Alternative for Germany (AfD) candidate for chancellor Alice Weidel met with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán in Budapest today in what marks a historic moment for the AfD, which has never been accepted by a head of state before and has traditionally been shunned by the Hungarian government.
“The AfD is not a party whose leader is welcomed by prime ministers in every European country, but it is time to change that. That is why we are here, and I am delighted that the (AfD’s) leader has accepted my invitation to visit us in Budapest,” said Orbán.
Orbán started the meeting by saying he holds a favorable view of the AfD, not only for Europe, but also for Hungary. He said that he discussed many issues with Weidel, the most important being what Hungarians could expect from the AfD.
“The two economies are very closely linked, and we are looking forward to a new era in which Germany will once again be successful, and we Hungarians, and the Hungarian economy too, can gain extra momentum from the success of Germany,” said Orbán.
“I can tell the Hungarian public that all the AfD’s important program points are ones that would be of benefit to Hungary, and it would be good if they could be implemented, from migration to energy policy,” he said. “Everything that the AfD stands for today, if it were to be implemented, would be good for Hungary. I can say this with confidence on the basis of the negotiations.”
Orbán then went on to list the various issues where he feels Europe and Germany have gone wrong, all the way from the Green Deal to migration, and that he discussed these issues with Weidel and felt confident that her policies and views were generally in line with his, including on ending the war in Ukraine.
Weidel then spoke, saying, “I would like to thank you very much for honoring my request to meet you… As Alternative for Germany, we have observed that relations with our direct neighbors have deteriorated, especially with Hungary, but also with our former partner, the major powers USA, Russia and China. My and our most important task is to significantly improve and repair this relationship. And that is also the reason why I traveled to your wonderful capital, Budapest, a wonderful city that you have, of which you can be very proud. You have a wonderful country that you can be proud of. This is exactly what I personally would like to see again for the Federal Republic of Germany.”
She then went on to say that she would like to see a return to a strong Germany, an end to green policy, and noted that “Angela Merkel ruined our country.”
“We have an uncontrolled route into Germany. Here, too, the German government has affected its neighbors, especially in Hungary. Hungary is the bulwark against illegal migration. And we as the Alternative for Germany also want no more illegal migration in our country. Our country is suffering, the people in our country are suffering from illegal migration, from imported crime, high crime rates among foreigners, high youth crime rates. You can see this from police crime statistics. These figures are all documented.”
Weidel praised Orbán’s governance in Hungary and said, “I would like the same for our country. And that’s what I ran for chancellor in Germany. No more uncontrolled illegal migration, a sensible energy policy with reasonable energy prices. Germany unites a country with the cheapest and most secure energy supply. We destroyed that with a green ideology, starting with the CDU. We have set out to drastically cut taxes. In Germany, when we are in government, we will create the CO2 levy. We will reduce energy taxes. We will reduce income taxes.”
She also noted that censorship and police pressure has increased on both her party and on citizens, and in this regard, she also sees Hungary as an example.
“We want a free country. And here, too, you are a role model for us. Freedom, protection of freedom of expression. We see that a prohibition policy is being pursued in our country that we really only know from communist systems,” Weidel stated.
Notably, she said that the powers of the European Union, while not abolished, would have to be greatly reduced. She called for sovereign and strong nations.
“This can be achieved by reducing the competencies of the European Union. We need to dismantle the whole expensive bureaucratic and, in my opinion, corrupt structure. These people in the European Union, they should do a proper job, everybody should get a good job, so that they can see how working people, the population, know how it feels to go to a proper job and work and pay taxes, and then maybe these people will understand, what kind of policy we would like to see in Europe, because the policy that we would like to see would result in Europe becoming strong again with a strong leadership, and the leadership is not a Commission chosen by the voters, it is not von der Leyen, she is not even elected, so it is not the voters who have elected her. Competence, sovereignty, decisions should really be taken in elected national parliaments.”
She concluded her speech by saying; ‘We, as Alternative for Germany, if we are part of the government, will indeed follow the path of our great role model Hungary.”
While fielding questions, Weidel said the EU’s decision to fine Hungary millions for refusing to accept migrants is a mistake.
“Thank God, thank God for Hungary, for fighting illegal migration, and it is indeed a huge mistake that Hungary is being punished in this way. This shows how wrong the European Union is. Hungary abides by the law and the regulations, and the one who breaks the law is the European Union, the European Economic Area, the Schengen Area, which has existed for 30 years. We see that the Schengen zone has been destroyed after the arrival of millions of illegal immigrants. The Schengen Area should have been abolished long ago, because what it is about – the abolition of internal borders alongside secured external borders – no longer exists. And this has always been the AfD’s agenda, to close our internal borders, as Hungary has done, in order to really fight illegal migration,” she said.
Orbán said that Hungary has faithfully protected Europe’s southern border and wanted an end to the sanctions against his country.
“I’m not saying send us a paycheck every month, because it’s not good for our self-esteem, but at least don’t shoot us in the back. What we would like to see is that if they don’t have a good word to say about us, then at least don’t punish us. This is clearly an abuse of power by Brussels, and an abuse of power by a big state, Germany, which supports it, against us,” he said.
