Let us look beyond Brussels. Every country outside Europe is aware of the limited significance of the war in Ukraine and the primacy of its own national interest. Let us not isolate ourselves from the level-headed part of the world. The Hungarian viewpoint is an exception only in Europe – across the world it is the norm. The Hungarian government does not consider it realistic to assume that Russia is a threat to the security of Hungary or of Europe. Such an assumption is valid at most in relation to nuclear weapons; but the war in Ukraine is increasing the risk of their use, rather than reducing it. As far as conventional warfare is concerned, the Ukraine war has shown that Russia would not stand a chance against NATO. We understand that the Ukrainians are trying to convince Europe that the Russians will not stop until they reach the Atlantic, but the Hungarians are not buying that threat. The whole world has seen that Russian forces are not in a position to attack NATO, and will not be in such a position for a long time. I recall that a decade ago Hungary proposed the creation of a joint European force, and today we can see how unfortunate it was that this proposal fell on deaf ears.
Dear Friends,
While our pro-peace position and the pro-war position of others accentuate differences between us, they also obscure the fact that we are in full agreement on strategic objectives. We want Russia not to be a threat to Europe, and we want there to be a sufficiently broad and deep area between Russia and Hungary: a sovereign Ukraine. The difference between us is in our view of the means to achieve this: those who support the war think that this can be achieved by defeating Russia; and we think that it can be achieved by an immediate ceasefire and negotiations. There is another strong argument in favour of our proposal: the only thing that can save lives is a ceasefire. Loss of life is already being expressed in the hundreds of thousands. The pain, widowhood, growing numbers of orphans and oceanic waves of suffering can only be calmed by a ceasefire.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
The war has also revealed some instructive and weighty truths. Let us not pass them by without speaking of them. First of all, there is the question of our membership of NATO. Let us make it clear that for Hungary NATO membership is vital. We are too far to the east – on the eastern edge of the western world – to renounce it. It would of course be easier if we were further in: following the example of Austria and Switzerland, we too could play with the idea of neutrality. But history has not given us that luxury. NATO is a defence alliance. It is a military defence alliance which was formed so that we can defend one another. This is why we joined, and this is why – thinking back to 45 years of Soviet occupation – I experienced the historic satisfaction of signing the Treaty of Accession. It is at least as important to clearly understand what NATO is not. NATO is not a war alliance. NATO is not a war coalition. Membership of NATO does not imply any obligation beyond joint defence, nor can member countries expect any other member to jointly attack a third country for some joint military objective. If some NATO members, or a group of them, want to carry out acts of war outside the territory of the member countries, they must do so outside the framework of NATO: those who want to will participate; those who do not want to will not.
Dear Friends,
No matter how strong and powerful, anyone who thinks they can supervise, manage and gradually calibrate the conduct of war is overestimating their own power and underestimating the risky nature of war. Those who make such mistakes are usually far removed from the devastating realities of frontline warfare. But we live here, and the war is on the soil of a neighbouring country. Brusselites have not yet sacrificed their lives in this war, but Hungarians have. While Hungarian symbols are being taken down in Munkács/Mukachevo, while Hungarian principals are being dismissed from our schools, many are dying heroes’ deaths on the front. The Hungarian minority in Transcarpathia does not deserve this. More respect for Hungarians from Munkács/Mukachevo, Kyiv/Kiev, Brussels and Washington!
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Europe is drifting towards war. It is balancing on a narrow plank. Indeed its countries are already indirectly at war with Russia. If you supply weapons, if you provide the satellite information for military action, if you train the soldiers of one of the belligerents, if you finance the entire state apparatus of one of the belligerents and impose sanctions on the other, then, no matter what you say, you are at war – indirectly for the time being. The risk of being drawn in is now chronic. It started with helmets, it has continued with the delivery of non-lethal equipment, we are now seeing tanks being sent, fighter planes are on the agenda, and soon we will hear about so-called “peacekeeping troops”. It reminds one of sleepwalkers on a roof. We also need to understand how the pro-war people succumbed to somnambulism and how they ended up on the rooftops. Despite all our differences of opinion, we understand our Polish and Baltic friends: their history explains a great deal. But the others?
