On Saturday morning, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán delivered his annual speech at the 33rd Bálványos Summer Free University and Student Camp, commonly known as Tusványos, in Băile Tușnad, Transylvania, Romania. As in previous years, Orbán addressed current global political events, including the peace mission, the changing international order, and the upcoming US presidential elections in November.

‘This year, I did not receive a diplomatic démarche, but I did receive an invitation from the Romanian Prime Minister. When I met him, I could say that we were making progress,’ Orbán began his speech. He added that Romania is now Hungary’s third most important partner and promised to put Romania’s Schengen membership on the agenda, as well as to advocate for the construction of a high-speed rail link between Budapest and Bucharest, Magyar Nemzet reported.

‘But we have received démarches from Brussels,’ the prime minister pointed out. He mentioned that Brussels was offended by the peace mission and the pro-war attitude of EU leaders. ‘Brussels creates peace by constantly supporting war,’ he added. He emphasized that since the beginning of the peace mission, Western leaders have been engaging in negotiations, indicating that a shift has begun. As a result, we are gradually moving towards a pro-peace policy in Europe.

PM Orbán highlighted three important issues today. The first is the unforeseen side-effect of the war: the revealed power dynamics in Europe. The second major issue concerns what will happen after the war. The third issue is how Hungary must prepare for this potential new world.

Orbán linked the current situation to the epoch-making film The Matrix, saying that war is our red pill in the plot. In the film, if the protagonist swallows the blue pill, he can remain in the world of appearances; if he swallows the red pill, he can descend into reality.

‘War is our red pill; with its ruthlessness, it elevates us to a high altitude and provides a completely different perspective. In this reality, the ideologies and distortions of the media and the tactical fallacies of politicians lose their power,’ he emphasized.

The prime minister stated that

since 2022, it has been evident that the war has resulted in brutal casualties on both sides, yet they still refuse to reconcile.

‘The Ukrainians view it as a Russian invasion, while the Russians believe they are preventing NATO troops and weapons from entering Ukraine. If it is left to the two sides, there will be no peace; it can only be achieved from the outside,’ he added.

Orbán remarked that the United States is engaged in a proxy war with Russia and accused China of supporting the Russians. He noted that Ukraine previously considered itself a buffer state, but the prospect of aligning with the West has given it a new sense of purpose.

PM Orbán also pointed out that the new reality is the collapse of European politics. The sanctions imposed are damaging fundamental European interests, driving up energy prices, and making the European economy uncompetitive. ‘Germany’s silence on the Nord Stream pipeline explosion is an act of submission and terrorism. The fact that no one has spoken out about it and no one is talking about it is an act of surrender, but it was an act of terrorism led by the US,’ he asserted.

He recalled that the Paris–Berlin axis once formed the core of the European power system, but since the war, a new axis of power has emerged: the London–Warsaw–Kyiv axis, along with the Baltic and Scandinavian countries, has become the new centre of power.

‘The peace mission also urges Europe to finally pursue an independent policy,’ the Hungarian PM highlighted. Orbán mentioned that the West had previously issued instructions to take a moral stand with the West and against Russia, yet more and more people are siding with the Russians.

Besides, Orbán asserted that the West is weak and disintegrated.

He argued that Russia is acting in a logical, understandable, and predictable manner. In contrast, the West is irrational and unpredictable, unable to deal with challenges emerging from Asia.

He stated that the worldview of Central Europeans is based on nation-states, while the West believes that nation-states no longer exist. ‘In the West, they deny a common culture and a common morality,’ he underlined.

Orbán claimed that migration is also seen as a liberation from ethnic homogeneity that is the foundation of the nation and that this is the essence of liberal progressivism. ‘The aim of the West is to transcend the nation; the point is to transfer sovereignty from nation-states to Brussels. This is the underlying principle behind all decisions,’ he said.

‘It’s a new mental space; this is where the real issue lies. This is the battle going on in the United States. Donald Trump’s goal is to bring the American people back from a post-national liberal state to a nation-state, and that’s why they want to imprison him, destroy him, or take his wealth. I’m not sure that what has happened is the last move in the campaign,’ the prime minister stressed.

Orbán remarked that in the past, change originated from the West, but now there is a shift in the world order coming from Asia.

‘In the coming decades, Asia will be the dominant centre of the world,’ he said, referring to the BRICS and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization. Increasingly, it will be where the technological and capital advantages are, where the most money is, where the largest financial funds are, where the world’s best universities will be, and where even the Russians have been integrated by the West’s actions. ‘Donald Trump’s experiment is

the last chance for America to maintain its global supremacy,’

he pinned down.

Europe’s options are to become a ‘skanzen,’ subsumed under the US without development opportunities, or to pursue strategic autonomy and compete for global supremacy—one crucial element of which is to seek a new reconciliation with Russia after the war. Europe must abandon its autonomous political project and must engage in competition with an economic project.

Orbán asserted that Ukraine cannot realistically become a member of NATO or the EU.

He stated that if we view the changing world order not as a threat but as an opportunity, we must take the initiative and pursue an independent national policy. He stressed that the essence of Hungary’s grand strategy is connectivity. ‘We will not allow ourselves to be locked exclusively into either the Eastern or the Western world economy. We will not join the blockade against the East; we will go our own way. The second part of the grand strategy is to defend sovereignty. The economic basis for national sovereignty is also established,’ he said. He also highlighted that Hungarian society must be stable and resilient, aiming for demographic self-sufficiency by 2035.

PM Orbán also noted that over the next 20–25 years, there will be constant debates about the relationship with the new world order, and political opponents will always advocate for integration. ‘The implementation of the grand strategy will not be completed by us, but by today’s 20–25-year-olds,’ he concluded.

Related articles: