On Sunday Hungarians go to the polls to vote in a general election. The choice is between the Christian Democrat coalition — which includes Fidesz, the party of Prime Minister Viktor Orbán — and various leftist parties either funded by or in alliance with George Soros and his Open Society Foundations.

The following video is the second excerpt from a recent TV program hosted by Zsolt Bayer (part 1). It features a discussion between the host and the prime minister about the significance of the coming election, which is a make-or-break moment for Hungary.

Many thanks to CrossWare for the translation, and to Vlad Tepes for the subtitling:

Video transcript (times from the original program):

26:00 In every campaign, there is a sentence to be said

26:04 with a magical phrase: that this a “fate-deciding election”.

26:08 So this either means something or it doesn’t.

26:12 This brings us back to your first question, because there is something in our campaign

26:16 that you can see. Because we fought against such things — and the viewers and

26:20 the voters can decide if we succeeded — to avoid stiffening,

26:24 becoming ossified into the roles of the

26:28 “great politicians taking care of grand tasks of the state”. So the humor, self-irony,

26:32 our sense of the absurd, has stayed with us.

26:36 So our campaigns, even the “adult”

26:40 ones in our present age, could carry

26:44 from that humor and irony. While campaigns have a lot of things that are off-putting,

26:48 but all in all, for us the campaign is a wonderful thing,

26:52 an opportunity, partly to keep our good mood, and

26:56 partly to connect with the electorate,

27:00 as we did since 1988. We kept in touch, and

27:04 these live connections have prevented us

27:08 from becoming these big-headed, gray-suited boss men.

27:12 So let’s return to this phrase, that we

27:16 face a “fate-deciding election”. This is a mandatory

27:20 campaign sentence. But now —

27:24 ten or so days before the April 8th election —

27:28 now it really is… this really is about destiny. We have

27:32 in front of us an historic election. And if we start to untangle

27:36 why, then let’s start from this point:

27:40 if we are the political formation that in the last thirty years

27:44 was permanently the Hungarian and European — we can say that now —

27:48 was able to stay in the leading edge of politics,

27:52 then now, just before a crucial election

27:56 we could state properly what and who we are facing off with in this election.

28:00 The phrase “fate-deciding” is such a heavy expression;

28:04 it almost presses one down into this table.

28:08 But there is a truth in it, if we analyze the phrase a little bit:

28:12 “fate-deciding” is when the decision about our fate arrives,

28:16 about our future. The last time Hungary

28:20 had it was in 1990, a fate-deciding election.

28:24 After that came elections that even when they produced a clumsy government,

28:28 the succeeding governments had some chance

28:32 to fix the problems created by the previous governments.

28:36 There was a Bokros package [Lajos Bokros, finance minister, famous for stifling the economy],

28:39 between 1994 and1998. So in 1998 we won the election, and were able to fix most of

28:44 the damage caused by the Bokros package, and heal its wounds.

28:48 The Gurcsány government ruined the country, left it close to default

28:52 by 2010, but in 2010 we started and we were

28:56 able to put the country back on its feet.

29:00 Now we look like a stand-up, honest, decent country.

29:04 Up until now we have had elections where the Hungarian

29:08 people could make any kind of decision; we could trust

29:12 that we could fix it, at least in four years. But now

29:16 there are such questions at the center of the election, that if we screw it up, we cannot

29:20 correct it, there is no second examination, there is no way to fix it, because

29:24 now the immigration is at the center of the election, and if

29:28 Hungary takes just one step in that direction,

29:32 similar to the Western nations, to convert

29:36 itself into a migrant-accepting country, then there is no return

29:40 from there. So if a mixed population is created,

29:44 it’s not possible to separate them.

29:48 As they flood in, as a result of colonization politics,

29:52 they break the dam; we will not be able to remove them from Hungary.

29:56 Many hoped for what we saw in 2015,

30:00 when they came in — that was not good — but they went out on the other side of the country.

30:04 But this is over, because the Austrians and

30:08 the Germans have restored border controls. Whoever

30:12 comes in will not be able to leave. So our future will be

30:16 decided in this election: do we remain Hungarians, as a country

30:20 that we know and love? Or will others come here?

30:24 So that a mixed-population country is created, with different cultures

30:28 and parallel societies, with all those consequences that we can

30:32 see in Western Europe. It’s very rare, what we can say in this situation:

30:36 we can learn from the mistakes of others. That the errors in judgment

30:40 committed by Western nations — who are richer and more developed than we are —

30:44 we could avoid. It’s a huge opportunity. To learn from the mistakes

30:48 of others. —The opposition is constantly saying

30:52 concerning that, that this is not an issue,

30:56 this issue is a fake problem, this is only brought up

31:00 to help the government cover up the real problems.

31:04 To draw the attention away from those real issues,

31:08 and they [the opposition] are the ones who are talking about the real issues.