It did not have to happen this way – or rather it could have happened differently. We could have given a guarantee that we would not admit Ukraine to NATO; but we did the opposite, and confirmed our earlier decision in 2008 that we would admit them. We could also have followed the solution that we adopted in 2008 when the Russo-Georgian war broke out, and Russia occupied 20 per cent of Georgia’s territory. Back then we decided to prevent the fire spreading, and under the leadership of President Sarkozy – who negotiated brilliantly – the conflict was localised and a ceasefire was achieved. We could have done what we did in 2014 under Angela Merkel, when Russia attacked Ukraine and annexed Crimea. Then we could have opted for war, like the present one, but we – the West – chose a different option: negotiation instead of combat, peace instead of war. I remember that there were pro-war people then, but there was also strong German and French leadership, which was brave and took timely action. That is how war was avoided and the Minsk agreement was reached. A year ago the West decided otherwise. When Russia launched an attack, the West did not isolate the conflict, but elevated it to a pan-European level. It could have classified it as a local, regional war or as a military conflict between two Slavic states, as Hungary proposed. What happened is yet another argument against the Brussels superstate and in favour of strong nation states. When the Member States decided, there was peace; when the imperial centre decided, there was war.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Looking to the future, it is also instructive to note how we lost our pro-peace allies. A year ago we were not alone in the peace camp. There were, for example, the Germans, who supplied no weapons, only helmets. By comparison, in a few weeks’ time Leopard tanks will be rolling eastwards across Ukrainian soil, down towards the Russian border. Perhaps even the old maps are still around. The Germans turned together with the others, or the others turned together with the Germans. That is how the peace camp faded away. It is hard to believe that the Germans took this turn of their own accord. Today they act as if they were always on board. The modern German school: they do not simply change sides, but openly announce that they are jumping right to the front. They are thorough people, and when they do something, they do it seriously. And the other countries thought that if the Germans could not resist that kind of external pressure then they, too, would be unlikely to. And so they seeped from the peace camp into the war camp. That left two of us: Hungary and the Vatican. We cannot complain about the company, but we need to address some serious consequences.
We need to honestly face the fact that the war is getting wilder and more brutal, and so we had better be prepared for the tone used against us to get harsher and more abusive: provocations, insults, threats and blackmail. I cannot promise that it will be easy, but I can promise that we shall stand our ground. Long gone are the days when we were subject to diplomatic pressure which still respected sovereignty. Where are the good old days, when in 2014 Hillary Clinton sent just one “good friend” to persuade the Hungarians of the error of their ways with anti-government protests and a few travel bans? We manoeuvred well then, our calculations worked, and in the form of Donald Trump friendly relief troops arrived – fortunately not here, but in Washington. Since then a lot of water has flowed down the Potomac. Fortunately the White House has retained its sense of humour, and instead of a “good friend”, President Biden has sent us a “press man”, an ambassador to ratchet up the pressure on us and do whatever it takes to press the Hungarians into the camp of war: to press a statement out of us in which we commit ourselves to joining in. This is fine, humour can help friendship survive hard times. But we should avoid the possibility that next time they send someone called Puccini!
