Tamás Menczer, the Fidesz head of communications, told public radio that the ruling party anticipates that lots of young people will join Fidesz having witnessed Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s Tusványos speech.
Menczer said 20-30-year-olds liked to rebel, “and the biggest way to rebel today is to be a patriot”. Also, the left wing was bereft of political skills, he added. It was easy to see why the left-wing politicians were “screeching” after Orbán’s speech on Saturday “as it is obvious they don’t know how to make such a speech”, he said. “We have Viktor Orbán and an exceptionally strong political community. Young people tend to join whoever it is worthwhile joining,” Menczer said. Regarding heavy restrictions on the flow of Russian crude via Ukraine, he said that Kyiv’s move undoubtedly amounted to blackmail, and a Ukrainian representative had gone so far as to admit it. He called Ukraine’s move “illegitimate and illegal”, adding that Hungary expects Ukraine to comply with the EU association agreement which states that the energy supply of an EU member state must not be imperilled. The European Commission is expected to side with Slovakia and Hungary against a non-EU country, he said, and it would be acting in collaboration with Ukraine if it failed to do so. Menczer alluded to “pro-war collusion”, saying that it was possible that the restrictions may have been suggested to Ukraine by “pro-war Westerners”. Asked about the government’s plans in response, he said Hungary did not want to “blackmail” Ukraine, “though facts are still facts”. Meanwhile, regarding the 200 million euro fine the European Court of Justice instructed Hungary to pay for refusing to implement several EU migration rules, he said the authorities had responded by shuttering the transit zones before disallowing asylum applications to be submitted at the embassy in Belgrade. He said there was a “political motivation in the background” and “Brussels wants to flood Hungary with immigrants.” “We will protect Hungary and the Hungarian people from immigration, and the fine will not be paid by the Hungarian people,” he declared. Menczer said the prime minister had clearly told the Austrian and German leaders in 2015 that Hungary could either stop migrants or let them through. “We will protect Hungary, but if they now want these people to appear in Austria and Germany, we can be partners in that, too. Everyone should take what I say as I say it,” he said.