Viktor Orbán: “We Can Decide for Ourselves What to do With Hungary”

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A couple of days ago Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán gave a speech in which he looked ahead to the coming year and outlined the important issues facing Hungary. Mr. Orbán placed special emphasis on resisting the diktats of Brussels on migration and tax policy, and the importance of maintaining Hungary as a homogeneous state.

Many thanks to CrossWare for the translation, and to Vlad Tepes for the subtitling:

Transcript:

29:54   … There is another thing here. While we want to be competitive,
29:58   it is very important to valorize Hungary more too,
30:02   in my thinking and in the government’s thinking it is in a significant place;
30:06   it sounds like a cliché, but a significant circumstance. In our thinking
30:10   we not only need the economy to be working in our country
30:14   to bring growth and all kinds of benefits for us,
30:18   but the place — which is our homeland — commonly
30:22   called Hungary — which in its present state happens to be this size — of course,
30:26   we think of a community of nations in the Carpathian valley when we talk about our homeland.
30:30   So the question is, how can we valorize this homeland?
30:34   And our economic decisions can be interpreted in this dimension, too.
30:38   First of all, I believe it is very important
30:42   that ethnic homogeneity be preserved.
30:46   Now we can say these things — a couple of years ago we would have been executed for
30:50   such sentences like these, but nowadays we can say, because life has proved
30:54   That too much mixing will cause trouble.
30:58   Naturally we Hungarians are heterogeneous, in the sense
31:02   that we are a European nation; if we were to start reading the names,
31:06   we would have everybody here: from “bunyevác” [south Slavs] to the “sváb” [south Germans].
31:10   But independent of everything else, this would still be within an ethnic range;
31:14   so while it is diverse, it still provides an ethnic homogeneity.
31:18   We are from the same civilization, and in my opinion, its preservation is a key question.
31:22   Of course we know from Saint Stephen [first Christian king of Hungary] to accept guests kindly,
31:26   and this is the right thing to do, but the basic ethnic character of the country
31:30   must not change. We can’t risk that. Because that would devalue the
31:34   the country, and it would throw it into chaos. So for that reason the government
31:38   has a definite direction, not only about migration, but
31:42   a general approach on how to think about the population of Hungary.
31:46   We think cultural homogeneity is also important,
31:50   which again must be meant within a range, of course.
31:54   A diversity which does not make it possible
31:58   to have multiple cultures unable to assimilate to each other.
32:02   To have civilizations exist beside each other. This is the problem of parallel societies.
32:06   We do not wish to expose Hungary to such issues. I am convinced
32:10   that if we maintain ethnic homogeneity, cultural diversity will be
32:14   kept within a range, inside a cultural homogeneity,
32:18   that will raise the value of Hungary as a place.
32:22   Hungary will become such a place, and it will signal the sort of economic indicators
32:26   to the outside, that from many other countries that are much more developed
32:30   than we are slowly, day by day, disappearing.
32:34   Consequently we could make our country more and more valuable. Similarly, we are not
32:38   going to screw around with public safety and terror threats.
32:42   Because one of our distinctive marks, which makes our country more valuable,
32:46   is that public safety here is outstanding compared to other parts of Europe.
32:50   It already is, and we have to keep it that way. The chance of terror is never zero;
32:54   trouble could happen at any time. We must be mindful; nobody could ensure
32:58   that it could never happen, but the fact is, the risk is low, and we do everything in our
33:02   power to keep it that way. We can and we will accept that responsibility.
33:06   I find it important from the point of view of the value of our country, that
33:10   it is not polluted. This is very important, especially for the development
33:14   of industry. The modern term for this is “green development”,
33:18   and it’s important than Hungary does not have such areas which would
33:22   for a variety of reasons be polluted by industry and unfit
33:26   to be included in a unified national development
33:30   policy. So this is a clean, green preserved country.
33:34   Also, this is cultivated country because we farm
33:38   the land. We do not have much territory left uncultivated.
33:42   Anyone travelling through the countryside can see here is where an agricultural nation lives.
33:46   Someone farms the land under his care,
33:50   at times at a higher or lower level, but he wants to farm it.
33:54   He wants to make it a cultivated landscape. This also brings our value higher.
33:58   This might not mean much in Budapest, but in the countryside
34:02   it means a lot. The people there understand what I mean.
34:06   Also full employment increases the value of the country,
34:10   and here I would like to counter any scheme
34:14   that automatically wants to place some positions
34:18   in the hands of foreigners. I think it means a lot that in a Hungarian hotel,
34:22   even the cleaning lady is Hungarian, too.
34:26   This is only true in a very few countries now — I mean that a citizen from that country itself works
34:30   in such jobs. It increases the value of a country if they are among the community living there
34:34   are people — based on their abilities — who themselves do the jobs necessary
34:38   for operating and maintaining their country. From the lowest jobs
34:42   to the chair of the president
