PM Orbán: Hungary’s EU money in Ukraine, Western countries want to globalise the war
Change language:
Whereas the former Socialist government of Ferenc Gyurcsány “took a month’s pension away from pensioners”, the current government “hasn’t taken away a single penny” from the elderly despite the pandemic and the war, the prime minister told public radio on Friday.
Asked if the budget could afford the newly announced 190 billion forint pension supplement, Viktor Orbán said it could not, but the government had a duty to “take on the impossible at times”. The state budget is always prepared with a deficit which somehow has to be covered, for instance by a loan, “which the country then keeps kicking down the road for a long time”, Orbán said. “We’ll be a very strong and happy country when the budget has a surplus, but right now it doesn’t,” he said, adding that the budget had been “ruined sometime in during the communist regime”.
“Looking at it through the eyes of an economist … this money shouldn’t be given to the people, but we can’t do that to those who have gone grey doing honest work,” he said. Orbán said he wanted Hungary “to feel some pride” over the fact that it can maintain the security of pensioners even in times of war. This does not happen in every country, he said, adding that in many places pension rises were not keeping up with inflation. Orbán noted that the government had vowed in 2010 to preserve the value of pensions. In addition, the government has restored the 13th month pension that was taken away from the elderly by the Gyurcsany government, he said.
The pension supplement to be paid in November will be incorporated into pensions and will be taken into account when the next pension increase is calculated in January, the prime minister said.
Read also:
- PM Orbán kicked off the new political season: Soros empire, Brussels bureaucrats and American democrats enemies – Read more HERE
- PM Orbán’s new allies: French companies conquer Hungary and buy Budapest Airport?
2024: growth will return
Orbán said this year “is about curbing inflation” while 2024 “will be the year of a return to growth”.
The “textbook method” is to have the central bank use its own policy tools to control inflation, “but we eventually had to admit that this wasn’t going to work”, he said. Orbán said the central bank had failed in its fight against inflation, and because the government was the one with the tools needed to tackle it, it had taken over this task. Detailing the measures implemented by the government, Orbán noted the introduction of price caps, the freeze on interest rates, mandatory discounts in supermarkets and the online price-monitoring system. The government “has taken a big axe to inflation” and has “grabbed multinationals by the ear over unjustified price increases”, he said.
The world “doesn’t welcome these measures” because it is used to seeing central banks handle inflation and expects governments to be cautious rather than “action heroes”, Orbán said. But the Hungarian government could not afford that because Hungary is the most exposed to energy prices in all of Europe, so direct intervention was necessary, he added.
The government “will be successful” in making sure that inflation is brought down this year, he said, arguing that it would be pushed into the single digits by the end of 2023, while the central bank sees it falling into the 4-6 percent range next year.
Meanwhile, wages have begun rising, and wage growth was certain to outpace inflation in September, the prime minister said. Economic growth would also return in the third and fourth quarters, he added.
Hungarian businesses have adapted well to the energy crisis and are increasingly more productive, which has made the Hungarian economy more competitive in the past year, he said.
“It is hopeful that 2024 will be the year we return to growth,” Orbán said.
Orbán: Western countries want to globalise the war in Ukraine
Meanwhile, Orbán said Hungary would be proven right on the matter of the war in Ukraine, and the West had failed to “calmly assess” the situation there. The conflict must be isolated, but Western countries want to globalise the war, Orbán said. “You can only enter into war if you have a clear goal and know what tools you will use. Otherwise, politics cannot account for the lives lost,” he said. The prime minister said he had “the worst feeling” in connection with the war. The frontlines are frozen, yet tens of thousands are dying without there being any indication of when the conflict will end, he said.
“At the same time, they are deploying increasingly dangerous weapons which could reach those of us who are pro-peace,” he added. As regards Ukraine’s potential European Union membership, Orbán said he would be cautious with such plans, noting that it required the approval of all 27 member states, and he had not seen “an irresistible desire” by Hungary’s parliament to approve it within the next two years.
Hungary’s money is not in Ukraine, Hungary’s money is in the areas outside of Hungary where Victor pretends that these expats are part of Hungary and expects their votes in the coming election. The fact that we finance developement including churches and schools outside Hungary to these supposed “Hungarians” while we have an education crisis and a medical facilty crisis here at home is a scandal. Stop deflecting and tell the truth for once! We have never given more to the EU than we have taken, and this will continue with our economy in shambles, our bad deal for Russian oil, and our inflation the worst in Europe.