Ladies and Gentlemen,
We see that in 2024 America will have another election, and our Republican friends are flexing their muscles in preparation for their return. I also expect that democracy will show its strength in Europe, that public opinion will become increasingly pro-peace, demanding a ceasefire, peace talks, more sanity and – if necessary – new governments. It will not be a walk in the park, but then the smoother and more leisurely roads all lead to war.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
We have no illusions, we are not naive, and neither are we the flower children of ‘68 or dreaming pacifists. We know that the negotiations will not be between the Ukrainians and the Russians: peace will come when the Americans and the Russians negotiate with each other. That will inevitably happen, but the later it happens, the higher the price we will all pay. War enthusiasts believe that time is on the side of the Ukrainians and the West, so the fight must go on: it will change the balance of power, there will be victory over Russia, and victory will bring peace. The Hungarian government, however, believes that continued fighting will not bring victory and will not bring peace, but the deaths of hundreds of thousands more people, a widening conflict, countries engaged in open warfare, years of war, destruction, suffering and the threat of world war. So let us Hungarians stand by peace, but let the Defence Minister keep his powder dry. That is all I have to say about the war.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
If we want to fight inflation, we must start with understanding. Why is there inflation all over Europe? Brussels has unleashed this affliction on us, with its sanctions on energy. The disease is called sanction inflation and the virus is the Brussels sanctions. Sanctions are the weapons in Brussels’ war policy. They target Russia, but they hit Europe. It was not so long ago that Brussels promised that these sanctions would bring an end to the war. A year has passed, and the end of the war is not getting closer, but ever more distant. They also promised that they would not extend the sanctions to energy. But then they did. The price of natural gas multiplied, reaching 350 euros at the end of August. That is a record, something not seen in living memory. The situation has improved, but the price of natural gas is still several times higher than the 20-euro level of two years ago. Moreover, and few people know this, in Brussels the price of gas was linked to the price of electricity. Together with the Poles we protested, but to no avail. The rise in gas prices has therefore been immediately accompanied by a rise in electricity prices – even when that electricity is not produced by gas turbines, but by solar, wind, hydro, coal or nuclear power. It is economics 101 that energy price hikes drive up the price of all products. This is especially true if you import most of your energy from abroad, as Hungary does. Moreover, it has turned out that we have not deprived Russia of revenue, but have given them more money. In 2022 the profits of the world oil and gas industry increased by 70 per cent, without the mammoth corporations concerned renewing anything or producing more: they just pocketed the extra profit from sanctions, which they made Europeans pay for. In 2022 the sanctions took four thousand billion forints out of the pockets of Hungarians. Four thousand billion forints! This is how much more money Hungarian companies, the state and families in Hungary have spent on energy alone, because of the sanctions. This amount could have been spent by companies on wage increases, by the state on tax cuts or family support, and by families on buying a home or on their children.
One just stands amidst the glass palaces of Brussels, not wanting to believe what is going on there. We have to face reality: instead of help, Brussels is giving us more sanctions. The Brussels bureaucracy, with well-considered bad intentions, has not given Hungary or Poland their share of the European Recovery Programme. In 2022, in the most difficult year, we did not receive money that the Member States took out as a joint loan, according to which we Hungarians will have to pay back our share. They are looking for nits to pick out of Hungary’s rule of law, while a police van is on permanent standby at the European Parliament building. In reality it is the Member States that should be monitoring Brussels, not Brussels monitoring the Member States. I hope this will be the case after the European elections in 2024. If Brussels wants to go to war under any circumstances, then it should go to war against inflation. It is not doing so. But we are continuously fighting our own war on inflation. We have already enacted two dozen or so measures to protect families and businesses.