34:46   of the Scientific Academy. That is for all the Hungarians to work
34:50   fill its positions — in an organic unity — to operate their nation.
34:54   I believe this is valorizing our homeland. It is also very important that
34:58   greatness, the desire for greatness
35:02   should never disappear from Hungary. That is why the Olympics
35:06   feels like a broken rib. [Leftists and Socialists torpedoed the 2024 Olympic bid — translator]
35:10   The Hungarians — independent of how big their territory was — always understood
35:14   what greatness means. That it is an intellectual, spiritual thing.
35:18   Greatness in culture, greatness in sports and greatness in science. We cannot give that up.
35:22   Because we are not just a nation from the Carpathian valley, we are also a great nation.
35:26   Even though we are shrunken now [due to the 1921 Treaty of Trianon] and there is a demographic decrease.
35:30   But this does not change the thousand-year-old fact
35:34   that we are a great nation. And this is an uplifting force, and increases our value.
35:38   For the people who live in this country, this is how they think about themselves.
35:42   This is important from an economic point of view, too. Finally,
35:46   it is an important dimension of the revaluation of the country,
35:50   — as [Central Bank] President Matolcsy discussed — a country which has a developing economy,
35:54   we are the kind where industrial firms,
35:58   the big, modern European corporations and now the Eastern ones, too,
36:02   can find everything in one place: suppliers, workforce,
36:06   good infrastructure and calculable, reliably low taxes,
36:10   and people who want to work. Ladies and gentlemen,
36:14   these circumstance are leading in that direction,
36:18   while we continue policies that help economic growth,
36:22   we should have a different view of Hungary,
36:26   which elevates the country to a high value,
36:30   the same as some other countries have done in the last fifty years,
36:34   did successfully after the Second World War — let’s not name countries,
36:38   because you might start smiling and I would not like to become a laughingstock.
36:42   But soon the time will come when I will be able to and will I dare to name them,
36:46   to tell how we were able to raise the value of Hungary in
36:50   Fifteen to twenty years, like other European countries
36:54   that are also not so big successfully did. Respected Ladies and gentlemen, just
36:58   one more question I would like to reflect on:
37:02   What do we need to do in the next couple of years?
37:06   To summarize the presentations by [Central Bank] President Matolcsy and Economy Minister Varga,
37:10   we must stay on the path we are on right now.
37:14   We must defend…
37:18   in the years 2017 and 2018 we must maintain
37:22   the growth of Hungarian economy in
37:26   the 3%-5% range. I think that will be the task
37:30   in 2019 and 2020; in the meantime
37:34   we must execute that turn of competitiveness — which [Central Bank] President Matolcsy discussed —
37:38   And after 2020 we must move up to the 5%+ level of economic growth.
37:42   I think this is the task, and for that we need two things.
37:46   As I said, continue on the same path with corrections mentioned by
37:50   [Central Bank] President Matolcsy and [Finance] Minister Varga,
37:54   and we must defend the country and defend this upward path,
37:58   from the dangers that threaten it.
38:02   Because we cannot be that naïve; looking around here — with the exception of the ladies —
38:06   we are all past the age of innocence; we can’t be so naïve as to think
38:11   everybody else will be sit on their behinds and applaud our fantastic successes, doing nothing.
38:14   This is not true inside the country, especially
38:18   not true if we look to the outside world. So there are always dangers;
38:22   we must protect our trajectory of upward development.
38:26   While we expect and count on Brussels for many things,
38:30   because it is an important place, in the meantime there are certain attempts from Brussels
38:34   that we must defend ourselves against. The ability to set our tax system
38:38   should never be handed over to Brussels, and the well-established system
38:42   of supporting job creation must also be kept and protected from them.
38:46   Similarly, we can decide for ourselves what to do with Hungary.
38:50   We have had parliamentary democracy for the last twenty-odd years now; we do not need
38:54   the same thing — if you’ve been watching the American and French elections —
38:58   to spend our election period analyzing what sort of external influences
39:02   are warping Hungarian voters.
39:06   All that “fake news” and other spreading rumors,
39:10   external influences. Even a country as big as the United States,
39:14   they were capable of generating arguments about whether or not
39:18   there were any external influences from other big countries
39:22   that had any significant effect on their own — extremely important — political fate, determining
39:26   their direction for years. We must examine the same question, too — it cannot be a taboo —
39:30   we must create transparency and continuously talk about
39:34   this question. Similarly as I noted,
39:38   about our interest in preserving our cultural and ethnic homogeneity;
39:42   we must defend against mass migration and against the policies
39:46   of Brussels, that want to flood Europe with migrants.
39:50   We must also fight for cheap energy too. I hope
39:54   we can move forward the debate about Paks [nuclear power plant expansion, blocked by Brussels].
39:58   Because we were able to parry most of their excuses and answer their questions,
40:02   Well, respected ladies and gentlemen, this is how I see the year ahead of us.
40:06   Ferenc Deák [19th c. politician] said: “We can fight without hope, too”, but I say
40:10   we can do even better with hope in our side. Thank you very much.
 