31:12 And the government is conducting a witch hunt against George Soros, and

31:16 that has no meaning. —That is poppycock, because if we go back to the beginning

31:20 of the migration crisis, when this issue

31:24 became spectacularly visible all over Europe, they still

31:28 said, there is no such danger, there is no migration issue,

31:32 there are no migrants. Even when at the Keleti [Eastern] train-station

31:36 we could see what it all meant,

31:40 they still stated that this is only a temporary issue;

31:44 then they said there is no correlation between

31:48 terrorism and migration, no correlation between

31:52 migration and the erosion of public safety; then

31:56 they asserted that it is not the migrants causing danger to girls and women in Western nations.

32:00 So for them, they do not make a connection between the

32:04 change in the situation, the deprived conditions, and people flooding in with the migration.

32:08 Right up until this day they actually state this. They are the part of a network that works towards

32:12 censoring the information and news about the migration.

32:16 I would have never thought — referring back to thirty years ago,

32:20 when Fidesz got established — there would come a moment,

32:24 and I have to say it from Budapest: People, there is

32:28 censorship in Europe. The news and information about the migration

32:32 is regularly suppressed, faked and manipulated. Even in the

32:36 social media, at the official level,

32:40 they frequently suppress such news, disable advertisements,

32:44 Censor such information, and the Hungarian opposition parties

32:48 are part of this Western European operation. George Soros is not

32:52 Fiction; you personally contributed — if I heard it correctly —

32:56 and wrote about, how this network unveiled itself.

33:00 We listened as they told with their own voices [in audio recordings],

33:04 how they work against the Hungarian government, how they want to overthrow it. They said

33:08 at least 2,000 people paid by George Soros are working in Hungary to accomplish this goal.

33:12 So I think they should not be so outraged, when they themselves revealed all this information

33:16 and unveiled themselves…

33:20 You described it, that three years ago, when

33:24 you realized what it the migration pressure means and the opposition was still saying that

33:28 this is a non-existent fake problem,

33:32 I would expand the three years, because the favorite writer of both of ours,

33:36 Douglas Murray’s book

33:40 “The Strange Death of Europe” — I could offer it with a good heart to anybody

33:44 to read — even as an intellectual dainty it is not a bad thing.

33:48 Reading is good; reading a good book is even better!

33:52 Even if we talk about the first chapters of the book,

33:56 written in black and white, what

34:00 astonished me the most was all these events since

34:04 the ’50s in Western Europe. This did not start in 2015,

34:08 but four, five decades ago.

34:12 Moreover, even

34:16 more stunning, that if any politician or anybody,

34:20 — even in the sixties — raised his voice against this,

34:24 the reaction was the same even then. They called him fascist,

34:28 exclusionist, xenophobic, Nazi, etc… The stigmas

34:32 have not changed a bit, for four or five decades a process

34:36 has been going on in Western Europe, and the people of Western Europe

34:40 are still tolerating it without any resistance?

34:44 How could this happen? — Sometimes they tried;

34:48 sometimes the people would raise their heads and give their opinions,

34:52 but until the final larger rush, this process was so slow,

34:56 so invisible. “Still waters run deep,” as the saying goes.

35:00 And those politicians were not able to grasp it, who

35:04 otherwise wanted to defend the French, German or Italian national culture,

35:08 Christian Europe, the national identity. Or they found themselves standing

35:12 against forces that could defeat them. It is worth thinking about,

35:16 who are we standing against… —Of course without the frame of the show,

35:20 we would be redirected into historical philosophy… — Yeah, let’s do it, no problem.

35:24 The first thing is that we must say openly that the Left is

35:28 “internationalist” in its character. So the Left is internationalist.

35:32 So because of this, it continuously attacks all things

35:36 that could strengthen national identity. For example, with steps against

35:40 migration, we must ask that question: why do we not want

35:44 migrants here? That’s because we have our own lives,

35:48 what we Hungarians created in Hungary.

35:52 In Germany the Germans… we have a culture, what we built,

35:56 in this national identity, where in the “identity”, who we are

36:00 plays a very important role. The Left does not see this as a positive,

36:04 has always looked at it as something negative, and it believed in

36:08 a progressive internationalism above all nations.

36:12 We conservatives or Christian Democrats, we believe that there are nations

36:16 that must cooperate in the interest of peace and safety.

36:20 But the goal of the cooperation is not to eliminate national characteristics

36:24 and our own national interests, and we believe in international cooperation.

36:28 The Left is international, and everything that makes nations stronger is

36:32 attacked by them, and they support what makes a nation weaker — either admittedly or

36:36 as a hidden agenda. This is what is at the root of things.

36:40 There is also a calculated expectation — I do not want to accuse anybody,

36:44 but I know Western European parties that calculate the fact

36:48 that the allowed, imported and transported migrants

36:52 sooner or later will receive citizenship, and

36:56 they will never vote for the Christian Democrats, because they are not from Christian cultures,

37:00 and they will never vote for parties trying to defend a strong national identity,

37:04 because they are not member of that national community, at least not yet,

37:08 so they will become voters of the Left.

