It is key for Hungary to have an anti-war, pro-peace government

Europe is heading for war; therefore, it is key for Hungary to have an anti-war and pro-peace government, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán stressed on Kossuth Radio's programme 'Good morning Hungary' on Friday.

Mr Orbán pointed out that the world's great powers were presenting new weapons systems, we were perceivably at the start of an arms race, a spiral, and everyone was talking about increasing their military budgets by magnitudes.

The Prime Minister does not agree with analyses likening the present situation to the pre-World War II period, arguing that we are where we were in 1938, meaning that Hitler charges forward, and the European great powers - instead of stopping him - come to an agreement with him, and consecutive small compromises and peace treaties lead us to an enormous Nazi Germany which in turn leads to the outbreak of World War II.

The present situation is more similar to the period before World War I when, he stressed, no one wanted a major European war, yet, in the end, European leaders "teetered" into a situation from which there was no going back. The Prime Minister took the view that also today, European leaders fail to perceive that they are playing with fire; they fail to perceive that all these decisions - new weapons systems, ever more money for Ukraine, ever more soldiers, conscription - could add up to a dangerous mixture which could easily ignite.

"Today, Europe is teetering pie-eyed towards a situation which is posing an ever more direct threat of war," he stated.

He stressed that in this situation "we must very consciously gain a foothold," and must remain on the side of peace. We must state in advance that we will stay out of all the little decisions already at this point in time, lest we should eventually find ourselves in the middle of a war.

This is why it is key from the viewpoint of Hungary's future that the country should have an anti-war and pro-peace government, and that the people, too, should understand, should join this effort and should express their will that they do not want "to teeter together with the other European countries" towards a dangerous situation, he said.

The Prime Minister highlighted that the situation had been worse a year previously because back then the Americans, too, had been on the side of war. Now, it is only the Europeans and the Ukrainians.

In his view, the Americans are on the side of peace, and the Russians, too, have got to the point where they are prepared to agree to a peace deal or a ceasefire in the event of certain conditions that we are now aware of. However, the Ukrainians continue to wage a defensive war and do not want to conclude a peace deal. He described this position as understandable, but "an extremely unfavourable development," adding that the Ukrainians cannot resign themselves to having lost approximately 20 to 22 per cent of their territory, and therefore, they choose to continue the war which is being financed by the Europeans.

He underlined that those who wanted peace made peace, but today from among the great powers, only the United States of America wanted peace. Today, the most important obstacle to the US president's peace attempts is the very group of European countries which call themselves 'the coalition of the willing.' They are willing to send others to war to die because naturally they themselves are not yet going to war, they are only in the process of arming themselves.

He said those who support Ukraine support the war. As war requires money, money and more money, those who support Ukraine and the war at the same time also support tax increases and the withdrawal of funds from national governments because Brussels has no money.

Behind all collective EU borrowing, the Member States stand as ultimate guarantors, and when Brussels sends money to Ukraine, that is always the money of the Member States as well, he pointed out, adding that in the next seven-year budget, Brussels would send more than 20 per cent of the funds contributed by the Member States to Ukraine directly or through hidden channels, while "they don't have a penny for this." In his view, this is why the Tisza Party is talking about taxing pensions, increasing taxes and collective Brussels borrowing.

The Prime Minister said he will travel to Washington with a large delegation for his 7 November meeting with US President Donald Trump where, according to plans, US-Hungarian relations will undergo a comprehensive remodelling, "a facelift." Business executives, multiple ministers, the heads of important state agencies and the senior national security advisor, too, will attend the meeting.

Peace will be an important element of the talks to be conducted at the highest level. At the same time, he has been negotiating about the economic affairs of the two countries for many long months now, and according to plans, they should also be able to "pull off" a major US-Hungarian business cooperation package, he said.

He observed that while the Americans were in the process of taking their businesses home from many parts of the world, US investments were coming to Hungary one after the other. These "are not blown in by the wind," they all come here on the basis of agreements, and the latest economic cooperation package, too, includes "requests and proposals" for further US investments which would intend to come to Hungary.

