How do you look back on 2023?
It's been a difficult year. Last December, we were still hoping that the Ukraine-Russia war and the utterly senseless bloodshed in our neighborhood would come to an end. We in Hungary have felt in the flesh the consequences of this. Mainly due to misguided EU sanctions, we have faced serious difficulties both in supplying fuel to the country and in securing energy used for heating. Nevertheless, thanks to the policy followed by the national-Christian government, Hungary's economy returned to stable growth, and by the autumn, war-related inflation had been driven down to single digits. During the negotiations with the European Union, we fought for compromises on the sanctions, and contrary to the original ideas, the final packages that were adopted did not lead to an insoluble crisis in Hungary.
Managing the crisis triggered by the economic impact of the pandemic and the war, and by irresponsible EU measures, is a challenging task in itself, but in addition to all this, we have had to constantly defend our position on the international stage, as the EU withholds huge sums of money - Hungary is rightfully entitled to - for political reasons, and seeks to put pressure on us by various means in a bid to force us to give up our clearly defined national interests to meet some vague requirements set by Brussels.
Another tragic event was the insidious Hamas attack on Israel, with thousands of innocent people falling victim to violence. It is shocking and thought-provoking, even foreboding, how the global public is no longer united when it comes to condemning a brutal terrorist attack. The senseless and violent taking of innocent human life can never be excused on the basis of subjective political judgement.
Meanwhile, the Left in Hungary has been embroiled in the biggest funding scandal of all time.
Unfortunately, the Left in Hungary is still trying to understand the crushing defeat it suffered in last year's elections. Enslaved to rolling dollars, the Left is unable to learn from its own mistakes. The Left shows no signs of engaging in politics alongside Hungary's interests and continues to work against Hungary in Brussels. Left-wing MEPs have consistently argued that Hungary should not receive the EU money it is entitled to. They want to put the government in a difficult situation, and they don't care that they also cause damage to the Hungarian people. Foreign interest groups supported them with huge sums of money in the previous parliamentary elections so that by deceiving voters, through lies and manipulation, a more cooperative power, which is less committed to Hungarian national interests, can take over at the helm. Fortunately, their attempt failed: the Hungarians made a decision and entrusted the leadership of the country to the national-Christian government.
