Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, well known at this point for his divergent perspective on geopolitical affairs, has prognosticated that when the war in Ukraine finally concludes, the world will be reordered in such a way that the supremacy and hegemony presently enjoyed by the collective West will likely be a thing of the past.
While speaking with the German magazine Tichy’s Einblick earlier this week, the Hungarian prime minister, who stands out among world leaders for his far-sightedness, offered a prediction for the future that no other European leader has given, saying that it is “quite possible that this war will demonstratively bring Western superiority to an end.”
For Orbán, when the conflict concludes, the European Union will emerge weaker and less influential than it was before the war’s onset, while other countries and regions who are presently benefiting from the war will find themselves in even stronger positions.
The Hungarian prime minister continued,
Firstly, the West cannot win the Ukraine war militarily; secondly, the sanctions have in no way destabilized Russia; thirdly, [the sanctions’] damage to Europe is immense; fourthly, the world has not lined up behind the United States and Ukraine.
A large part of the world demonstratively has not backed the [West]: the Chinese, the Indians, the Brazilians, South Africa, the Arab world, Africa.
While noting that the economic sanctions imposed by the EU against Russia had backfired and were causing immense damage to the bloc’s member states, Orbán, on the other hand, highlighted the major beneficiaries of the war.
Those who have their own energy sources benefit. The Russians benefit. The European Union’s imports from Russia have decreased by a quarter, but Gazprom’s revenues have doubled. The Chinese, who used to be at the mercy of the Arabs, have benefited. And of course, the big American corporations are benefiting.
Six months into the Russo-Ukraine war, ExxonMobil, Chevron, and ConocoPhillips—three of the U.S.’s largest oil companies—saw their profits double, quadrable, and increase sixfold, respectively.
British Petroleum (BP) has seen its profits triple this year, collecting 8.5 billion euros as prices have skyrocketed amid the war.
