West starts new Cold War so Hungary must maintain relations with West’s enemies - Viktor Orbán

Orbán said this in a speech at the Christmas dinner of the Szell Kalman Foundation, the theses of which were published by his political adviser Balázs Orbán in an article for the Mandiner.

"The biggest strategic challenge facing Hungary in the next decade is to leave the group of middle-income countries, catch up with developed countries and achieve the status of a regional middle power in Central Europe," the article reads.

Also, the Hungarian prime minister stated, the neoliberal model of globalization is becoming a thing of the past. As a result, the United States has new rivals because the liberal model has allowed strengthening states such as China.

Among the events that lead to the crisis of the neoliberal order, Orbán cites the migration crisis, Brexit, Donald Trump's victory in the US presidential election and the coronavirus pandemic.

"The full stop was put by the outbreak of the Ukrainian-Russian war in 2022, which made it clear that the current Western centrism could not hold its ground, as the West's competitors have grown stronger, not least because of trade and economic liberalization," Balázs Orbán writes in the article.

The Hungarian Prime Minister claims the West, led by the United States, has started a new "Cold War" in response. It is a block confrontation between the West and its rivals.

"It seems that the international blocs of the Cold War are reviving," this is how Orbán’s adviser describes it.

The new world order in Orbán's view looks like a system of hierarchical networks, in which all economic, political and cultural interactions pass through the leading states of the formed blocs. He believes, this is bad for Hungary, which has a negative historical experience of existence in the bloc confrontation.

"So, the initial step of the Hungarian strategy of catching-up development is to develop a country-specific logic of globalization to overcome the negative consequences," Orbán said, believing that such a strategy should be mediation between the West and the East and non-participation in the new "Cold War".

This means that Budapest should be on good terms with states that are competitors of the US-dominated West. This is the way to avoid the country’s marginalization.

• On December 24, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán said that Ukraine can fight as long as the United States provides its support.

• The chief adviser to the Hungarian Prime Minister Balazs Orbán believes that the European Union should start a discussion on the revision of sanctions imposed against Russia. 

• The Ministry of Foreign Affairs called the statement of Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán that the Ukrainian Armed Forces are fighting as long as they are supported by the US "pathological disregard for Ukraine."   

• On December 30, it was reported that Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said that Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán had taken Ukraine hostage in his fight for European Union money.