Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has called for making 2025 "a breakthrough year".
During a speech delivered on Saturday assessing the nation over the past year, PM Orbán called 2024 a "manly year", saying that "yesterday we were heretics, but today half the world is knocking on our door."
The prime minister said that despite the "thunders" that preceded last year's European Parliament elections, they had remained calm because they knew that "what matters is time, and the one thing that's constant in politics is change".
"We lost our president and our top MEP candidate, and the war was also looking increasingly worse," PM Orbán said. "But we also faced betrayal. It turned out that the road from the front row of this event to Mr. Weber's coffers in Brussels isn't that long," he said, referring to Peter Magyar, the leader of the opposition Tisza Party.
"One who betrays his friends also betrays his party," he said. "This kind of person will betray everyone right away. Why wouldn't he betray his country?"
The prime minister said 2024 had been a "nightmare". He noted that the former US ambassador to Hungary had "assumed leadership of the opposition", and Hungary had endured "shots from both Washington and Brussels" while "the agents of George Soros in Hungary were setting fire to haystacks and poisoning wells".
But, he added, Fidesz’s strength was in the loyalty of its community. "Those who don’t understand or feel the beauty of this are free to leave. In the end, everyone will get what they deserve," he said.
PM Orbán said that in politics there was no victory without suffering. "Pain is our friend, and then victory will compensate us for everything, it’s the best medicine," he said. "We only have to wait 14 months for the next one," he said, referring to the 2026 general election.
PM Orbán said that last year Fidesz had gone from the resignation of the president in February to the second biggest margin of victory in the European Parliament elections in June.
"The word patriot rings louder than ever in Brussels today, even though it takes death-defying courage to talk about patriotism there," he said.
Assessing the period between 2010 and 2025, Orban said "a handful of Hungarians have been fighting an empire on their own" for the last 15 years.
PM Orbán said Hungarians had played their part in changing the world, far beyond what is warranted by the country's size, economic weight or population
"We were the pioneers, vanguard and initiators of the uprising," he said.
"It was at times brutally difficult and sometimes seemed hopeless ... I am not talking about Fidesz or the government but Hungarians. The Hungarian nation was there behind us, one and all, all the way through," he said.
He praised Hungarians' "perseverance and determination". "They didn't give up, they didn't back down, they never said we should give in to Soros ... or surrender to Brussels," he said.
He thanked "all revolutionary Hungarians protecting their country against the empire with their diligence, work and obstinacy".
"I am grateful to serve such a nation," PM Orbán said.
"We have given the country a new Christian national constitution, protected ourselves from migration, protected our children from gender activists, stood up for peace and stayed out of the war," Orban said. "We have protected Hungary from Soros and his affiliates, protected forex debtors from banks and families from skyrocketing utility prices," he said, adding that the number of jobholders in Hungary was at a record 4.7 million.
"This year the struggle continues," he said. "We've been rebelling up until now, but now we also want to win."
"This year will be different: now we’re the ones on the main street of history, and our opponents are wandering the muddy suburban backroads," he said.
Commenting on this week’s meeting of European leaders in Paris, PM Orbán said the EU was "outraged that the [peace] talks began without them and they want a seat at the table".
PM Orbán said that after Hungary, the United States had also "revolted". He warned, at the same time, that Hungarians should not think that the US's "successful revolt" would secure "victory" for Hungary
"They can't win for us, they can only improve our chances," he said, adding that US President Donald Trump was "not our saviour but our brother-in-arms"
"From Hungary's perspective, all that has happened was that in the battle of David and Goliath, David's brother has arrived and he seems like a pretty tough guy," Orban said
"We've been given a chance to break out from a castle that's under siege … and break through the empire's positions," he said.
"Now is the time to think big and bold. So I propose that 2025 be a breakthrough year."