In a chilling late-night interview on commercial broadcaster TV2 on Monday, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán warned that Hungary’s 2026 parliamentary election might be the final vote before an “expected” war erupts. He slammed the opposition Tisza party as pro-war puppets of the European People’s Party (EPP), which he claims is hell-bent on gearing Europe up for conflict with Russia by 2030. Only his Fidesz party, Orbán insisted, stands firmly for peace. Come election day, Hungary faces a stark choice: war or peace.
Orbán: Threat of war not over
“While we will have a Christmas free of war, the threat is not over,” Orbán said. He added that though the European Union had refrained from using frozen Russian assets “the directions in Brussels have not changed”. The EU, with the exception of Czech Republic, Hungary, and Slovakia, is still “moving towards war,” he said referring to the EU’s majority decision of taking out a loan and granting Ukraine 90 billion euros for the next two years.
Dubious loan
“We know that the money we are lending to Ukraine will never return,” the prime minister said, and suggested that in the end EU member states would have to repay the debt. “The question was who would guarantee repayment … that was when the Slovaks, Czechs and Hungarians said that they would not participate,” he said.
- PM Viktor Orbán about Putin’s Ukrainian invasion: It’s not clear who attacked whom
“We will not use a single tax forint of our taxpayers for such a dubious loan transaction … we will stay out, while the others are in trouble,” Orbán said, adding that the “Brussels manoeuvre” would have cost Hungarian families 400 billion forints”.
Orbán: We want Hungary to be great and rich
“We want Hungary to be great and to have a reason for self-esteem and glory; we are a respectable, great nation and it should be made clear for the whole world,” Orbán said in an interview to commercial TV2 late on Monday.
- Putin reassures Orbán after Hungarian PM seeks his take on pivotal EU decision about billions of euros
The prime minister said economic success was a goal which would also make Hungarian families richer. “Hungarian families should be well-off,” he said, adding that it was his commitment.
Working to meet that goal, the government “had to remove a number of taboos” and introduce a new tax system focusing on families, “send the International Monetary Fund home”, and redistribute the public burden involving international companies, Orban said, but added that “still there is a lot to do before we can say that the Hungarian nation is made up of well-to-do families.”
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I respectfully disagree with Orbán Viktor, or at least to a certain extent : Toroczkai László and Mi Hazank would definitely keep Hungary out of war with Russia.
Tisza, however, or any incarnation of the Budapestan dominated Left, (people like – Dobrev Klara, Donath Anna, Cseh Katalin, or Magyar Peter) would very definitely have Hungary in the war quick enough – all while complaining they had no reasonable or legal choice but to be in line with ‘The EU’.
I thought our Politicians were saying the next war would be Nuclear Armageddon – as per Mr. Putins incessant threats? There is not much of a regular army left, so at least this threat is a potent one (lets not send all of our military kit to Ukraine) – but he also understands how a strike would initiate MAD – mutually assured destruction.
How does a nation state, NATO Member, tiptoe around this? Hoist white flags everywhere and build a wall around Hungary? Very curious!
Thank you for your thoughts, dear Norbert.
The realities, at hand, are these :
#1. The western part of The West are inhabited by peoples so individualist that there is not going to be any enthusiasm for a group-tribal adventure – especially not one which is an interruption to the individual pursuit of pleasure.
War, especially to individuallst pleasure-seekers, is anathema – even more so than it is to monks.
Most of our leaders seem blithely unaware of our collective disposition.
Also, most of us do not regard Russia’s threats to bomb us as something unjust or evil, because we share Russia’s opinion that the Ukraine is neither something outside of the Russia realms nor is it’s sneaky colonization by the western elite, since 1991, something that she can or ought abide.
We accept that the Ukraine has always been Russia, which is why those from the Ukrainian region of Russia we there to kill us when we marched East under Napoleon or Hitler.
We accept that Ukrainians are genetically Russian, as is their language, culture, and religion.
Therefore, we see Russia’s threats, vis-a-vis this war, as something akin to what our threats would be, if China attempted to colonize Texas and Arizona.
Concerning your White flags : you have been so ‘sensitized’ by decades of anti-Russian anti-Putin balderdash, you regard any attempts to live peacefully with those entities as something shameful.
This is the power of The Western Elite – to make us have emnity, then muzzle and direct that emnity and fear to their own ends.
Ehm. “Western Elites”? You essentially recycle classic imperial logic dressed up as “realism.” … “Common sense!”. However.
You mix historical distortion with a bad analogy to justify Russia’s war. Saying “Ukraine has always been Russia” is simply untrue. Kyiv and the Kyivan Rus’ state existed long before Moscow. Much of what is now Ukraine was for centuries under Polish-Lithuanian, Austro-Hungarian, Ottoman, and independent Cossack control.
Russian imperial and Soviet rule over Ukraine is real, but that’s domination. It is akin to claiming Ireland “has always been England” because they ruled it for a long time. Or – since we are also touching on WW2 for a change – somebody once argued “Sudeten Germans are really German, so Czechoslovakia is artificial”. I would argue calling Czechoslovakia “artificial” was part of a political campaign by Nazi Germany to justify territorial revision – and Neville Chamberlain put his foot in it (appeasement, anyone?).
The line about Ukrainians “being there to kill us under Napoleon or Hitler” also misleads. Under both Napoleon and Hitler, people from all over the Russian Empire or the USSR—Russians, Ukrainians, Georgians, Central Asians, etc., served in imperial or the Soviet armies and fought invaders. Being mobilized in an empire’s army doesn’t erase your separate identity or make your homeland “part of” the imperial core forever. It just shows you were under that empire’s control at that time.
The claim that “Ukrainians are genetically Russian, as is their language, culture, and religion” ignores basic facts about nations. Genetics is heavily mixed across Eastern Europe, and there is no clear “Russian gene” versus “Ukrainian gene.”
Also – Ukrainian and Russian are distinct languages, with differences comparable to, say, Spanish and Portuguese or Czech and Slovak.
Culturally and religiously, there is overlap (as with many neighboring peoples), but also clear, self‑conscious Ukrainian traditions, literature, symbols, and historical experiences that Moscow has repeatedly tried to suppress.
Finally, funny you should bring up a Texas-Arizona analogy. Ukraine is an internationally recognized sovereign state, a founding UN member with its own borders and government. Texas and Arizona are integral parts of a single, long‑established U.S. of A.
May I suggest the following analogy? Russia invading Ukraine is like a larger neighbor claiming that a smaller, internationally recognized country “is actually ours” because of past empire and cultural ties, and then using that narrative to justify annexation and war.
Looking forward to your further insights.
Thank you for your excellent points.
I do not agree that the Ukraine (excluding Bukhovina, Galicia, Volhynia, or Transkarpaty) is not Russian.
I do agree with you that the current land regarded as ‘Ukrainian’ has had many dwellers and occupiers.
For a thousand years the Ukraine was Russia.
Suddenly Westerners, like you, are convinced that ‘the Ukraine’ is NOT Russian.
If the Ukraine is not Russian,Dear Norbert, how come they are Russian Orthodox (the recently created Ukrainian Orthodox Church is a sham)
If the Ukraine is not Russian, how can I, a hack Russian speaker, so easily understand it’s tongue?
Ukrainian is a dialect of Russian, just as my tongue, Southern, is a dialect of English.
Do Ukrainians have regional ethnic pride?
Yes, they always have had this.
There is a special term in Russian for the Ukraine. It is an affectionate term, and it is, ‘Little-Russia’.
Concerning your notion that the Ukraine has been invaded by Russia,I find it totally inaccurate.
Accurate is that the Ukraine was quietly infiltrated by MI6, at the fall of the Soviet Union, and separated from it’s own nation- Russia.
That this ‘has been internationally recognized’ is just a statement that the Western Elite have enough power and influence to rubber stamp anything they do.
It means nothing.
Anyway, since then the so-called Ukraine was separated from Russia, it’s democratically elected governments have been thrice overthrown by the Western Elite.
