‘The European Commission has failed in everything from war to migration; now may the European right be reborn,’ Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán emphasized in an interview with the Italian newspaper Il Giornale published on Tuesday.
PM Orbán said that Fidesz wants to join the European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR) political group, founded by Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni. ‘We are aware that there are issues that divide us, but Giorgia and I have known each other for years, and she works very well in government,’ Orbán pointed out. He noted that there are also differences of opinion with some ECR parties, for example, on the assessment of the war in Ukraine. Additionally, he described Meloni as a Christian who loves her country. ‘She has now been given a significant role in Europe, and much will depend on her decisions,’ Mr Orbán said.
The prime minister stated that he expects the European Parliament elections to strengthen democracy and create a new right-wing majority.
‘This European Commission has failed on agriculture, war, migration, and the economy, so now they must go.
We need a different Commission from the one that has been the worst in government,’ he highlighted.
At the same time, he added, there is a need for a rebirth of the right in Europe. ‘The parties of the right must work together; we are in the hands of two women who must reach an agreement,’ he noted, referring to Giorgia Meloni and Marine Le Pen, the leader of the French right-wing National Rally (NR).
Regarding the other right-wing EP group, Identity and Democracy (ID), which includes the National Rally (NR) and the Italian Lega party led by Matteo Salvini, Orbán mentioned they are considering several options, including forming a large European right-wing group. ‘The first thing is to do something useful for Europe,’ he stated.
With regard to the war in Ukraine, he stressed that for Hungary it is ‘not just any conflict, but a conflict at our borders,’ in which members of the Hungarian minority serving in the Ukrainian army are also fighting and losing their lives.
He believes that the war has reached a crossroads: ‘Either we isolate the conflict and find a diplomatic way out, or we deepen the war even more.’ He added: ‘If we allow Ukraine to attack Russia with weapons supplied by Italy, there will be consequences, with a
strong Russian reaction and NATO involvement one step away.’
He called the EU’s strategy a failure, criticizing it for not realizing that it is playing with fire. He noted that the European public wants peace, not war. Finally, PM Orbán concluded with the argument that the re-election of former US President Donald Trump could turn the tide, saying: ‘If Trump and the EU wanted it, the war would be over in twenty-four hours.’
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