"No future for mixed nations" - Orbán kicks off EP campaign

This year is the 21st time Viktor Orbán gave his State of Hungary Address, modelled after the US tradition of presidential State of the Union Addresses, with two main differences: Orbán spoke every year even during his time in opposition, and these speeches take place in public venues instead of the country's legislative chamber. Those interested in Hungarian politics are usually paying close attention, as this is Orbán's usual chance to make his big announcements and lay down the ideological foundations of his plans for the upcoming year.

This time, Orbán used the opportunity to kickstart Fidesz's European Parliamentary election campaign: His main message was that the upcoming election will determine whether or not Europe will have a future, as Hungary (not Fidesz, mind you) is going to be facing the pro-migration forces of George Soros in May. He said that the Hungarian opposition is working against Hungary as well, as "communists and Nazis have joined forces" to allow migration to roll over Hungary. According to Orbán, they need to be stopped to ensure Hungary's survival, because there is no future for nations with "mixed populations," since their Christian cultures are dissolving due to Islamisation, therefore immigration is not an answer to the problem presented by Europe's declining population. He introduced his domestic campaign promises meant to solve this issue, which build on the demographic incentives Fidesz introduced so far. Here are the details:

"Hungary will be a place where it is good to be Hungarian" 

Orbán started out by asking if Hungary's previous decade was a success story or not - his answer was obviously yes, and he attributed this to the strong foundation of national unity. "We Hungarians laugh and cry together," he said, since "together we stand, divided we fall" - an American motto that recently became all too familiar for connoisseurs of Hungarian government propaganda, as this is the ars poetica of Fidesz's 450-title media conglomerate, made apparent in their reboot of political daily Magyar Nemzet just this Wednesday.

Orbán stated that Hungary is back on its feet after ten years, and "victory shall be ours again and again," clarifying that he means the victory of Hungary by this, not of Fidesz. In order to achieve this, he set out the next mission for Hungarian businessmen: Bringing in profits from abroad, adding that these businessmen will receive everything they need for this, as long as they do not interfere with politics. He said he wants to see Hungary's economic growth always two percentage points above the EU average, so Hungary can "overtake on the braking." He said this goal does not only mean the improvement of manufacturing capacities; "Oily-handed people in overalls will always be needed," but research and development will be at the forefront of the Hungarian economy's "dimension switch." 

He promised to end poverty in Hungary by opening a way up for the masses Orbán thinks nobody else cares about except Fidesz, saying there will be opportunities for those who want to live "for their children, not off of their children" - a nod at the popular right-wing notion of welfare-kids being present in certain demographics.

"A coalition of communists and Nazis"

After explaining that the State of Hungary Address is not the time or place for talking about the opposition, he proceeded to spend quite some time on them. He described the "pro-immigration" opposition parties that are "kept alive artificially by George Soros and Brussels" as the coalition of communists and Nazis, which is "pure political pornography," as he put it. 

Orbán based these claims on the fact that opposition parties united to protest his government all throughout December and January, and also on an interview left-wing Budapest mayor candidate - and some would say walking-talking PR disaster - Gergely Karácsony gave pro-government Hír TV last week. When asked about the nationalist, anti-semitic roots of Jobbik, a party Karácsony has no affiliation with except for the fact that Jobbik is part of the opposition's current cooperation, the candidate tried to clear their name in vain. Orbán used this to support his point. He curtly talked about the protests as well: he called the MPs comedians and their stint at the public media headquarters the "first tentative steps of aspiring actors," and complained about their "ungentlemanly" behaviour in the Parliament during the time the Fidesz supermajority passed the Overtime Act and created the minister-controlled administrative court system.

The prime minister said this "amalgamation of communist and Nazi traditions" is a shame for the international left, especially for Frans Timmermans, whom "George Soros placed at the top of the pro-migration EP list."

"There is no future for mixed nations"

This being 2019, the perceived stakes of the upcoming European elections featured prominently in Orbán's rhetorics. He emphasised the historic importance of the elections, setting up a dichotomy that pits the nations against "pro-immigration forces lead by George Soros." He stressed that Central Europe has a future, unlike the "immigrant nations" with "mixed populations" that will cease to be, as they will dissolve due to their rapid Islamisation. Orbán concluded that we are in no position to help them, Hungarians have to save themselves.

Orbán warned an enthusiastic crowd that the internationalist forces want to create a "world government" that would rule above nations, and these forces will not refrain from anything it takes to stop Hungary from rejecting immigrants.

The citadel of internationalism is Brussels, and its method is immigration.

Orbán talked about a certain seven-part action plan against nations rejecting immigration. He said Brussels is preparing to take border control away from member states, introduce migrant quotas, and force nations to accept migrants by means of financial punishment, referring to the planned sanctioning mechanism tying EU funds to a stable rule of law. 

"It is not written in stone that Hungarians must exist"

Orbán's domestic campaign promises were framed as his alternative for immigration; he introduced plans for a set of measures that are intended to turn Hungary's declining demographic trends around and get the population to produce more children without having to resort to immigration. 

The plan includes the extension of the ongoing housing subsidy program that gives financial support to couples in proportion with the number of children they oblige themselves to give birth to, opening the concept up to the market of used flats (so far, this subsidy could only be requested when purchasing newly built houses or flats). Orbán also promised car subsidies for families with over four children, along with a subsidised loan scheme open to mothers-to-be under 40 and still in their first marriage. The state would also let go of the income tax of mothers of more than four children and repay approximately 3000 Euros of outstanding mortgages per child starting from the second one. Orbán also promised foreign language courses abroad for children (2x2 weeks) and more money for healthcare that would cover the costs of a Budapest central hospital and a raise for nurses. 

Nearing the end of his speech, Orbán said that the hundred years of Hungarian solitude are finally coming to an end and that Hungary's greatest victories are still ahead. His extended farewells included a mix of his old, worn-in catchphrase with the paraphrased slogan of whom Orbán thinks of as the poster child for Christian democracy, Brazil's Jair Bolsonaro: