On the Friday edition of the Kossuth Radio programme “180 Minutes”, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán spoke about the “Stop Soros” legislative package. He said that the organisation of illegal migration is a crime that damages national security interests, and therefore it is the duty of the Hungarian state to take action against it. These activities must be prohibited and punished, he said.

Brussels regards organisational, financial and legal support for migration as a human rights issue, the Prime Minister argued; Hungary, however, sees it as a matter of national security, and therefore this is how it must be handled, with action against it being the only way of protecting Hungarians’ security.

Regarding the proposed constitutional amendment linked to the “Stop Soros” package, the Prime Minister said that, in order to effectively protect Hungary against illegal immigration, there must be new regulations which clarify the provisions of Hungarian legislation and which can be used to repel attacks from Brussels.

He added that if the Constitution prohibits the resettlement of people in Hungary, it will be much easier to create accompanying detailed regulations and defend them – both at home and in the international arena.

At his recent meeting with President of France Emmanuel Macron, Mr. Orbán also made it clear that Hungary will never support any European legislation that would deprive the Hungarian people of the right to decide who may live within the borders of their country. Referring to the content of their meeting, he said: “Let us make it absolutely clear that Brussels cannot take Hungary’s sovereignty away from us.”

Reacting to news reports that the rights organisation Human Rights Watch (HRW) is launching a campaign to persuade the European People’s Party to expel Fidesz, the Prime Minister said that this is political pressure from an organisation funded by George Soros. “Through a variety of organisations”, he said, “George Soros wants to use his money […] to influence European politics – and to the detriment of the Hungarian people. He is a malign figure.”

The amendment to the Fundamental Law will also provide for the protection of home life, he continued. In order to protect the right to privacy, the proposed amendment will state that “people may not be harassed in their homes”. In a normal country there is a place for the free expression of opinions, he said, but being unable to live in peace in one’s own home cannot form part of this freedom.

Regarding the planning of next year’s budget, the Prime Minister said that unemployment, the budget deficit and government debt will decrease, but wages, employment and economic performance will increase.

Turning to the details, he added that in 2019 taxes on wages will fall by 2 per cent, while there will be increased tax allowances for families with two children, who as a result will be able to receive monthly tax allowances of HUF 40,000. In addition to this, he highlighted, next year’s forecast economic growth of above 4 per cent will also allow the payment of a pension premium, as well as a rise in the basic pension.

He also mentioned that the crèche and nursery construction programme will continue, as there are more and more women who would like to return to work – not purely from financial necessity, but personal ambition. Such facilities can help these women in this.

Mr. Orbán said that the Government will announce a family policy action plan, preceded by a national consultation on starting families and raising children. He added that the focus will be on the opinions of women, although “We do not want to exclude men from this consultation”.

The issue of demography is about the number of children born to Hungarian women, the Prime Minister said, “how many children we raise together”, whether there will be a Hungarian future, and what must be done to stop the country’s demographic decline. He set a target date of 2030 for Hungary being able to sustain its population – meaning that the number of people being born is at least as high as those dying.

Asked about his belief in the advisability of the Government planning as far ahead as 2030, he said that while his mandate from the electorate extends until 2022, the work of the next four years will need to form part of a bigger plan extending until 2030. "Many interpreted this statement as a desire on my part to remain prime minister until 2030,” he said, adding that “This is not a bad idea, but the fact is that Hungary is a democracy, with elections every four years.”

Speaking about his plan to build Christian democracy, Mr. Orbán said that liberal democracy has become hollow, failing to give answers to challenges such as migration – or if it does, it sees it as positive, and thus fails to defend borders, fails to strengthen families and fails to recognise Christian culture as a priority.

Therefore, he stated, Christian democracy must be “brought out again, dusted off and modernised somewhat”, as this will defend against migration, support the traditional family model based on one man and one woman, and regard protection of Christian culture as something natural.

Regarding his “thank you campaign” after the parliamentary election, the Prime Minister said that after the election campaign it is important for people not to feel as if this relationship has been sidelined for the next four years, but that instead “there should be live and ongoing communication”. He explained that this is why he met pensioners, those in nursery schools, labourers and people involved in the public works programme.

His visit to a nursery school in the village of Dad in Komárom-Esztergom County was also mentioned. He said he visited the nursery school so that he could be in an “approved and legal” photograph with the children. This was a reference to the fact that before the election he had visited the institution, but had been fined by the National Election Commission for doing so. He described the incident as a dispute in the campaign, in which “I was fined; so much for the state of Hungarian democracy – there are not many countries where something like that could happen.”

(MTI)