Viktor Orban. Photo courtesy of TASS
MINSK, 17 April (BelTA) – Mistakes made by the Hungarian leadership in domestic policy may have led to the defeat of Prime Minister Viktor Orban in the recent parliamentary elections, Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko said in an interview with RT TV channe on 17 April, BelTA has learned.
The head of state noted that the opposition party Tisza, led by Peter Magyar, secured two-thirds of the seats in parliament. In this regard, the Belarusian leader shared his perspective on why Viktor Orban suffered such a decisive defeat in the parliamentary vote.
“I would advise not to rush into judging Hungarian politics or Orban’s policies. He is a pragmatist, a realist... At least that’s what I hear from the media. But why did Orban lose? That means there were serious flaws in his policies, especially in domestic policy,” Aleksandr Lukashenko believes. “After all, real people inside the country were voting. And one cannot say they were mistaken, because the margin is very large. That means the opposition, led by Magyar, put forward a clear and attractive position. Probably, they [Viktor Orban’s Fidesz party] talked a lot, but did not deliver on everything inside the country. The opposition capitalized on that.”
The Belarusian leader added that the Tisza Party cannot be fully considered opposition. This is because its leader, Peter Magyar, was a long-time member of Fidesz, the party headed by Viktor Orban. “As far as I know, he [Peter Magyar] once worked with Orban and started out together with him. Therefore, much of what is happening was shaped within the party Magyar and Orban both belonged to,” Lukashenko added.
The RT journalist suggested that Tisza’s victory might be linked to the fact that it received funding and various support from the European Union. The president countered this by noting that Viktor Orban also received significant support, but from the United States.
“Orban knew the European Union would not be on his side. Well, you are a politician, you have a whole party! You should have stood up to this. The European Union openly supported the opposition... And the Americans openly supported Orban. So that is not the issue,” Aleksandr Lukashenko pointed out. “The issue lies in the mistakes that were made in domestic policy. Time will tell who was right and who was wrong.”
The head of state provided another argument. The West also supported the Belarusian opposition, but that did not help it gain the people’s trust. “The West has also supported and financed our opposition all along. And what came of it? Nothing, because despite all the mistakes and shortcomings, we are still pursuing a sound policy towards our own people,” he added.
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