The most important thing now, my friends, is not to see inflation as an inescapable scourge. And even though inflation is peaking and placing a heavy burden on families, it should not frighten us, it should not chill us, and we should not be resigned to it. Action must be taken, and it will yield results. I learned from Sándor Demján that in times of crisis there is no such thing as normativity. You must intervene in the economy with courage. This is what we are doing, which is why the average family today is saving 181,000 forints a month in reduced utility bills. This is unique in the whole of Europe. The Left is calling for the food price freeze to be withdrawn, but it will remain until we can bring inflation down. The Left – together with the banks, unsurprisingly – is also calling for the lifting of the retail interest rate freeze. But the interest rate freeze is protecting 350,000 families from interest rate rises, and until interest rates start to fall, the freeze should stay in place. Instead of withdrawing it, we have extended it to student loans. So today we are protecting 200,000 students from inflation. Student loans are interest-free, and the interest rate on a free-use student loan is half the market rate. And now we are introducing a reduced-rate county travel pass. From 1 May, we will offer monthly nationwide and county passes valid for both bus and rail travel. The monthly pass will cost 9,450 forints, and the monthly nationwide pass will cost 18,900 forints. Those who travel to work by public transport can save a considerable amount.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Forging a good shield – one that can absorb heavy blows – is expensive. Therefore windfall profits must be taken from where they occur. We have taxed banks, energy companies and multinational retail chains. And the windfall profits taken are put into the fund to preserve cuts in household utility bills.
In summary, 2022 was a year that could have broken the backbone of the Hungarian economy. The official doomsayers, respected former central bank governors and former right-wing economists were also expecting this, and were already administering the last rites to us. Bankruptcies, unemployment, currency collapse, insolvency, Armageddon: that was what the Left predicted. Now, in February, employment is higher than ever, foreign exchange reserves are at record levels, and the forint has stabilised. The truth is that, alongside and in spite of painfully high inflation, in 2022 the Hungarian economy broke three records. A hat-trick. I hope coach [Marco] Rossi is listening. Never have so many people been in work in Hungary. Our exports have broken records, and never before has there been so much investment in Hungary as there was in 2022. This is why we are still on our feet despite high prices, and this is why the economy will not stall in 2023. Inflation is like a tiger, and you only have one bullet. If you miss, it will eat you up. Please trust us, we will hit it. You can bet on it: by the end of the year we will have inflation in single digits.
Dear Friends,
As we can see, the situation is serious, but not hopeless – in fact it is encouraging. Hungarians’ survival instincts are operating, they can see things clearly, and – as the national consultation has shown – there is broad agreement on the main objectives. Here today I thank all those who took part in the national consultation. We will stay out of war, Hungary will remain an island of peace and security, and we will conquer inflation – this is always the Government’s job, and there will be no mistakes. But there is something else that a government, however confident it may be, will not be able to do on its own. You know, everyone has heard, what a despicable thing happened in one of our schools. One cannot understand why the sky does not fall, why the earth does not open up to swallow up those whose place is under it.
Dear Friends,
Let us say it how it is: paedophilia cannot be forgiven. Children are sacred to us, and it falls to adults to protect children at all costs. We do not care that the world has gone mad. We do not care what repellent aberrations some people indulge in. We do not care how Brussels excuses and explains the inexplicable. This is Hungary! And this is where the strictest child protection system in Europe should be! The legislation is there, and the missing pieces will be found, but even the most determined government cannot succeed in this matter on its own. It will require everyone: parents, grandparents, mothers and fathers, teachers and educators. Because gender propaganda is not just an entertaining caper, not just rainbow chatter, but the greatest threat stalking our children. We want our children to be left alone, because enough is enough! This kind of thing has no place in Hungary, and especially not in our schools. I am counting on you, we are counting on all Hungarian people of goodwill, so that we can do this job together, once and for all, in 2023.
God above us all, Hungary before all else! Go, Hungary, go Hungarians!
source: https://miniszterelnok.hu/en/prime-minister-viktor-orbans-state-of-the-nation-address-2023-02-18/
Well, speaking as a native of Serbia (and living only a few kilometers from Hungary), it’s reassuring to know that to the north are people that actually give f- about peace and “staying out of it”. That should make my nights easier. #BufferZone
Mi magyarok és ti harcos szerbek évszázadokon át együtt vitézen harcoltunk az oszmán birodalom ellen , s ezt minden a történelmet ismerő magyar ember tudja , bár voltak konfliktusaink is , de most Hála Istennek az államaink között nagyon jó a kapcsolat ! Abban biztos lehetsz hogy mi baráti kezet fogunk nyújtani akkor is ha bajban vagytok !
machine translation:
For centuries we Hungarians and you warrior Serbs fought bravely together against the Ottoman Empire , and every Hungarian who knows history knows this , although we had our conflicts , but now, thank God, the relationship between our states is very good ! You can be sure that we will give you a friendly hand even if you are in trouble !
