Prime Minister Orbán called his nationalist allies to Budapest and announced that they were fighting for Europe’s soul

Viktor Orbán declared at the first Patriot Rally in Budapest on Monday that, amid such dangers, Europe needed patriot leaders more than ever. He said voters wanted peace, security, affordable prices, and cheap energy.

PM Orbán: sovereign, proud European nations

The prime minister also said that “massive forces” had mobilised across Europe against the patriot Hungarian government. Despite this, he insisted, the governing parties would win the April 12 elections in Hungary.

“We intend to occupy and reshape the Brussels centre,” Orbán said. “We want a union that is an alliance of sovereign nations. We do not want a federation, we do not want an ‘Ever Closer Union’. We want sovereign, proud European nations.“

Orbán said that for the first time in European history, representatives of patriot parties were gathering in Budapest to issue a joint declaration in support of “European nations and European freedom”.

“How often have we heard that the Hungarian government’s policies are isolated, that we are tilting at windmills against the Brussels elite?” he said. “This is a misconception. We have clear goals, clear plans, and a clear roadmap to achieve them. That is why our guests are here with us today.”

Nationalists must organise internationally

He said that by the end of the decade, the Patriots wanted all of Europe to be adorned in national and conservative colours. “This will be the greatest political realignment in the history of the European Union. Those you see here today will be the leaders of the European Union in three years’ time,” he insisted.

He stressed that “we are fighting for the soul of Europe,” a struggle taking place on multiple fronts — at universities, academies, churches, trade unions and local communities. “We are politicians who trust our own people, advance our own nation’s cause, and answer only to our own voters. For all of us, our own nation comes first,” he told the rally.

Orbán acknowledged that it was once believed national forces had no reason to organise at the European level, but then he realised that in order to defeat progressive globalists, nationalists must organise internationally. “The geographical distances between our peoples are vast, and our historical experiences could not be more different. Yet we are united by a conviction: the belief that Europe can only succeed as a cooperation of free and sovereign nations,” he said.

Orbán called the European political situation “deadlocked“. The Patriots, formed in 2024, had challenged the mainstream elite, he said, and this had brought about a stalemate. He argued that the failures of the liberal, globalist Brussels elite were evident: economic collapse, plummeting industry, the total failure of the Green Deal, irreversible migration chaos, and an energy crisis.

“The Brussels left-liberal elite is growing weaker by the day. On the other side, we, the strengthening Patriots, stand strong,” he said.

Growing strength of the Patriots

Orbán highlighted the growing strength of the Patriots in central Europe, noting that Andrej Babis, one of the movement’s founders, had again become prime minister of Czechia, while patriot leaders were also in power in Poland, Slovakia and Hungary. However, he cautioned that the left-wing establishment still dominated western Europe, preventing a patriot breakthrough there.

He praised Italy’s performance, calling the right-wing government “impressive” and Matteo Salvini, deputy prime minister, the Patriots’ strongest governing force in western Europe. But, he added, Italian Patriots were still forced into constant compromises with Brussels.

Regarding France’s National Rally, Orbán said Marine Le Pen’s movement was growing stronger, but blatant legal violations and anti-democratic tactics had kept them in check. The “cordon sanitaire” remained effective, he added.

Orbán described Germany as “once again the sick man of Europe“, with voters still unwilling to commit to a complete overhaul of German politics.

In Austria, he said, the Freedom Party’s return to government and a chancellorship of Herbert Kickl were still awaited. “Without Austrian success, the central European Patriot advance is not final. Only an Austrian and Kickl victory can make our central European gains irreversible,” he argued.

Acting in the interest of the European people

Praising the Patriots’ European Parliament group, Orbán said: “We are the only group in the European Parliament that, without compromise or tactical concessions, rejects Brussels’ toxic rhetoric and says what we think, acting in the interest of the European people. We may not yet be the largest, but in terms of common sense and loyalty to our peoples, we are already Europe’s leading force.”

He added that the Patriots’ EP group was learning the school of cooperation, knowledge that would be crucial when the Patriots governed the Brussels institutions.

Meanwhile, Orbán said “massive forces in Europe” had mobilised against Hungary’s patriotic government but the ruling parties would still win the election on April 12.

The prime minister accused Brussels and Kyiv of colluding to install a government in Budapest that would represent their interests, citing EU-funded online censorship and Ukraine’s oil blockade as weapons in their arsenal.

Patriot surge will come in 2029

“And now Ukraine’s propaganda machine is working at full steam,” he added.

With elections looming in Denmark this week, plus Bulgaria, Estonia, Sweden and Latvia later in the year, as well as France, Italy and likely Germany in 2027, Orbán predicted a “patriot surge” by 2029.

“By then, we’ll be the favourites, and will win the battle for Europe’s soul, and together, we will make Europe great again,” he declared.

Orbán warned that Ukraine’s EU membership would “dump an unbearable financial burden on member states, bring the war into the EU and would be a betrayal of European farmers and the people“.

Saving Europe

He slammed Brussels for “borrowing hundreds of billions for Ukraine despite being unable to fund itself“, plunging member states into a “debt spiral our children will pay for“.

“Amid such dangers, Europe needs patriots now more than ever,” Orbán declared, insisting voters demanded peace, security, affordable prices, cheap energy and predictable prosperity.

“This is what we must fight for, and reject the failed Green Deal, sanctions, migration, war and Ukraine’s EU membership,” the prime minister said.

“It is the only way to save Europe.”

If you missed:

• Ukrainian authorities reveal name of ‘Hungarian spy chief’ recruiting in Transcarpathia
• Can Hungary lose NATO, EU membership due to its ‘too close’ Russia ties?