Mr Orbán indicated that a pre-condition was the settling of the issue of energy because in order for an investor to decide on a long-term investment, they needed to see the development of an important cost element of production, the price of energy.

"I must convince the Americans" that Hungary "is a landlocked country," we have no sea access, and as a result, we are at the mercy of the transport routes through which energy can be transported to Hungary, and these are mostly pipelines.

He observed that while the Germans had a coastline, they were nonetheless seeking exemption from the US sanctions in relation to one of their refineries, and meanwhile, "they're violently tugging our jacket sleeves, demanding that we come off Russian energy."

The war is blocking the European economy, the Prime Minister stated. Mr Orbán said if all the money is spent on weapons, if the money goes to Ukraine, if the Europeans continue doing what they are doing now, the European economy will not be able to gain momentum. Or only from debt which is extremely dangerous, he pointed out.

Therefore, peace, a ceasefire is the most important economic interest for Hungarian families, the Prime Minister stressed.

He said if the war stops, bread will not necessarily be cheaper, but people will earn more. The burden of everyday living will lessen if the war finally comes to an end and there will be a higher economic growth, he stated.

Praising the job done by Minister for the National Economy Márton Nagy, Mr Orbán said it is nothing short of a miracle that even at a time when the European and Hungarian economies are being blocked by the war, the minister is able to simultaneously run pay rise programmes, a three per cent credit programme for first-time home buyers and Europe's largest tax reduction.

None of the other European countries are capable of such a feat, he concluded.

Speaking about the difference between the jobs of economists and politicians in charge of economic policy, Mr Orbán argued that a politician in charge of economic policy saw people, not numbers, and while in that profession there was a need for knowledge in the field of economics, they must never listen to economists.

The problem with left-wing, Tisza and DK [Democratic Coalition] proposals is, in Mr Orbán's view, that "we have already tried them, and they didn't work." He mentioned former finance minister Lajos Bokros as an example, whose proposals were introduced and "they led to enormous problems." He suggested that we forget "about the whole thing, Tisza, DK, liberal, left-wing economists included" because this approach has only ever brought trouble to Hungary.

He took the view that there had only been successful economic policies after 2010 which were the very opposite to what the Left had advised before.

With thrift you cannot place the Hungarian economy on a course of growth, the Prime Minister stressed, indicating that the Hungarian economy is growing, even if moderately, and that even a one per cent economic growth can generate an extra HUF 400 to 500 billion for the budget.

The Hungarian economy is unable to grow more than by one per cent because there is a war under way, he laid down.

Regarding the introduction of the fourteenth monthly pension, Mr Orbán recalled that in 2010 pensioners had suffered much because the previous government had reduced the value of pensions and had taken away the thirteenth monthly pension. The government parties concluded an alliance with pensioners which is about the pledge that pensions cannot decrease in value ever again as long as there is a national government in office in Hungary and as long as Viktor Orbán is prime minister. That they will increase pensions as much as they can and will give back the thirteenth monthly pension.

They "sweated blood," but they managed to give the thirteenth monthly pension back, and a fourteenth monthly will also be necessary, the Prime Minister said, indicating that at the same time, he would not like any changes to be made to the pension system because every good idea and also morally fair adjustment to the pension system generates at least as much as, but possibly more injustice than it could remedy.

According to Mr Orbán, it is better to raise the pensions of every pensioner by the same rate than to selectively favour any one specific group. Therefore, pensions must be raised continuously, he pointed out.

Regarding pay rises, the Prime Minister highlighted that in 2010, in the social care sector, the pre-tax wage of workers had been just HUF 137,000. Today, most people's salaries are between HUF 400,000 and 450,000, while the average is HUF 500,000. A pay rise is an enormous feat - compared with the fact that in 2010 we stood at HUF 137,000 - in light of the fact that the war is blocking economic growth, he explained.

He said Tisza, DK and many economists say about the fourteenth monthly pension, too, that this is not the time. "But this is the time, and we must do it," the question is in how many steps they will be able to introduce it, similar to the introduction of the thirteenth monthly pension. Experts are working on the script for this as we speak, the Prime Minister stated.