PM Orbán year-end interview about the migration pact and joining Europe’s war

In his year-end interview with public news channel M1, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán said that in the 2026 general election, he would seek a mandate from Hungarians “to keep Hungary out of Europe’s war”.

Keep Hungary outside the “war alliance”

“I ask the people for authorisation to strengthen me in keeping Hungary outside the European war alliance,” he declared, emphasising that the coming vote must clarify whether Hungary joined the “coalition of the willing” supporting war or remained neutral.

He said a another world “is taking shape before our eyes”, and people want to forge a path that led them to the most secure future.

“If we stay out, we can maintain a peace-time economy; the alternative is a war economy,” he warned, arguing that the latter would mean “our money sent to Brussels, then to Ukraine, and impoverishment for Hungary.”

“I have always been an optimist, and I am one now,” he added.

2 pillars: work-based economy, family-centred society

“We know what we are asking for, what we will do with the power entrusted to us,” he said, calling the choice “existential”. Hungary’s stability, he insisted, rested on the dual pillars of a work-based economic system and a family-centred society, both of which he said were distinct from Brussels’ model.

Likening the government ot a “mother ship”, he declared: “No drones will replace this”, and he rejected calls for radical shifts in governance. “Hungary stands for sovereignty, family policy, and merit-based economics, not migration, gender ideology, or subordination to Brussels.”

Addressing criticism of ruling party Fidesz’s adaptability, he dismissed the idea of “paralysis” following the rise of opposition Tisza Party leader Peter Magyar, arguing that governing parties must focus on governance, not opposition manoeuvres.

“Campaigns have their time; so does governing,” he said.

Constant renewal

Regarding internal party dynamics, he acknowledged the inevitability of opportunists but added that Fidesz’s leadership remained self-reflective and reform-minded. “Every cabinet needs improvement,” he said, “but the ship will always have a few stowaways bridge– just don’t let them near the wheel.”

The prime minister underscored his optimism, citing Hungary’s “action-capable” government as its greatest asset. He cautioned against “partisan decisions”, pointing to the presidential pardon scandal as a lesson in the risks of unchecked individual judgement. “Politics demands constant renewal,” he said. “Those who don’t learn, don’t adapt, and will fail.”

Puppet government?

The prime minister dismissed the opposition’s recent reshuffle as mere ‘personnel changes’, arguing that its core remained the same: “forces determined to implement Brussels’ directives by accepting migration pacts, joining Europe’s war, adopting gender regulations, and shifting to a war economy.”Orbán said his priority was not to campaign but ensure Hungary could “avoid the threats of war and war-time economics”.

He said the 2026 election would be a decisive referendum: would Hungary continue its policy of neutrality, or align with Brussels? The past year, 2025, marked a historic watershed, he argued. Referring to Ukraine, he said that for the first time the US and Europe had split on a strategic issue, with Washington pushing for peace while Europe doubled down on war. “The Europeans rejected peace and chose war, forcing us to recalibrate,” Orbán said.

Hungary stands by peace

Hungary’s response was clear: “We stood by the US peace initiative, resisted Brussels’ war agenda, and bore the consequences.” Orbán said Hungary had built its plans 2025 being a breakthrough year, moving from war to peace, and the Hungarian economy would regain its momentum. “This is not what happened…” he added.

In western Europe, he said, economic policy centred on austerity on the back of a war economy, with rising taxes, a higher cost of living, and mounting debt. Recalling 2024, when both Washington and Brussels pressured Europe to join the anti-Russia coalition, Orbán emphasised Hungary’s success in maintaining neutrality through “sovereignty, decisive leadership, and broad public support”. Though 2025 saw US-EU tensions ease with President Donald Trump’s election, Europe’s refusal to end the war dashed hopes of economic recovery.

Peace-time economy

“We had to ask: How do we sustain a peace-time economy while Europe rearms?” The answer, he suggested, lay in January’s tax cuts, family benefits, and pension bonuses—policies anchoring Hungary’s “peace-time economy”. This, he added, included doubling the tax credit for children, lifelong tax exemption for mothers, the 14th month pension, an 11 percent minimum wage increase, and tax cuts for small entrepreneurs. He said that establishing a peace economy took 6-7 months, but the work had now started, and most of the measures would come into effect from Jan 1.

Acknowledging risks such as Germany’s shift to a war-footing and Hungary’s dependence EU markets, Orbán outlined Hungary’s strategy on “economic neutrality” to continue diversifying trade beyond Europe. “If we fail to find new markets, our growth will stall,” he warned. “But we’ve begun the work.”

The prime minister noted that Western unity once allowed countries to be “ostracised for political or ideological reasons”, but this era, he declared, was over.

Peace with Russia even without Europe

Orbán argued that if the US reached a detente with Russia and lifted sanctions, Hungary could expand trade and energy purchases in the Russian market.

“The key question for 2026 is whether the US will pursue peace with Russia, even without Europe,” he said, reaffirming Hungary’s ability to remain neutral “even against the entire Western world or Brussels if necessary”.

While Europe, he insisted, had “chosen war”, with EU Council meetings now resembling “war councils”, Hungary’s goal was not detachment from the West but “rational decision-making in Brussels and NATO”.

“We don’t want to leave the Western alliance; instead, we want it to be led by common sense,” he said. The challenge, Orbán added, was to ensure “pro-peace forces gain the upper hand in Brussels”, a struggle that motivated the creation of the Patriots in Europe.

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