I was happy and uplifted after reading, but, just for a realitycheck, a little tour-de-thought:
Its common knowledge that in politics the actual meaning of statements like “denied all involvement”,
“never intended” etc coming from a head of state actually tend to mean the geometric opposite.
So when I heard Mr Orban say like “Russia doesn’t have a chance against NATO” and such, i was thinking, oh, he means the opposite. And if listened through such ears, the effect is, i assume, we are doomed.
We gotte brace ourselves for a big impact. No disrespect meant, just thinking.
Én az anyanyelvemen követtem a miniszterelnökünk szavait , de Mr Orbán ilyent biztosan nem állított , hogy alábecsülte volna az Oroszország képességeit ! Mi magyarok harcoltunk az Orosz Birodalom ellenében aztán a Szovjetunió ellen , apám és nagyapán fegyverrel harcolt ellenük , ismerjük őket , nem igazából ilyen ellenségre vágynánk , ha érti mire célzok ! ” Azon csak mosolyogni tudunk hogy a buta megtévesztett nyugati emberek mennyire hisznek a propagandának és elhiszik hogy az Orosz népet csak úgy könnyedén le lehet győzni , ez talán abból fakad hogy az oktatás szinvona szánalmas szinten lehet arrafelé és nem oktattak történelmet részletesen és alaposan , mert akkor tudnák hogy az összes hatalom aki rátámadt az oroszokra az mindig véres fejjel ,futva megalázva megverve vonult vissza , erre tanúság a párizsi és berlini lakosság ! Van egy mondás nálunk : ” A medve nem játék , a medve megöl !
Viszont annyit szeretnék megjegyezni itt ezen a fórumon, hogy Mr Orbán a magyar nép nagyrészének a bizalmát tudhatja maga mögött, s amit itt elmondott az a nép, aki őt megszavazta nagy többséggel ( közte én is ) az a népnek is ez a véleménye !
machine translation:
I followed the words of our Prime Minister in my mother tongue , but Mr Orbán certainly did not claim to underestimate Russia’s capabilities ! We Hungarians fought against the Russian Empire and then against the Soviet Union , my father and grandfather fought against them with guns , we know them , we would not really want such an enemy , if you know what I mean ! ” We can only smile at how stupidly deluded Westerners believe propaganda and believe that the Russian people can be easily defeated , this is probably because the education level is pathetic over there and they are not taught history in detail and thoroughly , because then they would know that all the powers that attacked the Russians always retreated with blood on their heads, running, beaten and humiliated, as the people of Paris and Berlin are testimony to! We have a saying : ” Bears are not toys, bears kill !
However, I would like to say here on this forum that Mr Orbán has the confidence of the majority of the Hungarian people behind him, and what the people who voted for him by a large majority (including me) have said here is the opinion of the people !
Dear fellow hungarian friend! (I pray to the moderators to kindly include the machine translation in my native hungaian language simile at the end of this post!)
I was referring to the 26 min 26 sec timemark in this yt video of the speech
https://www.youtube.com/live/HNu1kDGeTKg?feature=share
In the written version it is at the lower tenth of the second paragrap in the first segment beginning with Dear Friends!
Nevertheless i am humbly expressing my gratitude that this speech of Statesmanship, our Prime Minister Orbán’s made it to this forum. And the hearthwarming experience that other hungarians witnessed it.
Great name by the way!
Cheers and Godspeed!
You’re really right, I listened to it again, I probably thought it was a “rhetorical exaggeration” ! In retrospect, he probably made a gesture to our “allies”, I can’t think of anything else !
