Viktor Orbán appeared on Kossuth Radio’s “Good Morning, Hungary!” program on Friday morning from Cluj-Napoca (Kolozsvár), Romania, as he is attending the RMDSZ (Democratic Alliance of Hungarians in Romania) congress during the day. Speaking from the heart of Transylvania, he reflected on the complex state of Hungarian-Romanian relations, regional cooperation, and our eastern neighbor’s turbulent economic outlook.
The Prime Minister said in connection with the congress that he feels it is his duty to attend events organized by Hungarian communities living abroad whenever possible. He added that he visits not only Transylvania, but also Hungarians living in Vojvodina and Slovakia.
He noted that he feels honored that
the Romanian Prime Minister, Ilie Bolojan, will also be present at the minority party’s event, and that his presence definitely represents a step forward in Romanian-Hungarian relations.
Regarding the relationship between the two countries, he said that it is difficult to imagine a more complicated relationship than that between Hungary and Romania. “Knowing the history of the two countries, (…) when there is peace and cooperation, it is not natural and it is not due to chance, but to a decision. We Hungarians want to live in peace and cooperation with our neighbors,” the Hungarian prime minister stated.
When Romania has a prime minister who thinks similarly, (…) then we must seize the opportunity to improve cooperation,”
he added.
Speaking about Romania’s economic situation, he said: “Perhaps city dwellers understand this, but villagers also know that the value of your property is determined not only by the size of your plot, but also by who your neighbors are. Therefore, not only for basic Christian and humanitarian reasons, but also for our own self-interest, we are interested in Romania’s economic success.” He explained that
Romania is a key economic partner, hence the more money Romanians have, the better the trade between the two countries, and thus the better the Hungarian economy.
Regarding the “frivolous, ill-tempered ‘But in Romania…’ sentiment,” the Prime Minister said that those who believe that Romanians are doing better should look across the border.
He said that serious work is underway in the neighboring country to restore its financial stability. This is a very difficult political challenge, thus the RMDSZ, that took responsibility in the current Romanian government, has its work cut out for it. Viktor Orbán wished the Romanian prime minister and the RMDSZ ministers every success in restoring the economy.
He added, however, that we must be cautious when commenting on the economy of another country. In his view, politics has caused problems for the Romanian economy:
If there is no stability, no predictability, if people or parties underestimate the value and virtue of balance, (…) this will result in short-term economic decisions. Many seemingly popular decisions, when added up, result in economic problems.”
The Hungarian head of government noted: “I have been a member of parliament for 35 years, and since then I have been observing the economic policies of our neighbors. I remember very successful periods of economic policy in Romania, and I also remember difficult times like the present.” “If there is anyone who has a chance to put this haystack back in order, it is the current Romanian minister,” he said.
Featured image: MTI/Miniszterelnöki Kommunikációs Főosztály/Kaiser Ákos
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