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On Friday morning, Viktor Orbán gave an interview to Kossuth Radio, where he spoke about the economic situation, the USAID scandal, as well as the issue of the Ukraine war and the fight with Brussels, reports Magyar Nemzet.
File Photo of Viktor Orbán in the radio studios. Photo: MTI/Miniszterelnöki Sajtóiroda/Benko Vivien Cher
The Prime Minister said that it is never a question of good or bad things coming from outside, but of what can be done at home. He added that there are external influences that help and those that hinder. “This year, we have taken a stand for peace. The Democrat administration is failing, Trump is making peace, which is causing an economic upheaval. If we had not taken up the banner in this way, we would be in big trouble,” Viktor Orbán underlined.
He explained that in terms of preparing the budget, they had waited for the result of the US presidential election, so they had to prepare a “peace” budget rather than a “war” budget. Mr. Orbán said that Hungary was losing between €6.5 and €7 billion a year because of the war, and that if there were peace, this would be included in the economy. He expressed hope that the situation here, the 21-point economic action plan, economic neutrality, and peace would be a driving force. He noted that peace might also have a positive impact on the European Union economy, but said that he does not see any decisions from Brussels that will bring positivity.
We pay three to five times as much for energy as they do in the United States. We are keeping utility bills low, but European leaders are not able to implement this, and this is making economic development more difficult,”
Orbán emphasized.
Regarding Hungarian families, the Prime Minister said they are actually led by women because they are cautious. In addition, Hungarians are not the spending type: “We are not scrapers, but we look twice at what we spend on. According to economists, this is not good; I think caution is good, but excessive caution slows down the economy.” He added that householders know exactly when they can and cannot spend, and they will decide. The government cannot decide whether they participate in the programs. “What I see is that last year everyone was cautious, and this year there is a bit of a let-up, and the government has to act; it is not one or two days, but the government has to get moving,” the Prime Minister said.
Mr. Orbán mentioned that there is currently a “rainfall” of interest rates, with the equivalent of 480 billion forints (1.19 billion euros) in interest payments to be made in the first three months of 2025. “Many people will either spend this or distribute it within the family. But what matters most is that the money ends up in the economy,” emphasized the Prime Minister, adding that he sees an economy in motion in 2025.
Regarding the debate with Brussels, Orbán commented that they are currently fighting four big battles with the EU on migration, child protection, pensions, and the cuts in public utility bills. He recalled that some of these battles have been fought continuously by the government for 15 years.
“This big global financial system, which is coordinated, has been controlled from two places, Washington and Brussels, and the former has fallen. The new US administration has… published a list of facts about who and how they have been financed to influence other countries. We are on it,” emphasized the Prime Minister, who believes that
one of the most important tasks of the spring is to uncover how and in what way public opinion was influenced.
Mr. Orbán also pointed out that millions of euros had been paid to big Hollywood stars to go to Kyiv to support the war. He said that there were plenty of them and that the machine worked all over the world.
WARNING! Our fears have come true: the globalist-liberal-Soros NGO network is fleeing to Brussels, after President Trump dealt a huge blow to their activities in the US. Now 63 of them are asking Brussels for money, under the guise of various human rights projects. Not going to…
— Orbán Viktor (@PM_ViktorOrban) February 18, 2025
“There is no limit to the impudence. It is political corruption when public figures are paid to represent what their clients expect of them. Those who have been involved in this are not ashamed, they are writing a letter to Brussels to pay. There were the rolling dollars, now come the rolling euros. And Brussels is collecting the money from those against whom these organizations are working. This is the top of it all,” Mr. Orbán underlined.
“We should not underestimate the Brussels people, they have a lot of money and power, but the defense mechanisms that we are adopting from the United States are also being used against Brussels,” he concluded.
The Prime Minister added that we should expect the disputes between Brussels and the Patriots for Europe to intensify. He also highlighted a study on how Brussels funds NGOs that have argued for more powers to be transferred from nation states to Brussels. He cited the example of former MEP Guy Verhofstadt, whose organization received six billion forints, according to the report. Verhofstadt used this money, which was partly Hungarian money, to smear Hungary and others. But there is a program for which Brussels has earmarked 600 billion forints, and they are funding people who support federalism. “If all this comes to light, the Brussels leadership must apologize and stop this practice. We will achieve this in a year or two,” the Prime Minister concluded.
Via Magyar Nemzet, Featured photo via MTI/Miniszterelnöki Sajtóiroda/Fischer Zoltán