Especially in the light of the fact that last week the State Department sent its hyena in the person of the head of USAID, Mrs. Samantha Power, to prepare a “Color Revolution” in a friendly ally state. At the same time, she promised 20 million dollars in aid to the left-liberal opposition in order to finally remove the unpleasant Orbán from the path of “democracy” !
I guess this is how the ” cultural states ” in the West are used to handling this, do they stage a coup in a friendly and allied state if it doesn’t howl with the wolves ?
A wise and witty speech. Hungarians have that reputation. In my field it was mainly because of their brilliant scientists; but “Uncle Georgi” Soros is also a brilliant Hungarian — crook.
Physicists use to say, “A Hungarian is a man who enters a revolving door behind you, and comes out in front of you”
Orban shows that Hungary can also produce brilliant politicians, and on the right side of history too — even though Hungary is a member of NATZO. Amazing!
“We have no illusions, we are not naive, and neither are we the flower children of ‘68 or dreaming pacifists. We know that the negotiations will not be between the Ukrainians and the Russians: peace will come when the Americans and the Russians negotiate with each other. That will inevitably happen, but the later it happens, the higher the price we will all pay. War enthusiasts believe that time is on the side of the Ukrainians and the West, so the fight must go on…. The Hungarian government, however, believes that continued fighting will not bring victory …, but years of war, destruction, suffering …. So let us Hungarians stand by peace”.
That is why Hungary is being ostracised by his fellow members of NATZO. But it is not the only reason: he is being ostracised in the EU$A generally, but for a reason that our Anglo-Capitalist “Privatizing” Plutocrats dare not mention. Hungary is being ostracised because Prime Minister Orban says (unmentionable!) things like this:
“We can keep the Strategic Sectors – the Banking sector, the Energy sector and the Media industry – in Hungarian hands, and we will even revive Hungarian ownership in the Telecommunications and Infocommunications sector. And we will not stop there, “
“That’s why Hungary is ostracized by its fellow NATO members. ”
Well, we consider ourselves a smart people, and although to our shame Georg Soros is also Hungarian-born, we would rather be proud of our scientists such as John von Neumann, Dennis Gabor, Georg von Békésy, Eugene Paul Wigner, Edward Teller , Leo Szilard etc. etc. they were all born in Hungary, without whom there would not have been computer technology, the atom and the hydrogen bomb.
Returning to the “excommunication”, which is pathetic, because our prime minister was elected with a 2/3 majority (several times), which not a single NATO ally or EU partner can say about himself ! Even more so, if we closely examine the leadership of the EU countries, it turns out that somewhere in all of them there is some suspicious connection between them and the dark Deep State. Which is based on the logic that these suspicious state leaders do not act in the interest of their nations like Mr. Orbán, but follow the exact opposite path ! If we look at Germany, for example, as an economic superpower, what kind of political dwarf is the country whose chancellor keeps grinning while its main energy gas pipeline was blown up by the USA, and there is not a word about it in the German press ? Is there anyone here who believes that Scholz could give such a speech as Mr. Orbán, protecting the interests of the German people ? Its a shame !
Very interesting and so different from the von der lying, Jungle Josep, “EU” warlords with no care for the members of their “sovereign states” following the calamitous path of the USA.
Wily Orban manages to stay friends with Hungary, China has excellent terms and exchanges with Hungary.
Some of Orban’s comments are perhaps done for tact, not fact eg “As far as conventional warfare is concerned, the Ukraine war has shown that Russia would not stand a chance against NATO. ” This is fantasy if we observe the situation now.
I am glad to see rert’s comment from Serbia- another country really worth supporting and treating with fairness.