Clearly The West says it values Ukrainian sovereignty, yet, violates it repeatedly.
What would I suggest?
#1. In the best of all worlds the former deposed president, Viktor Yanukovich, would be put back in the capital mansion in Kiev, where he could resume his policy of friendship and cooperation with both The West & Russia.
Yanukovitch’s external policies were practically identical to Orban’s. That is why he was overthrown in 2014.
#2. All Blackrock purchased lands in the Ukraine (nearly half the country) would be seized by the Ukrainian Government – those assets to be redistributed amongst the Ukrainian peoples.
#2. ALL military and intelligence branches of The West would leave the Ukraine.
That is what ought happen. Yet, what will actually happen?
The West will not do any of what I just listed, so the result will be as I have continuously asserted : The Russians will continue towards Odessa, until they have established a firm link to Transnistria.
If the West still cannot agree to the aforementioned, then the rest of the Ukrainian will be taken by the Russians – up to, bu not including, Galiica, Transkarpaty, Volhynia, and Bukhovina.
If The West still cannot make peace…
No, scratch that – the EU and leaders, like Macron, Van der Leyen, and Merz and Starmer are never going to survive, politically, that long.
There will be peace, and it will be on Russian terms.
If you want to change that, go volunteer to fight and die for the Western Elite’s favorite colony – the Ukraine.
But, of course, you will not go and do this, because you are a rational person, who, unfortunately, actually believes what The Western Elite want him to believe.
What do the Western Elite want you to believe?
That everything belongs to them, if they say so, and that they always have the right to do anything they please.
Now he is trying what is known as a “scare tactics”. If you don’t vote for me you will have war…
Election bribes, lies, scare tactics…what’s next?
It is crystal clear the globalist-socialist-fascist “elites” want a war. The reason is economical but, much more, it is an excellent pretext for them to usher in unprecedented control over the population.
Under the guise of “saving” us from “Russian spies” as well as having to ration resources that are scarce due to the “inevitable” and “just,” “defensive” war, they would transform our civilization permanently. Those measures would never be revoked and both our standard of living and our liberties would be flung back at least 3-4 centuries, forever. It would be tantamount to feudalism-lite.
No, thanks. Not interested.
Those who want a war are free to go fight the Russians in Ukraine right NOW.
TLDR . consider the following … In the current environment, for Russia to stay relevant (think “Empire” / World Power), it MUST win the war in Ukraine. Hence, the maximalist demands.
Ukraine’s most resource-rich regions include Donetsk, Luhansk, Dnipropetrovsk (Dnipro), as well as parts of Zaporizhzhia and Kharkiv. The Ukraine war is obviously about principles (denazification, stop NATO expansion, one people, etc. – ask @Mouton) – not about resources (shudder the thought!). However, if Russia falls short in this war – they will become a vassal state to China. And Mr. Putin knows it.
Russia is now more dependent on China than ever, but not a full vassal, yet. China is by far Russias largest trading partner (oil, gas, coal, and metals), and Russia increasingly relies on Chinese imports for cars, machinery, electronics, industrial equipment, consumer goods, and many dual use technologies that help offset Western sanctions. This shift has deepened Russias reliance on China not just in trade, but also in energy, technology access, and broader economic stability.
Hope you find this perspective helpful. And @Mouton – please feel free to correct me?
I totally agree with you, Mein Herr Steiner.
Those who want a western-dominated Ukraine are free to go fight and die for it.
They, these anti-Russian Westerners, do not understand that the vast majority of Ukrainians do not care with whom their government does business, so long as they can work, shop, and lead their family lives unmolested.
This is how most Ukrainians are.
They do not care, or if they do care, they are sick of dying for it.
Best Quizs Question and Answer quizz
HOW low will he GO, to endeavour to save his TRASHED reputation.
Orban “smashed” Hungary respect and trust in the name of our country.
Orban has through distillation be the reason behind as a country in style, reputation and practice of a government no longer a democracy.
Orban a “judas” of democracy and Putin’s “gofer” along with his Fidesz Government.
