Orbán: Europe should adopt Austrian model where centre-right and right cooperate

Europe should adopt the Austrian model where the centre-right and right cooperate, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán said in an interview given to the Austrian newspaper Kleine Zeitung which can also be read in Hungarian translation on kormany.hu.

According to the Prime Minister, from Budapest this cooperation appears to be successful. There is stability, there are economic goals, there is tax reduction, and it seems that good things are happening in Austria, said PM Orbán who will receive Vice-Chancellor Heinz-Christian Strache, leader of the Austrian Freedom Party (FPÖ) on Monday.

Regarding the Freedom Party Vice-Chancellor, the Prime Minister said he stands out in the “decadent” European political field. This decadence manifests itself in that the elite does not believe in the power of political action, and “quite simply they just want to pedal on as they have done to date, and resist when something new comes along,” he added.

The problem of the European elite is that they do not believe in the power of the individual, the leader. They regard leaders who are able to inspire the people as dangerous, Mr Orbán said.

In answer to a question concerning Fidesz’s European People’s Party membership, the Prime Minister said that

there is a risk of a final break with the European Christian democrats, but this is not something they want.

Christian democrats in Europe, but in particular in Germany are shifting towards the left. If things continue like this, and they continually enter into coalition with the Left, the socialists, then they will have to make compromises and will lose their identity. Christian democrats must, at the end of the day, be Christian, and must represent a Christian stance also on the issues of family and national identity, he said.

“I see great opportunities in the parties which are gaining in strength – as you say – on the peripheries. They represent Christian values, though they do not call themselves Christian democrats,” Mr Orbán added.

FIDESZ ‘VOLUNTARILY SUSPENDS’ ACTIVITIES IN EPP!

In this context, the Prime Minister also spoke about the politics of Marine Le Pen, leader of the French right-wing National Rally.

France is a secular state, so is Mrs Le Pen’s politics, he said. They do not want Islam to make gains. They see Christian culture as a priority, defend families and the nation state.

“I like these notions, but in the People’s Party this provoked criticism because the EPP would like to go left. This will have two consequences: First of all, the loss of identity, and secondly, that economically they will build a socialist Europe where international competitiveness will be lost. […] Tax increases, over-regulation, an army of bureaucrats and debts spread over the community. The Austrians and the Germans will pay the price for that,” Orbán warned.

The Prime Minister spoke about the liberal network penetrating the whole of Europe, a network comprised of civil-society organisations, think tanks, the media, left-wing intellectual, universities and politicians. He said if they start attacking a politician, they make his life very difficult.