PM Orbán: opposition covets power and harms the nation’s interests

Regarding opposition criticism of the way the government has handled the pandemic, PM Viktor Orbán said in his morning interview that his political opponents had gone “too far”. “There is always a better way to do things,” he said, adding that it was the opposition’s role to highlight those.

Accusing the opposition of “coveting power to the extent that harms interests of the nation, the country and the population”, however, he added that protection efforts should not be politicised.

Orbán said the operative body set up two years ago had been working to save lives, “and

they deserve better than to be attacked for it.”

He said the security of Hungarian citizens had always been the cornerstone of the protection efforts, and that went for vaccines too. The vaccines delivered as aid to other countries are reserves that would expire before they could be administered to Hungarians, so “it is better to give them away than to throw them out,” he added.

Regarding vaccine procurement, Orbán said: “It would be a mistake to expose Hungary to the group of Western pharmaceutical companies rallied by the European Union.” This way, Hungary can “show we are not here to provide extra profits to anyone,” he said. Commenting on the government’s decision to cap the prices on seven basic foods, Orbán said it could not be left to market players to solve the situation. The government, he added, would continue to

protect Hungarians “until things get back on track,”.

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Growing energy prices rooted in politically motivated decisions are driving the inflation, Orbán said. “Brussels’ energy policy has failed,” he said. Climate protection should not be “forced” by imposing high energy prices, Orbán said, because that would lead to general price increases. “Policymaking in general should be about reconciling various viewpoints such as climate protection and social considerations,” he said.

The Hungarian government, the prime minister said, had “for years protected families by cutting utility prices”. Climate policy should focus on ensuring that

large polluters bear the brunt of the costs, “rather than letting Brussels burden Hungarian families,”

he said.

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Source: MTI