“It is crystal clear that it is the oil industry, the banking elite and the Brussels establishment that are preparing to form a government in Hungary,” he added.

As long as it has a patriotic government, Hungary will not send weapons to Ukraine, “and our money and young people will not be sent there,” he said.In his 27th annual assessment speech held in Budapest’s Várkert Bazár, Orbán said 2026 would be a year of victory for families, the right wing, Fidesz and Hungary.

He highlighted the importance of a sovereign foreign policy as a condition of national independence. He said that the previous US president had not only backed the Russia-Ukraine war but had “pushed every European state into it — except Hungary”.

However, following Donald Trump’s return to office in January last year, the U.S. withdrew from the conflict, leaving Europe “trapped” in the crisis, he added.

“There is a lesson here for those constantly trying to align with larger powers and who do not trust a sovereign foreign policy.” “The danger remains acute,” the prime minister warned. “While Brussels makes daily attempts to do so, the [opposition] Tisza Party has already pledged to bind Hungary to a common EU foreign policy.”

Orbán said that, as he had predicted last year, Donald Trump’s return to the U.S. presidency had put Hungarians “back on history’s main street”, while their opponents had been left “wandering in muddy suburban alleys”.

Orbán Warns About Europe’s Century of Humiliation

He warned that, if current trends persisted, this century would become “Europe’s century of humiliation”, as the continent — unable to participate in a new global industrial revolution — would for the first time since the invention of the steam engine be “a victim, not a shaper” of economic transformation.

He blamed crippling energy costs and stifling overregulation for “killing” Europe’s economy. But the prime minister said Hungary “still has a chance”, noting that in 2025 he had negotiated deals with the U.S., Russian, and Turkish presidents to maintain the country’s access to affordable oil and gas. “We will have oil and we will have gas,” he said. “The Paks nuclear plant is being built; we will have enough energy for economic growth and a data-driven economy. Meanwhile, others will be paying four to five times what Hungarians pay for utilities.”

Orbán said that in last year’s speech he had promised that “hard rock and roll is coming to Hungarian domestic politics” because Trump had rebelled against “the global business, media, and political network of liberals”. This, he said, had improved the Hungarian government’s chances, “we too can take giant steps and oust from Hungary the foreign influence that limits our sovereignty, along with its agents.”

He said this had been the plan, but only half the job had been done because “the oppressive machine in Brussels is still operating in Hungary”.

“We will clean this up after April,” he added. “Pseudo-civil organizations, bought-off journalists, judges, politicians, algorithms, bureaucrats, rolling millions of euros. This is what Brussels means here in Hungary today,” he said.

Orbán cited a U.S. Congressional report, which he said stated that the European Commission pressured social media platforms to censor content ahead of the Slovak, Dutch, French, Moldovan, Romanian, and Irish elections, as well as ahead of the European Parliament elections in June 2024. But the Commission had also “activated rapid response systems” ahead of the French, Moldovan, Romanian, and German elections, he added.

He said it was not Russia saying this, but the U.S. “Let’s appreciate the friendship of the Americans, because they are exposing the censorship, interference, and manipulation in Brussels. Here is the truth from America. This is the real voice of America!” he said.

Regarding economic measures in Hungary, Orbán said: “We have delivered on our promises, and we will continue to do so over the next four years.” Orban highlighted the doubling of tax breaks for families with children, the expansion of the child support system, the curbing of inflation and the launch of a crackdown on drug dealers among his government’s achievements. He noted that they had promised a breakthrough on taxation and exempted the GYED and CSED benefits from income tax.

Orbán stressed that Hungary’s future depended on mothers feeling financially secure with their children, noting that half a million Hungarian mothers now have a lifetime exemption from paying personal income tax, a figure set to rise to one million within three years.

He said that without the introduction of today’s family support system in 2010, Hungary would have 200,000 fewer children today. “Is there any greater joy or pride than that?” He said the government had promised to rein in inflation, and in January it stood at 2%.

“Food price caps, price monitoring, mandatory discounts — we’ve done it all, but we’re not finished yet,” he said.