Orban has “smashed” all relationships with country’s governed under or embrace have respect for the word democracy.
Just look at Hungary’s reputation in the European Union that the debt of Hungary through legal rulings through Orban and his Fidesz Governments conduct of funding mis-appropiation non compliance is a gargantuan mess that will sooner than later be called in by the European union for monies outstanding.
Orban has through Government Debt, which is a debt on individually all Hungarians placed Hungary “over its head” in Debt with Nothing “in the bank” left for future investment.
Victor Mihaly. Orban – the FALSE supposed friendship with the “ill fated” a Presidency under D. J. Trump in America in growing absolute CHAOS.
When over the course of (16) sixteen years, over the combined time of Victor Mihaly. Orban his Prime Ministership’s in the time post 1989 his PODIUM bla bla of Hungary our future is as a democracy, his pre and life in Politics in Hungary has just been a LIE.
Hungary through the name Victor Mihaly. Orban from 1989 on is NOT a better country for his PRESENSE – his being an Hungarian Politician whether alone a (2) two times Prime Minister.
Orban factually has not grown the riches of Hungary as a country nor for millions upon millions of Hungarians.
Orban’s Politics – have bleed the country DRY and in millions of millions Hungarians which we have 1.2 million in our “ageing” decreasing population living in POVERTY – the personal wealth, security of employment – improvement in life quality in ALL areas of the needs public amenities – hospitals, schools, public transport, just to name a few the name Victor Mihaly. Orban still has us as a country likened to that of a “third” World country.
Greed, Selfishness the “toxic culture” of exploitation of millions upon millions of Hungarians – the “ripping” us off – bleeding us dry for Orban, his Fidesz Government, the Oligarchy – all fattening their pockets and greasing their palms.
Victor Mihaly. Orban – nothing, absolutely NOTHING, nothing to add to contribute to the FUTURE of Hungary – NOTHING.
Russia got bogged down in Ukraine grinding tens of thousands of their men into dead meat and wasting billions of dollars of their dwindling reserves of money. Putin is slowly bleeding his country out and Russians are starting to complain. It’s hard on Ukraine for sure but they are doing us all a favour by degrading the Russian military. It will take Russia years to recover when this war ends giving Europe time to rebuild its’ military to defend against the mafia monster that rules Russia. Orban is the worst form of traitor. He is scaremongeing in a desperate push to cling to power.
Just so you will know, dear Larry – it’s not just a few tens of thousands of Ukrainians who have been ground into hamburger meat, but, nearly 2, 000,000.
That does not include all those who are at home now crippled and disabled.
Doubt me?
Consult the Ukrainian Government’s own figures.
For once the Ukrainian Government is not lying.
As to Orban being a ‘traitor’ : he is a traitor to the emnity you hold for Russians.
And why is he that?
Because he is concerned for himself. his family, and his people.
He is a rational man.
You, on the other hand, are what becomes of a man when he is eaten up by enmity.
Have you tried going to mass lately?
In any case, Merry Xmas!
Yup, Viktor’s comments about the coming war aren’t about war at all. His comments are about the next election. Only Fidesz can keep Hungary out of a war that would rage all around Hungary? Really? Well, at least it fits with the “Csak Fidesz” propaganda motto.
Welcome to Hungary – where only our Politicians can deliver us from … Basically anything. If you take their word for it.
Facts and data don’t generally back this up – but hey. Unfortunately, our people are happy to believe spin.
“Welcome to Hungary – where only our Politicians can deliver us from … Basically anything. If you take their word for it.”
Well, Dear Norbert, I am always happy to learn from you about your people and culture.
That said, what you said does not sound particularly Hungarian, but, rather, a perfect indication of The United States.
No matter for whom we vote, we get the same policies – no manufacturing, more war, and an endless flood of Non-Europeans into our lands.
“Viktor’s comments about the coming war aren’t about war at all.”
You are right, Grumpy – Orban is merely quoting the publically-stated warlike intents of other Western Leaders – from high British and Italian generals to people like Chancellor Merz or former NATO secretary general Mark Rutte.