If anyone had any doubts, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán proved at his year-opening press conference that he remains in top form and is both capable of visions for the future and has the strength to own his mistakes.
The prime minister has exhibited all the most important qualities of a successful politician: dynamism, courage, and initiative.
While he fielded questions for nearly three hours, the exercise did not exhaust him and, borrowing a phrase from football, he could easily have taken on another 90-minute match.
The opposition press could find very little to criticize, as demonstrated by the fact that they said he was both unusually moderate and very radical.
It seems they are still not in tune with the times and due to their being so anchored in the past, the opposition media is unable to handle sincerity or the fact that not everything is black-and-white in this world.
They found it surprising Orbán owned his mistakes, but it was not the first time he did so in his political career either. In this case, Orbán was referring to the losses suffered during the municipal elections while also making it clear that winning is not always possible. The prime minister said that facing adversaries in the field is the essence of democracy.
He also gave a clear direction where the country must be headed, outlining how his cabinet will have more time for building and reinforcing the fabric of society.
He stood by his economic and family policies, reassured in his position by the fact that two-thirds of voters are behind him. But he also made it clear that the rule of law must be respected and that the country is determined to carry out an environmental policy that will make 90 percent of Hungary’s electricity generation carbon-neutral by 2030.
And to those whose wishful thinking led them to believe that Viktor Orbán is tired, incapable of change and his courage has been eroded, he also proved that the country’s offensive midfielder is looking ahead to the next major match in 2022 in top form (the next legislative elections in Hungary are due in the spring of 2022).
Title image: Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s year-opening press conference in Budapest on January 9 (MTI/ZSolt Szigetváry)
