PM Orbán forecasts a strong Central Europe

Commentators draw opposing conclusions from the Prime Minister’s speech on the 30th anniversary of the Romanian anti-communist revolution.

Commemorating the fall of communism in Romania 30 years ago in Timișoara, where the revolution erupted, PM Viktor Orbán said if it had depended on Western powers, “we would still live under Communism”. But the peoples of Eastern Europe decided to overthrow  communist domination by themselves, he said. He also outlined a future in which a united and cooperative Central Europe will be on a par with the West and even welcome western job seekers.

On HírTV, András Bencsik called the Prime Minister’s plans for the future as surprising as they are realistic. He added that Viktor Orbán is well-known for his bold predictions “which usually prove right”. Signs are already visible, he said, of a future in which people from Western Europe will start migrating towards the East in an endeavour to find security and prosperity.

On Klubrádió, on the other hand, Zoltán Lakner is certain that the Prime Minister’s idea of a compact central-European alliance confronting the West is unrealistic. The V4 for instance do stand together on mass immigration but have diverging interests on many other issues. Slovakia, for one, he argues is a member of the Euro-zone. Those countries will seek their alliances case by case, following their own interests, Lakner predicts.

Tags: Orbán, régime change, Romania, V4