It is notable that while Orban assumes an independent position on all matters of vital importance to Hungary, takes shots at “Uncle George” (a euphemism for Uncle Sam perhaps?), his view of the “Russo-Ukranian” war as he calls it is completely in accordance with the NATO narrative. He does not deviate from it. Some may say, you can’t expect too much, Hungary is not that powerful a country compared to say, Germany, & look at the way they have bent over. But then look at Zoran Milanovic of Croatia, I never thought as a Serb I would find myself praising any Croatian politician or head of state, but what Milanovic said about the war in Ukraine deserves maximum respect. He told the truth, & he told it in such a way as to totally humiliate NATO & the EU. If he could do it, why can’t Orban, when he is so independent?
By Uncle George he means generally George Soros, also hungarian by birth. But, judged by his deeds, a hungarian in name only.
As far as conventional warfare is concerned, the Ukraine war has shown that Russia would not stand a chance against NATO.
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What’s Orbán trying to sell with this banal trite, and more, who is he trying to sell it to?
He might be a…ahem “good politician,” however, he has no clues about military matters. He should sit for a few hours and have a “smoothieX12” with a Russian version of Andrei Martyanov’s videos,
https://www.youtube.com/@smoothieX12/videos
while having a “Reminiscence of the Future.”
http://smoothiex12.blogspot.com/
After that, he might be justified in making stupid statements such as the one above.
Lone Wolf
He may be speaking a bit to the side. If all of NATO, and I mean the total forces of all member countries, were to attack Russia all at once, likely Russia could be defeated — but only because of the sheer volume. However, NATO never does this. NATO operations are piecemeal and scattershot, and practiced only at defeating small countries. So perhaps Mr.Orban cites a remote possibility, but not in any way a probability.
@ Reziac on February 20, 2023 · at 12:32 pm EST/EDT
“He may be speaking a bit to the side. If all of NATO, and I mean the total forces of all member countries, were to attack Russia all at once, likely Russia could be defeated — but only because of the sheer volume…”
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I am not in the business to second-guess or channel Orbán, I only have his words to judge his statement.
Whatever his intentions, his statement is shortsighted, myopic, a long shot aimed at his partners in NATO, with the intention to scare them with the nuclear file.
“Yeah, you can defeat Russia conventionally, but remember, they have nuclear weapons.”
That’s behind his message.
Wonder what elements he has to show Russia can be defeated by NATO.
“…As far as conventional warfare is concerned, the Ukraine war has shown…”
Shown what? Kherson? Kupyansk?
How shortsighted. How myopic.
Orbán’s other side is that of a demagogue, reason why he and Trump are buddies.
Historically, Ukraine can be compared to the Spanish Civil War, a prologue to the confrontation between the Soviet Union and nazified Europe. This is not the first time Russia has to confront continental Europe united with the intention to destroy it. Napoleon, Hitler, were continental armies, and Hungarians died with them, by the thousands. Tens of thousands.
Russia is more than ready to face NATO + their US masters, conventionally.
Just remember Putin a few months ago, “We haven’t started to fight yet.”
And he meant it.
Militarily, Orbán is a blathering nincompoop.
Lone Wolf
Come on. Lone Wolf, you are not seeing the wood for the trees! You need to look beyond the raw words, which are not the true meaning, and understand the context.
Hungary is a small country being blackmailed by the EU and NATO, they cannot afford to call a spade a spade and expect to survive. By once in a while calling a spade a sculpture, it helps them get away with going against the current, and leaves a bit of life-saving ambiguity in their position. Orban is truly a wise leader, he knows the difference between a Quisling and a Statesman.
NATO know they don’t stant a change at defeating Russia militarily. The plan always was, and is, to stop any attack using nukes. They don’t have industrial war capacity anymore, not even able to supply their proxy Ukraine with ammunition. There is a reason for attacking Russia by proxy, they know they would loose in a conventional direct war. The goal of the war was never victory, but one of several triggers for regime change in Russia.
Whatever predjudices people may garner, this speech is a fantastic and unbeatable feat coming from the collective wests politicians.
