Hungary, from whipping boy to geopolitical Switzerland

Just a few weeks ago, in October, the European Parliament in Strasbourg heard unusually strong criticism during Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s presentation of the priorities of Hungary’s EU presidency. It was a witch hunt, the revenge of a corrupt elite on Hungary, because Hungary exposed the falsehood and set a new direction for Europe. We will never forget the quotable words of Manfred Weber, President of the European People’s Party. He said to Viktor Orban, ’No one really wants to see you, no one wants to come to Budapest… today you are alone, you are sidelined… why nobody wants to speak with you?’

Then something happened. President Donald Trump won the election and everything changed. The collaborationist Brussels elite, who have been openly critical of Donald Trump for years, were running frantically as the shiny pink rug was pulled out from under them. How is it possible to further isolate Viktor Orbán, whom President Trump himself called after his election victory, they kept asking one another. After the phone call Orbán even announced on the day of Trump’s victory, „We have big plans!” and so the great isolationist movement was immediately dead and everyone in Brussels has backed down and turned tail, pale faces everywhere.

On the 7th of November, almost 50 high-level delegations with 42 heads of state and government came to Budapest for the European Political Community (EPC) meeting. The following day, the heads of state and government of the 27 European Union member states and leaders of EU institutions held an informal European Council meeting in Budapest, joined by Mr Draghi, the former head of the European Central Bank and Italian prime minister. A clear sign. Viktor Orbán, and with him Hungary, has been on the geopolitical map since 2010, but now he has finally arrived at the table of the big players.

I only have time to highlight a few promising factors. Hungary could be the new Switzerland in geopolitical terms: stable, predictable, reliable and a place where all parties can make deals. Renowned representatives of the industry come from all over the world to settle here. Germans, South Koreans, Americans, Japanese, French and now also Chinese companies have come to Hungary. Industry is not so political. Central Eastern Europe became visible on the map and that is a big thing. Until now, our region has not been of interest to the West, we have been seen as an undifferentiated mass, but then first the Berlin-Paris axis was replaced by a London-Warsaw-Kiev axis, managed from Washington DC, and now, with the election of Donald Trump, the picture is becoming even more chiseled.

How do ordinary Hungarians think? ”We felt that we were alone on issues important to us, Hungarians, but now we are not alone, we have the whole of America and even China on our side.” As the most important element of the EU summit of the 7th of November in Budapest, the Prime Minister said that the participating heads of states were confronted with the fact that „what Europe has done so far cannot continue” and that it must change.

Hungary could be the mediator. Both sides, America and China, even the EU can trust us. We will also have to work with Brussels to address the EU’s over-regulation toward China to prevent a trade war. If Brussels cannot change, the EU will be the graveyard of the free market. What unites us, regardless of geographical distance, is that we believe in the sovereign development of individual cultures and economies and that is why we believe in the multipolar world order and want to support it.

Hungary should play a new role in the world. Why not become the Switzerland of geopolitics? And what is the mission to be accomplished? Pragmatic decisions rather than ideology. The end of blocking and block-thinking. Working together to find answers to global challenges. Mutual respect and cooperation rather than sanctions. A change of perspective in the European Union. Justice for China: China should  be represented in international institutions and arenas in proportion to its economic and power weight. Sovereignists advance, globalists retreat.

To battle!