14 thoughts on “Viktor Orbán: “We Can Decide for Ourselves What to do With Hungary””

  1. The more I hear from this man, the more I love him. The Hungarians are lucky to have him.

  2. Seconded. A sound man; speaks sense; tells the truth, I’d say (certainly about immigration).

  3. I appreciate the work of CrossWare on translations of this extremely important center of rational and nationalist thoughts.

    Again, Europe in general and Hungary in particular is very lucky Trump was elected. I believe Hillary as President would have been complicit in the use of NATO forces to enforce the diktats of the bureaucrats in Brussels. The EU would have become, ipso facto, an empire, and the first priority would have been the breaking up of Hungarian nationalist sentiment.

    I think Hungary dodged the bullet when it lost the Olympic bid. The Olympics are a net drain on the economy of the host country, a security nightmare, a constant disruption to traffic and commerce, and a strong force for centralization of security and money in the government.

    Let me say a bit about the difference between free market economics, as envisioned by classic liberals, and nationalist economics as described by Orban.

    The focus on free market economic theory is the lowest price per unit. This is achieved through innovation, and through specialization of production and labor, and economics of scale, among other things. The economic theory of open borders and free trade is to allow specialization and competition across borders: goods and labor will flow where needed, including specialized labor. This does indeed result in lower prices and higher availability of goods.

    But, the cheapest goods does not necessarily translate to the best life. Orban describes it correctly as the “value of Hungary”. I’ve read that studies show the happiest and most productive people are in a homogeneous community. I’m surrounded by neighbors who are perfectly nice, but speak mainly Spanish and who have very little in common with me. So, I’m lacking the sort of neighbor communications I used to have. But, if I choose, I can have yardwork done at significantly less prices because of the availability of illegal labor. So, the trade off is a community experience versus lower prices.

    The same applies to cars and electronics. I can get a fairly cheap car with Chinese steel, or very cheap produce from Mexico. The trade off again is that we lose the communities and neighborhoods of American workers who have their own identity and culture.

