The Prime Minister’s press chief Bertalan Havasi has told Hungarian news agency MTI that at the “civic picnic” held in the village of Kötcse, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s speech included the following: what is at stake in next year’s parliamentary election; the change taking place in the world order; and the new French president’s views on Europe.

Mr. Havasi reported that the Prime Minister had identified what is at stake in next year’s election as the protection of the achievements of the past seven years. Among these he highlighted these issues: defence of the country’s borders – including the border fence, which has been criticised by many; the preservation of job security; and the maintenance of public security.

The Prime Minister spoke about an estimate published in NATO circles, which states that by 2020 some 60 million migrants could have left Africa, the vast majority of whom will have set out for Europe.

Mr. Orbán’s speech covered a wide spectrum of international affairs, including the change that is taking place in the world order and the tasks that Europe is facing. He also spoke at length about an interview published earlier in the week with the new French head of state in the news magazine Le Point. Mr. Havasi said that, although the Prime Minister takes issue with several statements in the interview, he thinks that in some other areas Emmanuel Macron’s ideas appear to coincide with Hungary’s interests. For example , Mr. Orbán said that he fully agrees with the need for realism in foreign policy, with the description of the crisis phenomena affecting the West, and with the statement that respect for Europe’s core principles is the prerequisite for correcting the errors which cause the current poor functioning of Europe.

(MTI)