Viktor Orbán: ‘We can close one of the most shameful periods of our Western civilization’

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán.
Photo: MTI

After the scandalous events at the National Conservatives conference in Brussels last week, when a number of left-wing city officials have tried to shut the event down, another gathering of conservatives opens its doors in Budapest, this time with a more friendly reception. Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC Hungary), organized by the Center for Fundamental Rights (Alapjogokért Központ; AK) is one of the largest and highest profile events of its kind in the world.

In his introductory speech, Miklós Szánthó, Director of AK, pointed out to the audience that Budapest differs from Brussels, among others, in the mere fact that the police did not come to shut down the event as it tried to do in Brussels on April 16 during the National Conservatives conference.

He continues by pointing our that this year’s CPAC’s goal is to mobilize the anti-globalist forces into a global network. Their focus is the June European Parliament elections, and the November presidential elections in the United States.

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán said in his speech that Hungary has gained a certain reputation in international politics. It is unheard of that a small country of only a 10 million should gain such an important role. Something makes Hungary interesting though, he claimed. For 1100 years Hungarians have lived in our country that never voluntarily gave up its sovereignty even for a moment. Today, while Europe as a whole is engulfed by an ocean of liberalism, there is an island of difference, a conservative country that opposes political pressure from both the EU and Washington. We do not only oppose it but are also capable of winning, emphasized Viktor Orbán.

Mr. Orbán continued by saying that our enemies are in power, and are constantly contemplating how to finish off the common good instead of serving it. In Central Europe we are familiar with oppression, we have seen this during communism, but in the West this type of autocracy is unknown. They rephrase what normal is, and as George Orwell said: “War is peace. Freedom is slavery. Ignorance is strength.”

For progressive liberals normal is abnormal. To them war is peace, migration is a resource, etc. This uprooted normality is spread by the instruments of the state, and those who are of a different opinion are made to look like ignorant or crazy. They designate such dissenters as a “security concern” simply because they have different views. They send the liberal press and activist against them, while courts are bombarded by NGOs reports attacking such opponents of their world-view. Finally the state organs start to investigate you, which are increasingly used as the private instrument of the liberal elites. This is how Brussels tries to silence Hungary, and this is what is happening in the US with the trials of Donald Trump.

The good news is that we can put an end to this, we can close one of the most shameful periods of our Western civilization.

The progressive spirit has fallen, it has brought us chaos, war, crime, poverty, continued the Prime Minister. They claimed that their goal is not to represent people, but to realize their own ideological goals. Yet people had enough of them wherever they appeared. This world order has produced leaders who are clearly unsuitable for leadership. They strive for ideological control, and expect everyone to submit to their ideas. They claim that this is the only way to achieve peace.

But this is our chance to introduce a new sovereigntist world order, said Viktor Orbán. Such a new order would be without a global ideology, and without the expectation that everyone should submit to it. In this nations could simply follow their own national interest. Not NGOs, media actors or questionable experts, but those elected by the people should decide about which direction communities should go.

The spirit of sovereignty spirit will replace US oligarch George Soros’ “open society” with a “protected society”.

This year, God willing, we will be able to end the inglorious era of Western civilization, Orbán said. We can end a world order based on progressive liberal hegemony. My friends, the progressive liberal world spirit, such as it is, has failed. It brought war, chaos and unrest, economic collapse and confusion to the world. Confusion in international politics, impoverishment of families, deterioration of public safety in the streets and squares. It was a strange era and a strange spirit. His followers proclaimed that their task was not to represent the people, but to implement their own ideals. If the facts don't support their ideas, so much the worse for the facts. They divided the world into democracies and autocracies and declared that their role was to crusade against autocracies. They marched, they fought, they exported democracy, and in the end, people got tired of them, wherever they appeared. People are tired of leaders who are unsuited to the task, who are littered with mistakes, and who ultimately rush to their own destruction.

The global economy will organize itself according to principles of connectivity and competition, rather than ideology, said the Prime Minister.

He concluded by saying that liberal hegemony has made our world a worse place. It brought war, chaos, it wants to cancel nations, the state and the family. Those representing this world view are still sitting in Brussels in the EU institutions. Our job is to get rid of them, we need to return to a safe path that made our Western civilization great, said Viktor Orbán.

Other Speakers at the conference will include Irakli Kobakhidze, Geert Vilder, Tom Van Grieken, Mateusz Morawiecki, Péter Szijjártó, Vivek Ramaswamy, Eva Vlaardingerbroek, Tony Abbott, Rick Santorum, Kari Lake, Hans George Maassen, Andréé Ventura, and Harald Vilimsky.

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