“Let us say it how it is: paedophilia cannot be forgiven. Children are sacred to us, and it falls to adults to protect children at all costs. We do not care that the world has gone mad. We do not care what repellent aberrations some people indulge in. We do not care how Brussels excuses and explains the inexplicable. This is Hungary! And this is where the strictest child protection system in Europe should be! The legislation is there, and the missing pieces will be found, but even the most determined government cannot succeed in this matter on its own. It will require everyone: parents, grandparents, mothers and fathers, teachers and educators. Because gender propaganda is not just an entertaining caper, not just rainbow chatter, but the greatest threat stalking our children. We want our children to be left alone, because enough is enough! This kind of thing has no place in Hungary, and especially not in our schools. I am counting on you, we are counting on all Hungarian people of goodwill, so that we can do this job together, once and for all, in 2023.”
Viktor Orbán February 2023
Message from Vladimir Putin, President of the Russian Federation, to Victor Orbán, Prime Minister of Hungary, re: his misstatement “As far as conventional warfare is concerned, the Ukraine war has shown that Russia would not stand a chance against NATO.
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http://en.kremlin.ru/events/president/news/70565
Presidential Address to Federal Assembly
Vladimir Putin delivered his Address to the Federal Assembly. The ceremony took place in Gostiny Dvor, Moscow.
“…The Western elite make no secret of their goal, which is, I quote, “Russia’s strategic defeat.” What does this mean to us? This means they plan to finish us once and for all. In other words, they plan to grow a local conflict into a global confrontation. This is how we understand it and we will respond accordingly, because this represents an existential threat to our country.
However, they too realise it is impossible to defeat Russia on the battlefield and are conducting increasingly aggressive information attacks against us targeting primarily the younger generation. They never stop lying and distorting historical facts as they attack our culture, the Russian Orthodox Church and other traditional religious organizations in our country…”
—————————————————-
Someone has to deliver the message to Mr. Orbán, whose reading of history might be useful to scare his NATO partners, not Russia.
Lone Wolf
I can see, Lone Wolf, you are tenaciously holding on to your perhaps purposeful misrepresentaion of Victor Orban or just fail to see beyond his mere words.
You should have reread BM’s excellent comment for a deeper analysis to understand what I see as a Hungarian, living in Canada.
Hungarians have been around the block so to speak a few times and must assume this particular “Diplospeak” sometimes to save our necks. It is a must in the 5D chessgame. It’s a bit sophisticated and requires the understanding of subtle innuendos, something that Hungarians especially have mastered in their long long history and Orban has perfected.
It’s called survival.
The important thing is that the Hungarian populace understands his message, which they do, as they are the ones that really matter.
@ lasernootka on February 21, 2023 · at 2:49 pm EST/EDT
“I can see, Lone Wolf, you are tenaciously holding on to your perhaps purposeful misrepresentaion of Victor Orban or just fail to see beyond his mere words…”
——————————————————————
Well, it looks as if I have stepped on one too many toes.
Not my intention to upset anyone with my comments re: Orbán’s statement about “Ukraine showing Russia does not stand a chance against NATO.”
As I stated above, I am not into the business of second-guessing or channeling Orbán’s words.
I am not Hungarian either, cannot read into the cultural nuances of what Orbán really meant by palm reading, tarot, or reading the leaves.
All I have is his words, and his words are used by Russia’s fifth column at perpetuity.
Does he represent Russia’s fifth column? I don’t know, I hope not. The defeatist message comes from those who want to see Russia defeated, the manifestation of a wish without any historical backing.
Orbán knows, or should know, Russia cannot be defeated, conventionally or not.
Repeating that banal trite only brings water to the mill of the enemies of Russia, which are many, and they don’t need Orbán’s reassurance to hate Russia.
They feed on Russophobia.
I sure hope Putin’s categoric statement eases Orbán’s “concern?” about the defeat of Russia.
Lone Wolf