    There’s also the problem of privatized profits and socialized costs. Most of the illegal workers smoke, and retirement savings are a joke. So, their working lives will be short, and the public will have to pay for their medical and retirement expenses, the education of their children, and the additional security necessary for bringing in populations with higher crime rates. Additionally, these people need housing, and all the free land in the area has been paved over, and the wildlife that used to be here long gone.

    So, the two big problems are the unit cost not being a sensible measure of real happiness, and the socialized real cost of a totally free market in labor and goods.

    The other side of the coin is rent-seeking. Like anything else, the unscrupulous rent-seekers will try to use nationalism to their advantage. A primary example is the Mexican Carlos Slim, who has amassed billions through the Mexican-granted monopoly on telecommunications in Mexico. Tariffs and protectionist measures will always attract rent-seekers who will try to use nationalist policies to allow them to avoid competition and innovation.

    The dilemma is not trivial.

    But, there is, I believe, a solid, logical, and quantifiable case to be made for the nationalism of Orban as presented in this speech.

    • Thanks again! 🙂 As usual a great analysis from you…
      You are right, there are some blurred lines between nationalism and protectionist behavior, but in the present state of the world (Globalist effort to build their empire with islamist mass control) I rather take some protectionism…

  4. I always enjoy listening to him speak. Does anyone know who writes his speeches and if he uses a teleprompter? If he does not use one his ‘speechifying’ is even more impressive.

    I am very happy he is the PM and shudder to think of the mess we would be in had MSZP been the party in power. He is absolutely correct as to employing Hungarians. Other countries brought in foreign workers to perform menial jobs their own citizens would not do and now are paying the price.
    I suspect his comments regarding external influences might have been inspired by Soros and his NGO minions and their meddling in counties’ affairs.

    38:50 we do not need the same thing — if you’ve been watching the American and French elections —to spend our election period analyzing what sort of external influences are warping Hungarian voters.

    • CrossWare says she has heard that he writes his own speeches. And I’ve seen him use paper notes, but never a teleprompter.

      At this point, he’s one of a kind in Europe — the only political leader (as opposed to powerless heads of state such as Zeman) who says things like this, and crafts policy accordingly. When Geert and Marine get in, there will be others. But for now he’s the only one.

      • I can totally can see him leading the post EU alliance, as probably both Trump and Putin would support it too and most V4 countries appreciate his efforts.

    • You are correct, he is targeting Soros NGO’s when he talks of external influences.

  5. If only every European country had a leader with the integrity and care Orban has.

  6. I wish we had a man like Orban for Prime Minister of Australia. Instead, we have the supreme waffler in a suit, Malcolm Turnbull. Turnbull is destroying what used to be a center-right party from within by adopting far left policies and thereby alienating those who used to vote for his party.

    • Shelagh,

      On our sidebar is a book by Sir Gregory Copley. He’s from Australia and a genuine polymath – everything from designing and building yachts (and sailing them) to writing poetry. His main vocation is strategy/forecasting. The first book of his I read was “The Art of Victory” – though I think it was under a different title…It was published in 2012 and in his section (an anthology) he talked about the necessity – at the time – of avoiding whoever it was that wanted to impose a carbon tax. Some Greenie, I suppose. Copley predicted poverty if they were successful.

      Well, whoever that was, Australians gave him the boot, re-installing the Conservative whom he’d first defeated. (You must know these names; they escape me now). That fellow proceeded to roll back the odious carbon tax and that was the last time I had an easy “in” to reading about Oz’ policies.

      For a long time “Art of Victory” was available for free as a pdf of some sort. I linked to it various times but now can’t find it. It even had the same cover.

      Here’s his website:

      http://www.artofvictory.com/index.htm

      He offers a free download of the book on our sidebar, UnCivilization: Urban Geopolitics in a Time of Chaos

      AFAIK, only he, David Goldman (aka “Spengler” at Asia Times), the UN, and China are predicting the global massive demographic collapse due circa mid-century. China believes it and the proof is in their lifting of the odious one-child policy. But they haven’t been able to entice young couples into having children – the young have the materialistic bug, no time or money to devote to -ugh- children.

