Asked about the “Orbanisation” of Eastern Europe – a perceived trend towards abuse of power and autocratic forms of governance – Orbán said “there is but one remedy for stupidity,” namely education.

He argued that “strong democracies” have been established by legitimate elections in Central Europe, adding that his government’s two-thirds parliamentary majority was achieved in fair elections that were not called into doubt by anybody.

Asked about Hungarian society being divided despite the two-thirds majority, Orbán observed “more things unite Hungarians than separate them”.

He then said “we do not like anyone from abroad interfering in our life”.

Regarding his declining popularity, he said one should not deal with polls in the middle of a battle, but fight on.

Declaring that he is working to help the economy get up off the floor, Orbán vowed not to allow “banks and large services companies to rob ordinary people”.

As for the renationalisation of the Hungarian economy, Orbán said the state “must absolutely be present” in some strategic areas, such as energy, nuclear power, telecoms and the bank sector, which, he said, is 70% owned by foreigners. “My goal is to see 50% of banks in Hungarian control.”

Source: Hungary Around the Clock

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