Orbán: We will win the next election
PM Orbán said he would enter the campaign with a confidence that was 'healthy and historically grounded', noting that he had 20 years of experience as prime minister and had won five elections, the last four consecutive ones.
The government has implemented measure after measure to offer opportunities to Hungarians, a broader scope of Hungarians, he said. 'Why should we be doubters?' he asked.
PM Orbán said he did not think it would do any good to modify the law on voters' rights with so little time ahead of the elections, adding that he did not expect any such effort.
'The opposition is the opposition because they breathe down your neck, that's their job. But the important thing is that they breathe down your neck, from behind, not from in front, and it isn't a problem as long as that remains the case,' he said.
'The opposition is the same as before; they only change their outfits,' he added.
'There is always a national party — and that party is now Fidesz — that fights for the country's independence, for historical justice, and there is always a cosmopolitan, dubious international formation of mercenaries, paid for and maintained from abroad and headed by provincial leaders that attempt to take over the governing power with money and influence from abroad,' PM Orbán said.
PM Orbán arrived in Târgu Mureș (Marosvasarhely) for the funeral of Elod Kincses, a Transylvanian Hungarian lawyer, writer, and civil and human rights activist.
He said he wanted to meet with the new Romanian president, 'the sooner the better', to discuss, in depth, European Union issues in which Hungary and Romania have common interests.
He noted that Hungary's presidency of the Council of the EU had produced a historical breakthrough for Romania: the country's accession to the passport-free Schengen zone. 'They can see that our intentions are good and we are ready to cooperate,' he added.
PM Orbán said he didn't envy Romania's government as they had inherited a difficult situation, especially in terms of economy. He added that the government wold need to draw on all of their expertise to manage the economic situation so Romanians would emerge relatively unscathed. 'I'm rooting for their success,' he said.
Addressing earlier communication regarding George Simion, the presidential candidate of the AUR party, PM Orbán said Hungarians in Romania should not cooperate with anyone opposed to Hungarians. 'And here in Transylvania, you know better than anybody in the world who those people are,' he added. He said Transylvanian Hungarians had done 'an excellent job' protecting themselves from a far-right candidate.
Responding to a question about the lack of universal backing for Hungary's policy of helping Hungarians across the borders, PM Orbán said he couldn't help those who didn't understand why Transylvanian Hungarians, their communities and their schools, should be supported.
'Hungarians here are in a tight spot, they have been fighting for survival for 100 years, and if someone doesn't understand [that]…I can't help them. I can't explain to people without a Hungarian heart what it's like to be Hungarian, and if you're Hungarian…you can't forget about those who can only count on you and who need your help,' he said.
'We are a national government. Borders are redrawn again and again in the course of history, but the Hungarian nation remains, and its parts cannot be severed by borders….So we are not handing out favours or giving support, rather we are thinking about the survival and prosperity of all parts of the nation,' PM Orbán said.
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