Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán accused EU leaders of self-destructive policies, unconditionally following US foreign policy interests, while extolling his “peace mission” as a success in his annual speech at a summer university in Băile Tușnad, Romania on Saturday, IntelliNews reports.
The Hungarian prime minister foresaw the emergence of Asia as a new world economic power and, to the surprise of many, had some harsh words for the new Polish government, accusing Warsaw of pursuing “the most deceitful policies.”
The annual summer university in Transylvania has become a meeting point between Fidesz’s political and cultural elite and ethnic Hungarians living outside the country. The five-day festival concludes with a keynote speech by the prime minister outlining his vision for the future, including on major geopolitical issues.
Those issues are often controversial. A year ago, Orbán caused a diplomatic storm by deriding Romania’s government and political system, as well as Slovakia’s left-liberal government, by labelling southern Slovakia with a significant ethnic Hungarian minority as “breakaway territories.”
Hungarians “do not want to be a mixed race”
At the same meeting in 2022, he caused an international outcry when he declared that Hungarians “do not want to be a mixed race” as in some Western European countries. Ten years ago, after his second election victory with a supermajority under modified rules, the Hungarian strongman used the term “illiberal democracy” for the first time, which in retrospect is seen as the first explicit acknowledgement of his shift to autocracy and the slow demise of Hungarian democracy.
Before travelling to the picturesque Băile Tușnad summer camp, Orbán was received in Bucharest by Romanian Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu to discuss bilateral relations, according to the prime minister’s press chief. As the current rotating EU presidency, Hungary will put Romania’s full accession to the Schengen zone on the agenda in autumn. The two leaders also discussed a high-speed railway link between Bucharest and Budapest, the statement said.
In his speech, Orbán called his trip around the world to Kyiv, Moscow, Beijing and Washington a success, saying there were signs of increased diplomatic activity since its end, mentioning a phone conversation between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and US Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump, as well as a conversation between US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.
In his opinion, neither side wants to give up war, which leads to escalation of the conflict, so peace can only come from outside. He said:
Albeit slowly, we’re moving away from a European pro-war policy in the direction of a pro-peace policy.
Orbán’s self-proclaimed “peacekeeping mission” after the start of the country’s six-month council presidency has angered allies and prompted calls from some member states to end or shorten Hungary’s rotating EU presidency. The Hungarian prime minister has opposed arms deliveries to Kyiv and continues to try to block financial aid to the country.
Russia’s position is rational and predictable, Hungarian PM says
Orbán called Russia’s position in world affairs rational and predictable, in contrast to the “weakness” of the West. He said Russia had shown economic flexibility in adapting to Western sanctions, while Ukraine’s resilience, he said, was due to the fact that Ukraine had gained ‘a glimmer of perspective of belonging to the West’ instead of being a buffer state.
Orbán said European policy had “failed,” arguing that Europe had abandoned the defence of its interests to unconditionally follow the policies of the US Democratic Party, adding that sanctions imposed against Russia were harming European interests, raising energy prices and making the European economy uncompetitive. The Hungarian government blamed Western sanctions for its economic mismanagement, soaring inflation and soaring budget deficit in 2023, arguing that the sanctions hurt the EU more than Russia.
He went on to say that if Europe does not move to a “peace policy” by the time of the November election, it will have to do so after Trump’s victory, “admitting defeat” and taking the political consequences alone.
Orbán is the only EU leader to come out in favour of the former president, and he hopes Trump’s election victory will raise his profile in Europe. Hungarian PM has been criticised by US Ambassador David Pressman for “spreading Kremlin conspiracy theories about the United States.” Pressman wrote on X:
Hardly what we expect from an ally.
He also criticised Poland for wanting to become “the main European stronghold of the United States” and for pursuing “the most deceitful policy” in Europe, saying that while Warsaw was “shamelessly doing business with the Russians,” they were “morally lecturing us for doing the same.” Orbán said Poland had abandoned Visegrad cooperation to form a new centre of power with London, the Baltic states and Scandinavia.
He said the idea of replacing the Paris-Berlin axis was not a new one, but rather an ‘old Polish plan’ to turn Poland into the main American base on the continent.
Poland’s Deputy Foreign Minister Wladyslaw Teofil Bartoszewski said on Sunday that Orbán’s policies were now anti-European, anti-Ukrainian and anti-Polish, adding that the Hungarian prime minister was currently blocking the return to Poland of PLN2bn (€467m) for military equipment transferred to Ukraine.
Orbán: US was behind the 2022 explosion of the Nord Stream pipeline
In his speech, Orbán also claimed that the US was behind the 2022 explosion of the Nord Stream pipeline, calling it an act of terrorism, although he did not provide evidence for this accusation.
In a 90-minute speech, the Hungarian leader also spoke of a changing new world order, led by Asia. A Hungarian “grand strategy” is already being developed to prepare for fundamental changes after 2030. Hungary’s interest lies in connectivity, as the country “should not be locked into any of the emerging Western or Eastern economies.”
Opposition parties have criticised the Hungarian prime minister for developing bold concepts and geopolitical strategies instead of tackling problems at home, such as the cost-of-living crisis, slow economic recovery or rising debt.
Instead, Hungarian PM vowed to extend family support schemes across the border to ethnic Hungarians and double tax rebates for families in 2025 to “restore demographic momentum.”
The greatest rebellion today is to be a patriot
At one point in the speech, the prime minister divided the younger generation into two groups. On one side are the liberals who dress in tight-fitting clothes and consume lattes and avocados, and on the other side are the young, brave and cool patriots. Orbán called the 20-30 generation his successors in making the transition to a new world order.
On Sunday, Fidesz spokesman Tamas Menczer continued this thought, saying the left wing has lost its appeal and “the greatest rebellion today is to be a patriot.”
The rise of Tisza’s party signals a significant change among the younger generation, who have largely left the ruling party. Fidesz now has a majority only among voters over 50. In the June European Parliament elections, Fidesz received 2 million votes, of which only 7 per cent went to young people under 29, 12 per cent to the 30-39 age group and 18 per cent to the 40-49 age group. Remarkably, a third of Fidesz supporters were over 65.
In contrast, a fifth of Tisa voters (22%) were aged 18-29, and the core of the new centre-right formation – 50% – was in the 30-49 age group. Only 11 per cent of the 1.3 million votes received by the party led by former Fidesz employee Peter Magyar were over 65.
