Soros reaping billions in extra profits, Hungarian opposition funded by America, says Orbán
The war in Ukraine drags on, with no hope of a quick end, Viktor Orbán said in an interview today morning. Meanwhile, the big shareholders of energy companies, “starting with [financier] George Soros, rake in billions in extra profits” from sanctions-related energy price hikes, he said.
Energy prices have been determined by politically motivated decisions in Brussels rather than economic reasons, he said. Without the sanctions, energy prices would be the same as in April, during the Hungarian parliamentary elections and the previous campaign, when the price of gas and oil was expected to stabilize around $100, “which would have been manageable”. without changing the government’s price cap system.
Before the start of the electoral campaign in Hungary, EU countries agreed “with the leaders of Germany and Hungary” at a summit in Versailles not to extend energy sanctions, a he declared. Germany “switched sides” in June, and Brussels imposed oil sanctions and tabled similar measures against gas imports, he said.
Hungary would be in a much worse situation if the government had not fought for an exemption from sanctions against Russia, Orbán said.
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Rather than worrying about energy prices, Hungary should face energy shortages, he said. At the same time, Hungary will have to adjust to market prices, which are “basically the same all over Europe”, Orbán said. Hungary has enough natural gas reserves to cover demand for up to five weeks, “even if no gas arrives” in the country, he said.
Referring to the opposition: he said “they play on another tone”, so it would be a mistake for the government to base its policy on cooperation with them. He said they were funded “from America” and were beholden to those who funded them.
On the abortion law, the prime minister said the government was not considering changing the law. “I strongly oppose any changes to the abortion law,” he said, adding that he was in favor of the “current system.” Orbán said there are currently bigger issues to deal with such as sanctions, war and soaring energy prices.
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Regarding the European Union’s sanctions policy, Orbán said: “Most bad political decisions can be fixed. Unless the policy changes, “the sanctions surcharge will be embedded in the economy and will remain for the long term, becoming a part of our lives in the next five to 10 years,” he said.
The prime minister said the government was protecting families and businesses by capping energy prices, and households would pay an average of 181,000 forints more every month without them. Hungary outperforms the rest of Europe in protecting households against energy price hikes, offering support equal to 30% of the average wage, while in Germany it is 20%, and for Austrians, 6%, he said.
For now, Hungary’s budget can afford it, and hopes are high that this support can be sustained until 2023, he said.
He mentioned government caps on the price of firewood and charcoal as well as a 200 billion support program for small and medium enterprises. In addition, there is a program to help factories and another to protect jobs, he added.
Source: MTI
