The new government will be “significantly reshuffled”, says prime minister

Viktor Orbán said in his today morning interview in Kossuth Rádió that he planned to present members of his new, “significantly reshuffled” government between May 20 and 30. 

He said considerable changes were planned, “reflecting the many considerable changes in the world”. Christian Democrat, nationally minded governments usually start work by assessing the challenges of the upcoming four years, Orbán said.

Protection against migration pressure must be boosted, he said.

“The [coronavirus] pandemic has not disappeared” and there is a war going on, he added. “We must form a government that is able to protect Hungary,”

he said.

Talking about possible additional EU sanctions he said he did not consider them a good solution on the whole but Hungary must at least maintain its veto in the areas most important for the country. As a result, he said he had been willing to approve the first five packages of sanctions but made it clear that the energy embargo would be a red line.

• Read also: Orbán: EU’s planned sanctions on Russian oil imports ‘like nuclear bomb’

They also wanted to put Orthodox leader Patriarch Kirill of Moscow on the sanctions list but “we will not support including church leaders” on the list because that would affect the freedom of religion for Hungarian communities which is “sacred and inviolable”, Orban said.

Hungary stands for peace and wants the parties in the Ukraine war to agree to a ceasefire and start peace talks as soon as possible, Orbán said. He noted that

he had visited Moscow “in the interest of peace” before the war started in February,

as had French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz. None of them succeeded, he said. Hungary must stay out of this war, he said, adding that at the same time, the country was providing record-large humanitarian aid.

• Read also: Breaking news! Hungary offers 37 million euros in aid to Ukraine

Hungarian society as a whole has become mobilised, he said.

“Hungarians are now disregarding how Ukrainians used to treat ethnic Hungarians in recent years because currently we only focus on the people that suffer,”

he added. Delivering weapons to Ukraine would “distance Hungary from peace … delivering weapons brings trouble on the head of those involved, especially if they are neighbours of the country at war”, he said.

Orbán said that “Transcarpathia has come within striking range”

because someone is delivering or planning to deliver weapons and the Russians will target the transport junctions where such trans-shipments travel.

Read alsoViktor Orbán listed as enemy of the state on a Ukrainian death list

Source: MTI