37:12 Many Leftists, based on their short-term calculations,

37:16 will sacrifice their own long-term national goals. We should never allow that

37:20 to happen in Hungary! That is why I say that in the upcoming election,

37:24 there are only two choices. There are our own candidates, who want Hungary

37:28 to remain Hungary, to maintain our Christian culture,

37:32 whatever that means — we can have meaningful discussions about that —

37:36 but we want that for certain. And there are on the other side the candidates of George Soros,

37:40 who want to overstep the Christian and national tradition;

37:44 they want to leave it behind, take it off like a backpack;

37:48 they want to dissolve Hungary in an immense internationalism, and for that

37:52 migration is an excellent tool. And that is why I am sure, if they could,

37:56 they would tear down the fence and would let in the migrants. Unfortunately, I would have to say

38:00 that Jobbik [once a radical right-wing party] has also made its pact with Gyurcsány [Leftists],

38:04 I think that that at the moment when Jobbik

38:08 did not vote for the modification of the Basic Law

38:12 [the Hungarian Constitution], which was necessary to stop and act against the migrants,

38:16 it [Jobbik] got into that pen that is held together by George Soros.

38:20 And he finances them. — For a moment,

38:24 let’s jump into internal politics and into

38:28 the swamp-like world of the

38:32 election campaign. For the first look,

38:36 the political community on this side can see,

38:40 that there is a very fragmented Left,

38:44 a Liberal opposition, complete with a

38:48 a once national-radical, now — in my opinion —

38:52 a party without any identity, Jobbik.

38:56 For the first look, for months now

39:00 everything is about their solving of mathematical problems,

39:04 who needs to be allied with what to have any chance at all,

39:08 against the single [fair] game-playing Fidesz-KDNP party alliance.

39:12 Sometimes I start

39:16 to worry that in reality this opposition is

39:20 not as weak as it seems, and we must face something else too. —The situation is the following:

39:24 if someone wants to judge

39:28 by the first look,

39:32 one can see many troubled minds. With the second look

39:36 one can see these clumsy figures.

39:40 And from their whole campaign we do not know anything else except that they hate me,

39:44 They hate the concept of a Christian and national identity,

39:48 [they hate] Hungary. With me they hate you, because

39:52 you were a founding member of Fidesz. So they hate everything that

39:56 ties into the Christian and national traditions. Beyond that, the only thing they can only talk

40:00 about with each other is when and how

40:04 they will ally themselves or not join forces, and from that

40:08 one could gain an impression of their clumsiness. They look a bit shiftless.

40:12 But the truth is, this should not bewilder us, because

40:16 very strong powers, serious forces are standing behind them.

40:20 We do not take them seriously necessarily by name,

40:24 but the forces behind them we must take bloody seriously, those who are standing behind them

40:28 and pushing them forward, if we let them, and will push them into Parliament

40:32 and afterwards into governmental positions. This force behind them is what

40:36 is really dangerous for us. It’s hard to make a decision whether to laugh or cry,

40:40 and I say we should not laugh in any case, so we do not have to cry later.

40:44 We should be mindful and be there for the election,

40:48 to prevent these people, this power behind them, this background force [deep state]

40:52 from pushing into positions of decision. — Prime Minister,

40:56 at the end a very simple question:

41:00 One week until the election, what more can we do,

41:04 how can we help? — I think the situation really is

41:08 SIMPLE, has become simple.

41:12 If someone has followed the events of the campaign even a little bit, one can see clearly now,

41:16 on one side our candidates; we speak clearly

41:20 and openly: for us, “Hungary comes first.”

41:24 On the other side, there are the candidates of George Soros in different party colors.

41:28 I do not want to hurt any of them, but for them Hungary is not first, but

41:32 something else for sure. And this is the selection we must choose from.

41:36 We must choose. I can only say to everybody

41:40 for whom Hungary is first: please do not stay home!

41:44 If you remember during the first election in 1990,

41:48 there was a poster, it was even ours, where

41:52 the sign said: “The Communists are all voting.

41:56 We should be there, too!” Now I could say: “The Sorosists are all voting.

42:00 We should be there, too!” And to create a good mood for that, in Székesfehérvár,

42:04 on Friday afternoon [April 6th] we will have our countrywide campaign-closing celebration,

42:08 which is a Hungarian campaign closer, which is not closing but opening

42:12 the last portion, as you know well that old wisdom: the American

42:16 does not say goodbye, but leaves; the Hungarian says goodbye, but stays.

42:20 To bring the attention of the people to continue to campaign, and bring

42:24 everybody with them, all of their friends and acquaintances.

42:28 Bring everyone for whom Hungary’s future is important.