Speaking at the annual right-wing gathering in Kötcse, Hungary’s PM Viktor Orbán delivered a wide-ranging and highly critical speech aimed at drawing clear battle lines ahead of the Hungary’s 2026 parliamentary elections. Unusually for the semi-formal event, the remarks were broadcast live on social media.
Orbán framed the upcoming national election not just as a political contest but as a referendum on governance models. “There are only two paths for Hungary: One leads to Brussels and ruin, the other leads to sovereignty and stability,” he said.
The “Brussels model,” he argued, would force Hungary into collective EU debt, dismantle utility price caps, eliminate family support programs, and impose a progressive tax system. In his view, this is precisely what the main opposition Tisza Party offers.
He portrayed the European Union as being in a state of decline, referencing its failure to build a coherent economic model and the consequences of shared debt policies.
“If things remain unchanged, the 2028–2035 EU budget will be the last seven-year budget,” Orbán warned. “The European Union is falling apart in front of our eyes. Only a fundamental reorganisation can stop the forces that are pulling the Union apart,” he added on X.
On the war in Ukraine, Orbán maintained his consistent position against Ukraine’s accession to the EU, arguing that it would drag the entire bloc into war. “We want a future for Ukraine, and we are not anti-Ukrainian. However, the war strategy is a losing one for Europe,” he said.
