Viktor Orbán: “Opening up to the East is more important now than ever”

Prime Minister Viktor Orbán was again a guest on Kossuth Radio on Friday morning. Among other things, he spoke about the latest economic indicators, the 13th month pension, the situation in Germany and EU sanctions, reports Index.

Referring to the latest promising economic data, Viktor Orbán said that there could be interesting correlations, and he believes that Donald Trump’s victory is part of it, because his victory means that the war will definitely be over. This year, this American tailwind will also swell the Hungarian sails in the economy, he emphasized, pointing out that a significant part of public opinion reacts cynically to the data.

Mr Orbán said

it was important for people to believe that we are at a stage where serious things can be done, because this is the only way to boost the economy.

He stressed that we will reach the 1 million forint (2,453 euros) salary and that there are already 4,000 teachers who have reached this amount.

“There is a lot of money in the Hungarian economy, a lot of people will now have access to a lot of money through government bonds,” he added. The Prime Minister also said it was important to avoid cynicism and to get the money moving. “If we can achieve that, we can have a fantastic year. It is also important to know what kind of state families are in and what kind of economic state people are in with government bonds, but about 50,000 people have government bond investments of less than 1 million forints”, Viktor Orbán pointed out, He added that it is also important to strengthen and broaden the middle class.

According to the Prime Minister,

growth will be even higher now than in the last quarter. However, it will not be steady, but rather significant in the third and fourth quarters, and he hopes it will continue in 2026.

“We are in a time of war, cynicism is justified. We have lost 6.5 billion a year because of sanctions. People have savings, they just do not want to put them into circulation because they see the world as uncertain because of the war, which is why the US presidential election was important,” he emphasized, adding that the economy should be about people having a good life. “The middle class needs to expand, it is the best defense against poverty. The rich will do their own thing,” he said, pointing out that this is what is called people’s politics. Viktor Orbán highlighted that

in Central Europe people think their children will live better, while in the West it is a common feeling that they think their children will live worse.

On the 13th month pension, the Prime Minister said that it was the result of a battle to pay it, adding that it was 500 billion forints (1.2 billion euros) that the government usually paid out to pensioners at this time. According to him, this is both a psychological and a political issue and Brussels would want it taken away. However, the government will defend it, and the Prime Minister himself insist on it for the sake of pensioners and for the sake of momentum.

Turning to the situation in Germany, Viktor Orbán said everyone has the government they deserve and he believes Brussels is actually destroying Germany. He pointed out that he could not completely eliminate Brussels’ mistakes, but he could dampen them considerably. He believes that those who run the economy should be consulted before any measures are taken. “I do not foresee a great future for what is happening in Western Europe today,” he stressed, adding that especially as long as the elite are taking measures from a bubble.

He reminded that the Germans had started to rebel on migration, so something was happening there that Hungary was doing, but he said that the Germans should have done the same at the beginning of the migration crisis. He added that there would come a moment when Germany would rebel on the economy.

If we remain locked into the Western world and do not cooperate with other countries, we will be in trouble. That is what we call opening up to the East. It is more important now than ever,”

the Prime Minister emphasized.

Speaking about sanctions against Russia, Viktor Orbán said that the European Union believes that sanctions should be tightened to win the war for the Ukrainians, but the EU’s logic is completely different from the US logic. One is pro-war, the other is not.

The Prime Minister pointed out that they know what the Hungarian interest is, and even though they want the sanctions to be lifted, they did not veto them, because they do not want to leave the EU. “We say we disagree, but at the same time, we do not veto”, he concluded. He added that the government asked for a guarantee after voting for the sanctions, that the Ukrainians would let gas through again. According to him, they received the guarantees, but the question is whether they will be honored. Mr Orbán stressed that the sanctions must be decided every six months, but if the European Commission does not comply with what has been agreed, the sanctions will end.

Via Index, Featured photo via MTI/Miniszterelnöki Sajtóiroda/Fischer Zoltán