      Both Sir Gregory and Goldman say the collapse is a mathematical certainty – and yes, it will fall equally on Islam. Since it is absolutely uncharted territory – i.e., there’s never been a population decline not due to famine, pestilence or war – no one can predict the outcome. Could be very good or very bad or just a thing to note in passing.

      Anyway, I recommend downloading his book if you have the connection to do so. I can’t or I’d do it and quote from it.

      Our discovery of Sir G: the Baron went to a conference in D.C. a few years ago and came back with a signed copy of that first book – had no idea how it came to be in his possession. The parts Copley wrote were so riveting I began studying geography again, this time with a will to learn why China is going to be of crucial importance to Oz. I wonder how much real estate it already controls.

  7. The fact that Angela Merkel and the bureaucrats of Brussels are trying so hard to demonise Orban, all has to do with the fact that they are dogmatic and not rational.

    They have a lot of ‘oughts’ that seem to rest on dogma rather than rationality. Consider the following questions:

    – “Why is a multi-cultural society better than a mono-cultural society?”
    – “Why is so-called diversity a positive thing rather than a negative thing?”

    The truth is that LITERALLY NOBODY throughout all of human history has ever produced satisfying answers on these questions. They are afraid of Orban, because he has it right and they aren’t.

    Add to this the fact that in Eastern Europe they know all about how tensions between cultures and even between ethnicities can lead to real war and conflict, and the discussion is finished. In Eastern Europe, they know all about the collapse of the Austro-Hungarian empire, and the conflicts between the Serbs and the Bulgars. In Bulgaria, new ethnic tensions are rising as we speak which could lead to another conflict.

    In Germany, Austria and The Netherlands, the Turkish population (often second generation migrants who were born in Europe) are getting mobilised by Turkey’s new dictator. In The Netherlands there is a Muslim party participating in the coming election. Imams in The Netherlands are recommending Muslims to go vote for that party. So, here you have a few negative side-effects of multiculturalism. Orban is simply a very sane man who has used his brain to observe things as they are and has then simply drawn the very rational conclusion that multiculturalism doesn’t work.

    Paul
    http://www.debatetheleft.com

  8. THE MIGRATION PROBLEM AND AVENUES FOR SOLUTIONS.
    HUNGARY AND ISRAEL ARE EXAMPLES IN THE HANDLING OF MASSIVE INFLUX OF IMMIGRANTS IN THEIR HISTORY.
    …by Dr. Anthony Horvath
    Author of a controversial new economic philosophy,
    CAPITALlessISM,
    …. a democratic free-enterprise based economy system based on artificially created substitute capital, when no real capital is available because of a crisis or because of speculations.
    ` http://www.capitallessism.com

    Hungary throughout her thousand year history helped many times entire populations to re-establish themselves in Hungary, fleeing from the Mongolian and the Ottoman invasions. Israel is also a model for Europe on resettling millions of migrants, says Swedish official, ‘’…Russian Jewish immigration gave Israel the fuel for the Start-Up Nation – and Syrian immigration can do the same for Europe..’’, according to Stockholm’s start-up chief, BY DAVID SHAMAH September 9, 2015. Israel integrated the massive influx of immigrants in a very efficient organized manner during the 1950-1960 and especially during the post 1980 years… so we might as well seek some guidelines from them.
    http://www.timesofisrael.com/israel-a-model-for-europe-on-resettling-migrants-says-swedish-official/

    Both countries have massively accepted migrants with generosity, but with consideration for their own security and stability IN AN ORGANIZED MANNER. Criticizing host countries like Hungary and Israel’s handling of the Palestinian issue, is not helping for solutions … It is only helping international chaos. The liberal minded European leaders who criticise both countries for their self-protection policies on migrants should be asked …. Why do they still have keys for their cars and houses to keep strangers out?. Hungarians in the diaspora can greatly help to defend this view in the media… they can provide and organize support abroad for the Hungarian Government. The United Nations need an overall FAIR STRATEGY… fair to the migrants and fair to the host countries. The United Nations, the World Bank and the I.M.F. must provide ALL THE FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE AND ALL THE LOGISTICAL SUPPORT NEEDED BY THE HOST COUNTRIES AND THE MIGRANTS for peaceful solutions.
    Orban Victor’s governmental policies reflect these ideas:
    -1- Migrants at the borders present 3 fundamental security challenges for the host country … they must comply to answer
    -a- who are you? … are you a refugee or a potential radicalist terrorist
    -b- are you willing to integrate PEACEFULLY to OUR culture?
    -c- are you willing to obey OUR LAWS instead of sharia laws?

