In his regular Friday morning interview on Kossuth Rádió, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán answered questions regarding the escalating situation in Ukraine and the devastating effects of the EU’s failed sanctions policy.
On Hungary's stance vis-á-vis the conflict and whether the country will get involved, Prime Minister Orbán stated that Hungary has a clear position on the issue and has chosen to remain neutral in the interest of peace. In contrast, according to the prime minister, if left-wing parties were in power in Hungary today, we would already be involved in the war.
PM Orbán acknowledged that there is pressure from the West for Hungary to get involved in the conflict but emphasized that the Hungarian government will maintain its stance in the interest of the country and its people. He also said that the question of whether one country is at war with another is not a matter of declarations but of actions, such as sending weapons and financing the belligerents.
He emphasized that the Hungarian government will not take actions that would put the country and its people in harm's way. As the situation in Ukraine continues to escalate, with Germany and the United States sending heavy armor and potentially fighter jets to the country, it is crucial for countries to carefully consider their stance and the potential consequences of involvement.
PM Orbán also spoke about sanctions and the role of the Hungarian people in the matter. He stated that the Hungarian nation is united in opposing these actions and that it is important for their voices to be heard in Brussels. He also mentioned that most European surveys show that European citizens think like the Hungarians; an increasing number of them reject sanctions and believe the EU sanctions policy and the corruption scandal in the EU raise concerns regarding the ability of the European Union to defend the interests of citizens.
Commenting on Europe’s record inflation level, PM Orbán said that inflation must be broken down. “Inflation is a public enemy. I believe that the government has already given the Hungarian national economy the antidote, the medicine, the anti-inflation medicine, and it is working, and I believe that we will overcome this problem,” PM Orbán said, adding that he expects that sometime around February or March “the fever, if we consider inflation to be a fever,” will begin to subside, and we will return to normal.
By the end of the year 2023, on a December per December basis, inflation will be in the single digits, the prime minister said.
Discussing the outcome of the recent national consultation on sanctions and the role it played in his strategy, PM Orbán said that the more strongly and clearly the Hungarian people articulate their opinion on national interests, the harder it is for Brussels to defeat them at the negotiating table. He added that the Hungarian position is clear: The Hungarian people want their voices to be heard in Brussels too.
The prime minister then touched on the issue of media freedom in Hungary and Western Europe. He stated that the media in Western European countries has no place for anti-war voices, and the narrative is the same in both left- and right-wing papers. But the Hungarian reflex is the opposite, with a “multi-vocal” media that allows readers access to the liberal, globalist perspective but also permits the voice of the Hungarian people to reach Brussels too.
Finally, PM Orbán talked about the activities of the domestic left, particularly in relation to the “rolling dollars” scandal. He stated that it has been revealed by the Hungarian secret service that not 3, but 4 billion forints of foreign money was sent for the left's campaign before the elections, some of which went to NGOs and some to media companies.