Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán claims European politicians are thanking his government “behind closed doors” for its robust action on illegal migration, alleviating pressure on countries such as Germany – but “political double-dealing” and a “culture of hypocrisy” prevent them from doing it in public.

“Hungary is situated on Europe’s external border. So if Hungary’s external border is endangered, then Europe’s external border is endangered. Hungary is simultaneously protecting its own external borders and Europe’s external borders,” the Fidesz leader explained in an interview with Kossuth Rádió.

“And if we weren’t protecting Europe’s external borders, the Austrians and the Germans would be in big trouble, [as] at that time Hungary was unable to protect Europe’s external borders and millions of migrants marched through Hungary towards Austria and Germany.”

On 4 March, 2017, Breitbart London reported that immigration to Germany in the decade to 2015 was close to four million, surpassing even the Turkish “guest worker” surge of the 1980s. At least two million arrived in 2014-15 alone.

The country’s free and easy attitude to mass migration came at a high price, being accompanied by high profile crime and terror events and costing taxpayers tens of billions of euros

“We put an end to this, and everyone in Austria and Germany is happy about that – although political double-dealing doesn’t allow them to say so, or write about it,” Orbán said.

“Let’s put it this way: in a number of countries in Europe there is a culture of hypocrisy; everyone knows that without the Hungarians they’d be in much bigger trouble than they are in now – indeed, they’d be in real trouble. Everyone knows this, and in the corridors and in meetings behind closed doors everyone thanks Hungary for its work.

“But when it comes to public statements, everyone says – though not with the same intensity as earlier, because the situation was far worse two years ago – that things are not quite right.”

European Union sources have threatened that Hungary and Poland may actually be expelled from the bloc for refusing to accept compulsory migrant quotas, a measure forced through despite opposition from Central European member-states.

“If someone wants to live in Hungary, they must seek the permission of the Hungarian people,” Orbán believes.

“There can be no international principle, norm, court or organisation which says that it doesn’t matter what the Hungarian people think about their own country and about whom they want to live together with, and that someone else will decide for us. This is impossible.”