    -2- IF THE ANSWER IS POSITIVE to all these 3 questions, then our Judeo-Christian value system inspired culture tells us to accommodate ‘refugees’ but not ‘demanding migrant opportunists’ in a human manner to the best of our hospitality and as best of our economic situation.
    -a- you get shelter and care.
    -b- we will try to integrate you to our economy and our culture as best as we can.
    -c- in the mean time you will be restricted to areas.
    Obviously any attempt to the previously mentioned –a-, -b-, or –c- conditions will abort your status as a refugee.

    THE RIGHTS & RESPONSIBILITIES
    -1- The rights/responsibilities of the refugees
    -1- YOU WILL GET survival help: food, lodging, medical care and information
    -2- YOU WILL HAVE TO FOLLOW OUR LAW and the guidelines.
    -3- You will learn how to become a constructive member of our community.

    -2- The rights/responsibilities of the host country
    -1- provide help for survival: shelter, food, lodging, medical care and information
    -2- process the integration of the people either in the host economy
    Or help them to relocate.
    -3- the integration process is may require time (language, education, job availability). It might also require restriction of movements and to limit migrants to certain areas in the beginning.
    -4- the integration process might also require to provide each migrant with mobile electronic payment methods instead of cash in order to allow them an easier and freer purchasing power of necessities without cash related abuses within the migrant community. (something like the war time voucher system, but done electronically)
    -5- this -4- might be later adapted to an extended well-fare system or social assistance programs as well.

    -3- The rights/responsibilities of the international community of the United Nations, Brussels, the I.M.F. and the World Bank :
    …. It is to provide FINANCIAL AND OTHER LOGISTICAL ASSISTANCE to help the host country who accepted migrants. The United Nations, the World Bank and the I.M.F. must provide ALL the financial assistance and all the logistical support needed by the host countries to deal with the economic burden.

    -1- a minimum of 40.000$ (or another defined amount) per refugee, per year, as a budget to the host country for every day per capita operations. Plus a budget for creating an administrative infrastructure.
    -2- A peace keeping force at the borders so the arrivals, the identification, the registration are done in an organised lawful manner.
    -3- Logistical support
    -3-a- building of temporary shelters and infrastructure
    -3-b- food imports and distribution infrastructure
    -3-c- medical supplies and staff
    -3-d- education of children
    -3-f- re training of the adults (language, customs, new job-skills)
    -4- Integration process counselling
    -4-a- staff and information dispensing about the host country and its laws and customs
    -4-b- job finding
    -4-c- Christian-Muslim acquaintance group sessions in order to defuse volatile cultural differences situations.
    -4-d- building Christian-Muslim community projects.

    Who is going to pay for all that?…. Yes it all boils down to capital availability for survival or adequate capital supply to the needy nations and to the needy people ….. Yes it also requires thinking up innovative solutions for our banking system which should be able to match our capital needs with new capital creation processes. Yes, this new international banking system is studied in …CAPITALlessISM
    Thank you for reading this article, and your comments are welcome.

  9. I do not understand when the Government gives a lots of help for receiving the migrant people who as soon as they come they get housing and we unable to resolve the domestic crisis what we have in case of homeless people?It is very bad that we have a lots of problem in health care I am thinking of waiting time in emergencies for sick peoples, and care in general. I think we should more be prepared before receiving more people in. This is what the hungarians and Mr Orban is talking about they want to see how many they can handle and be prepared before they come.

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