France/Hungary – While in Paris to meet French President Emmanuel Macron, Viktor Orbán recently gave an interview to French weekly Le Point: The interview, in which he advocates, among other points, a more rational approach of the Europe-Russia relationship, was a shocking discovery for many French readers, used to gain only indirect knowledge of the Hungarian Prime Minister, through (generally negatively biased) third-party assessments of his leadership.
In the comments below the article and on social media, readers were astonished to discover an Orbán they had never met before in the French press.
Some much-commented quotes from the interview:
“I will not agree to a decision that is bad for Hungary. My understanding of Europe is that until everyone agrees, there is no decision. Ukraine is in a difficult situation because of the Russian invasion, so we decided to support it. I agree that the European Council should send positive signals to Ukraine, but there are quite different signals, such as those referring to the opening of negotiations on EU membership. We must not do that.”
“I support rational discussions on how to deal with Russia. There are, of course, differences of opinion among Member States on this issue, with some saying that the EU has made a rational decision and others saying that it will lead to the military, financial and political collapse of Ukraine.”
Reactions to the interview showed that many French people agreed with Orbán’s words and would wish to seesimilar nation-oriented positions within the French political landscape.
One commentator quoted by the website of the Hungarian review Világgazdaság wrote:
“Thanks to Le Point for this material, which introduces us to a Viktor Orbán who – how surprising! – is nothing like the image of a primitive tyrant that many in the media try to sell us day after day. Even though this text is a translation,one gets the impression that someone is expressing himself simply but clearly, and with a consistency that I would like to see more often in our country.”