After 48 hour of offering no commentary whatsoever on a ruling by the European Court of Justice that dismissed both Hungary’s and Slovakia’s complaints about equitably resettling mostly Syrian refugees among EU member states, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán finally spoke to the issue in his usual Friday morning radio interview. The usually loquacious Hungarian prime minister was frugal with his words. His main message to radio listeners was to say that he agreed with Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico wholeheartedly, who had previously confirmed that his country would begrudgingly agree to accepting the quota and would take in the required number of refugees.

“I agree down to the letter with Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico’s position,” remarked Mr. Orbán, eschewing his usual hyperbolic rhetoric on the issue. Less than a year ago, Hungary held a failed referendum against obligatory migrant quotas, insinuating that the EU’s joint decision to redistribute the refugees and migrants, especially those in Greece and Italy, was somehow unlawful. Today, Mr. Orbán conceded that the court ruling must be respected.

“Hungary is a member of the European Union, the Union’s internal affairs are arranged through treaties. And this also means that its court rulings must be respected,” noted Mr. Orbán. Then, just to make sure that supporters of the ruling Fidesz party got their regular glimpse of the main international bogeyman, Mr. Orbán made reference to George Soros and insinuated that the EU court’s decision opened the doors for Mr. Soros’ international conspiracy to further unfold.

“I will never permit them to transform Hungary into a country of immigrants,” added Mr. Orbán, also noting that Hungary cannot be compared to former western colonial powers that became immigrant societies after their colonial empires fell apart.

“The former colonial powers of the European Union have today become immigrant countries. Now they want to force their will on us. I was given a mandate from Hungarian voters to safeguard Hungarian culture and Hungarian identity,” added the prime minister.

The theme of western colonialism was also raised by Zsolt Bayer, Mr. Orbán’s close friend and far-right columnist. Mr. Bayer published a map of colonial Africa on his blog, showing the various European colonial powers, including Britain, France, Spain, Portugal, Belgium, Germany and Italy. He entitled his blog post: “A little help in the distribution quota,” suggesting that former colonial powers should be the only ones forced to take in asylum seekers.

It’s worth noting that it is far from certain that Hungary will have to take in any of the much maligned asylum seekers at all, despite the ruling. The current agreement on quotas, struck in 2015, expires at the end of this month. Mr. Orbán’s government may be able to cause enough delay to make it to the end of September, at which point it is questionable whether Hungary can be required to take in a single refugee.