The Western world faces a sea change, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán said in an interview with public radio on Sunday, arguing that a new “pro-peace, anti-migration and anti-gender” majority was emerging.
“These are the forces that we, the Patriots, represent in Europe, and I think these are the forces that will win the election in the United States on Tuesday,” the prime minister said.
Orbán insisted that early in 2024 he had predicted that the balance of power in the West would shift by the end of the year.
He said this had turned out to be correct, pointing to the formation of the Patriots for Europe group after the European Parliament elections. He added he expected the new grouping to soon become “the majority force” in Europe. “There’s also a sea change in America: it will be out with the Democrats and in with the Republicans, and Donald Trump will be the president again,” he added.
Orbán said this meant that the pro-peace political forces would be in the majority in the West by the end of the year.
“Today there’s a pro-war majority in the Western world, but after the US election there’ll be a pro-peace one,” the prime minister said. “There’s a pro-migration policy in the Western world, but after the US election, together with the European Patriots, there will finally be a Western majority that wants to end migration.”
He said there was also a “pro-gender world” in the West today that wanted to “tear the traditional family apart”, but this, too, would change after next Tuesday, and “together the Patriots and Donald Trump will pursue a policy that protects traditional families”.
Orbán said it was up to Europeans to decide where Europe’s place would be. “Right now we’re sitting on a stool in the corner while the Americans and the Russians negotiate,” he said. “We have to pull ourselves together, that’s what we’ll have to do in Budapest,” he added, referring to the upcoming European Political Community summit.
The prime minister also said he did not think the US presidential election would be close, and trusted that there would be a pro-peace president in the US. “If America becomes pro-peace, as we expect it to, then Europe won’t be able to remain pro-war, either,” he added.
Orbán said Europe could not bear the burden of the war “which the leaders of the European institutions pushed it into” on its own. “If the Americans shift to peace, then we have to adapt to that as well; that’s what we’ll be discussing in Budapest.”
He noted that the Eastern world had held a summit last week in the form of the BRICS summit, which had now included more members. He said this would not have been “serious news 20 years ago”, but today these countries accounted for a greater share of the global economic output than the West.
“The Easterners gathered and decided what they will do, and next week the Westerners will gather in Hungary,” Orbán said, noting that 45-47 heads of state and government are set to attend the coming European Political Community summit.
He said the summit was set to be the biggest-ever diplomatic event in Hungary’s history, noting that apart from EU leaders, it will also include the leaders of the UK, Turkiye, the Caucasus and the Northern and Western Balkan countries.
Orbán said the summit will focus on the US presidential election and reversing Europe’s declining competitiveness.
Former European Central Bank chief Mario Draghi is also scheduled to attend the summit to discuss a recent study he has written on the EU’s competitiveness, the prime minister said.
Turning to the recent economic data, Orbán said there were “no problems with industrial output in Hungary”, and the policy of trade neutrality was needed because of “trade-related problems”.
He said Hungary was home to the most advanced automotive plants as well as factories that produce parts for the aviation industry, while defence industry capacities have also been expanded. “So there’s nothing wrong with Hungarian industry,” he said.
Orbán said Hungary had “achieved a fantastic level” in terms of industrial production over the last 14 years. “Our factories are advanced, most of the managers are now Hungarian, and the foreign companies also have fantastic staff who run these plants to the highest global standard,” he said.
The problem, he said, concerned trade, explaining that the products coming out of these plants had to be sold, but the global market was in trouble, “and the European market especially so”, which is why a policy of “economic neutrality” was needed.
“Hungary isn’t producing less because it doesn’t have good factories, workers or technology, but because there’s no demand,” he said. “That’s how the global economy works … but there’ll be a huge need for these products, especially electric vehicles, in the global economy.”
The prime minister said that after this year’s slowdown, the economy would grow by 3.5 percent next year because major plants would begin firing up. He added, however, that if Hungary “is unlucky”, global trade would be down, and the country would not be able to export what it produces.
Orbán said the government expected production at BMW’s plant in Debrecen and the Chinese electric vehicle plant near Szeged to contribute to Hungary’s economic growth next year.
Orbán said the world economy “will right itself somewhat” and Europe may also see improvements, so trade problems were likely to be ironed out.
Hungary must maintain “economic neutrality” to ensure its “world-class” products can be purchased in the East if demand wanes in the West, he added.
The prime minister said the Hungarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, which now has a new head, was the government’s most important partner for ensuring economic growth, wages, jobs, and vocational training, and he hailed the chamber’s achievements over the past 14 years, adding that he looked forward to working with the organisation’s new president.
The government, he said, did not want to interfere in wage negotiations, which were up to employees and employers to thrash out. Orbán added that hopefully they would agree on a three year deal which would maximise predictability.
Regarding government loan subsidies, the prime minister said the country was now at the point that it could provide support for young workers as well as students.
He said loans must be linked to work as “we don’t want to support the indolent”. But most people wanted to learn a trade and use it in gainful employment, he added, noting the introduction of a virtually interest-free, 10-year loan of 4 million forints for 17-25 year-olds. Those raising a child can suspend repayment for 2 years after the first child and another two-and-a-half years after the second; the whole debt is forgiven after three children, he noted.
Regarding the Sándor Demján support scheme for small entrepreneurs, he said generally small businesses everywhere faced difficulties, and the scheme would help them secure capital. The state will invest by providing a deposit loan to such businesses, with a view to expanding their size and opportunities, he added.
The prime minister said EU tenders were underway and would soon be announced, and in contrast to the “horror stories” claiming the cupboard was bare, 12 billion euros “are in our account, waiting for entrepreneurs to take these funds…” Orbán said the government targeted growth of 3-3.5 percent next year, and SMEs, as well as large companies, would contribute to it.
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