In an address at the inaugural assembly of the Patriots for Europe party alliance in Paris on Saturday, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán stressed the importance of patriotism and a strong Europe.
PM Orbán thanked Marine Le Pen, the parliamentary group leader of the National Rally in the French Assembly, for organising the assembly, and congratulated the newly elected chairman of the Patriots for Europe, the leader of Spain's VOX party, Santiago Abascal.
Turning to the results of the United States elections, PM Orbán said that Donald Trump, "the patriot himself", would return to the White House. "We can say now proudly that now we patriots are the majority in the Western world," he added.
Reflecting on the lessons to be learnt from the US elections, PM Orbán said the first was that "the left will do whatever it can to kill us, politically, morally and legally". "They cannot accept the idea of us coming back to power. It's only a democracy if they win, and everything is justified to stop us," he added.
PM Orbán said the left was "weaponising" the law and the courts, pointing to legal action against Trump, Matteo Salvini of Italy's Lega, Le Pen, and Herbert Kickl of the Freedom Party of Austria. Those efforts require a "common answer", he added.
The second lesson, PM Orbán said, was that the American elections showed that "we can still win under these extremely difficult circumstances and not just win by a small margin, but we can achieve historic and monumental victory".
"We can win because the left is completely incapable of governing," he said, making the third point. "They are the obstacle standing in the way of a brighter future for the people," he added.
"Countries could be governed better, but the left simply lacks the competence to do so. They had the power, but they left Europe and America powerless. They mismanaged inflation, energy security, war, education, civilisational challenges and, of course, migration. They are the barriers to making America, Hungary and Europe great again," PM Orbán said.
Though they may be portrayed as experts, he said, the left is "only experts of the old world". "We the patriots are the experts of the new world. New times call for a new era and new measures. And the first important lesson from President Trump's campaign victory is this: We must take bold positions and be able to speak about them loudly and clearly," he added.
"There is no need to shift to the center because the centre has already shifted toward us," he said.
PM Orbán noted that migration had been one of the central issues of the Trump campaign. "President Trump did not say let's deport 30 percent of illegals. No. That's what the left said. He said 100 percent," he said. "And look what the people choose. This is the kind of brave leadership we need. Clear decisive and confident," he added.
"We must firmly say no," PM Orbán said, "no gender, no war, no migration".
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"In Europe, there is also a new political reality. Basically, we are the new reality. The Patriots," he added.
"It's not just an empty establishment spirit anymore, it has a concrete body, a strong voice pushing for change in Europe every single day," he said.
"In the European elections, the people of Europe sent a clear message, they want change in Brussels. And we should think about this change. We are now the third-largest force in the European Parliament. And there is every chance that we could become the strongest by the end of this term. We have already won in France, the Czech Republic and Austria, and we will keep winning," he added.
PM Orbán acknowledged that the right had its own challenges, forming international alliances and harmonising policies, but said: "We are patriots, we love our countries, and every country is unique. Even if we face similar problems, different countries need different solutions".
"The left is in a better position, they don't care about their countries. They only care about following their own ideologies. But even us on the right have to find some issues, where we can make a real impact, and come up with concrete objectives. And migration is, of course, one of the most important ones. This is what unites us," he said
"The Patriots' objective is clear: we do not allow people in, and those who are already here, must be removed. It is as simple as that. We must protect our borders and our countries. Weak borders create a weak Europe while strong borders create a strong Europe. If Brussels does not like this you must either change the rules or opt out of them just as our Dutch friends did," he added.
"We Hungarians selected a way of running a rebellion. We in Hungary don't let any migrants in, whatever Brussels says. Nationwide organised rebellion based on law and referendum. That was the way how we protected our nation against migration," Orban said.
"So in conclusion, I am optimistic. People across the Western world are tired of being ruled by the left. The Age of the Left has been like a long bad movie, a poor plot, no resolution, and people ready to walk out halfway through. Now it's time for a new story. The era of patriots and sovereignty is on the horizon. And as it comes we, the Patriots, must be ready. We have a vision, clear objectives, and a concrete plan to achieve them," he added.
"As the Hungarian Presidency motto goes: Let's make Europe great again!" PM Orbán said in closing.