Orbán confidant:

“We would not have resisted invasion”

Balász Orbán is a close confidant of the Hungarian Prime Minister, but is not related to him.

(Bild: APA/AP)

A party colleague of Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has caused quite a stir with his thoughts on the war in Ukraine. Balázs Orbán (no relation to the head of government) explained in an interview that the lesson of the Hungarian uprising in 1956 was that resistance to an attack by a powerful state only brings suffering and death. With regard to Ukraine, which has been defending itself against a Russian invasion for two and a half years, Balázs Orbán said that he would not have advised Kiev to fight back.

The politician from the ruling Fidesz party, who holds the office of political director alongside the prime minister, called Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky "irresponsible" in the YouTube video conversation with the pro-government portal "Mandiner". He had "led his country into a defensive war" in which many people had already died.

Volodymyr Zelensky is accused of having sent his people into a war "irresponsibly".

(Bild: AFP/Genya Savilov)

"Be careful with human lives"
Hungary's leadership, on the other hand, had learned from the 1956 uprising against the former communist regime, which was put down by Soviet troops, that "you have to be very careful with the very precious lives of Hungarians. You can't just blame them on others". "We probably wouldn't have done what Selenskyj did," emphasized Balázs Orbán.

Political scientist: "Biggest political mistake of the year"
Balázs Orbán's statements led to outraged reactions from the Hungarian opposition as well as from commentators critical of the government. The country's historical struggles for freedom - for example against Habsburg rule in 1848/49 or against the Soviet occupation in 1956 - play an important role in the historiography and self-image of most Hungarians. Opposition leader Péter Magyar of the TISZA party called on Balázs Orbán to resign before the national holiday on October 23, when the Hungarian uprising will be commemorated.

Russian tank in Budapest during the Hungarian uprising

(Bild: Scheidl / First Look / picturedesk.com)

The well-known political scientist Gábor Török spoke on Facebook of the "biggest political mistake of the year". The Fidesz politician's statements were in stark contrast to the official fighting rhetoric of the Orbán government, which constantly speaks of the "conquest of Brussels" or the "fight for our sovereignty".

Opposition accuses government of "collaboration" with Russia
Balázs Orbán reacted immediately to the accusations and complained in a Facebook video about the "permanent pressure on Hungary from war propaganda". The Fidesz politician pointed out that for him too, the resistance fighters of 1956 were Hungarian heroes and had done "the right thing". But the damage had already been done. The opposition parties are unanimous: the Fidesz government would be collaborating with the Russians.