The Duran Podcast - FT report, EU planning to destroy economy of Hungary

Episode Date: January 31, 2024

FT report, EU planning to destroy economy of Hungary

All right, Alexander, let's talk about the Financial Times article, which claims that the European Union is going to sink the economy of Hungary, because Hungary is not approving the 50 billion euro package to Ukraine. The title of the Financial Times article is Brussels threatens to hit Hungary's economy, if Victor or Bolivia, Vitoes Ukraine aid. An astonishing article. When you read it, it's incredible what this article says. But it's an economic war against Hungary that the EU has declared. It's blackmail. It's all of those things, I guess.

The European Union, if you are to believe the reporting from the Financial Times, they said they've seen this document and these plans. The European Union and the member states is important because the member states are on board with this. They want this to happen. They are looking to destroy Hungary, destroy the currency, create a bank run, create job loss, all because Orban does not want to rubber stamp the 50 billion euros. to Zelensky, which is giving money to something that everyone has now accepted is a losing cause. But what are your thoughts on this Financial Times article? Well, there you have it.

First of all, I mean, these are claims for the Financial Times, which we can bank. I have no doubt at all that they are true. In fact, this article has clearly been leaked by people within the commission. They're telling us, you know, this is what we're going to do. They're probably rubbing their hands with light. There's already been pressure. today on the Hungarian currency, which is no more than one would expect. And, I mean, the process of destabilisation is already underway.

And this is the first step that way. So the European Union has transformed into the Warsaw Pact. Because this is essentially what it is. We're all free, sovereign, independent states until we actually disagree. with what the, you know, the central commissariat, the people in overall control say. And we get articles in the media in, you know, the equivalent of Pravda. You know, there were articles in Pravda in 1968 just before the Soviets struck at Czechoslovakia, you know, thunderous articles about, you know, how bad, what bad things the Czechs were doing,

even countenancing reforms and trying to have better relations with West Germany, that kind of thing. So now we have articles appearing in the Financial Times about what bad things the Hungarians are doing and holding up flow of funding to, as you said, the losing, disastrously losing proposition, which is Ukraine. Even Burrell, by the way, has just come out and made a statement. I think it was today saying, you know, how bad the situation is in Ukraine. How we don't have the industrial infrastructure to really help Ukraine in this situation. But, you know, nonetheless, the fact that, you know, one state says, you know, this isn't a good idea,

well, we've got to start, you know, bringing out these articles against them, criticizing them, doing all of these kind of things against them. And then, of course, well, we don't send... tanks into another country doing sending tanks is perhaps a bit too visible. So, you know, we're a little more advanced and sophisticated than the Soviets were. But we're going to do something much more clever and far more insidious. We're just going to destabilize their currency through thousands, perhaps millions of people out of work, bankrupt the country, bring it to pieces.

you know, it's a well-run economy. People are prosperous. They're getting on with their lives, but because the president of that country dares to take an independent line, but we're going to destroy it. And as I said, it's exactly the same thing. You know, it's, it's, you can't leave,

just as you can very easily leave the Whistle Pact. And whilst you're in, you know, the screws will be applied to you. if you actually dare to deviate from the party line. So the mask has finally and completely fallen. Yeah, they're going after their own member states. They want to steal Russian frozen assets. I mean, what a train wreck, this European Union has become,

what it's morphed into. You know, we've, we've experienced this. We've seen this happen in Greece and Cyprus. It happened in Italy. It happened in Portugal. It happened in Ireland. This was many years ago. And, you know, everyone forgot about everything that the European Union did to these countries.

They were called the pigs, these countries back of the day, Portugal, Italy, Greece, Spain. But, you know, this was forgotten. in. Merkel covered everything up and the EU just went about its way. But here we are again. Now, they're going after Hungary. They went a little bit after Poland as well for legal issues, but they managed to get law and justice in order. Then they managed to get Tuscan as as prime minister. So all is good in Poland, kind of all is good in Poland. But they're going after Hungary now very, very hard. And they will. They will try to sink the economy. I mean, just as they closed off ATMs and bank machines and put these austerity plans back when they

were going after the pigs countries. So make no, you know, Hungary should make no mistake. The European Union, they will try to destroy your country. And I imagine this is much, more than just not giving the 50 billion to Zelensky, I imagine. This is a way for the European Union to finally remove Orban. Well, exactly. That's exactly what it is. I mean, it is a regime change operation where you're carrying out or threatening to carry out something like this. You're not just doing it over one particular issue. You want to get rid of this person altogether. it's in fact the Brezhnev doctrine being embraced by the European Union. You're either 100% with us or you're against us and will destroy you. I mean, you're not allowed to have your alternative view. And yes, we saw all that machinery being applied to Greece, Cyprus and all of those other countries. But remember, that was at least. least an issue of economics. I mean, you know, Greece and Cyprus and all the

rare others needed back, you know, their economies were in bad shape. They, very unwisely, in my opinion, asked for EU support so that they could stay in the euro. But, I mean, that was what the political classes in these countries wanted. And of course, the European Union did all that it wanted to do. But at least it could just, just about rationalise. and saying this is necessary in order to uphold the integrity of the euro. Whether you agree with that, whether you think this was worth it, whether you think it was even proper. That's what they could say.

This time, it's on a foreign policy issue. It's Hungary exercising its rights as an EU member state to say, no. It's not asking the EU for more money. It's not, its economy is actually in good shape. It made the wise decision never to join the euro. It's doing what the European treaties say it is entitled to do, which is to say no. To come to Brussels and say, look, we don't think this $55 billion, 50 billion, sorry, euro program for Ukraine is wise. We're not going to support it.

We're going to exercise our rights as an EU member state to say no. And that is unacceptable. So, as the Brezhnev Doctrine, the EU's version of the Brezhnev Doctrine, let's call it the Beirvok Doctrine, now kicks in, and the EU comes in and smashes Hungary. And by the way, in Poland, we should not underestimate what's happening in Poland, because yes, they were able. to leverage a task across the finishing line. And law and justice made terrible mistakes. And they brought it, in my opinion, to a great extent on themselves by getting so close to Zelensky and Ukraine.

But look at what's happened now that Tusk is back in. I mean, he is acting in a far more authoritarian way than law and justice ever did. And the European Union is happy with that. I mean, they're not criticising him. They're cheering him on. In fact, they're not just cheering him on. You can be absolutely sure that the telephone lines between Warsaw and Brussels and

Warsaw and Berlin are, you know, busy and that every single move that task is making, as he, you know, closes down television stations, arrests, former ministers, does all those kind of things that they've been agreed in advance. it's it's exactly the same thing of course when the Soviets were doing it it was to preserve socialism when the EU is doing it it's to preserve democracy the EU values so yeah they they really they're really betting everything on Zelensky it's unbelievable it's so hard to explain and rationalize that they've bet their entire union the U.S. has bet their entire country. Biden has bet everything on Zelensky. The European Union has

bet everything on Zelensky. Germany's bet everything on Zelensky. On a comedian actor, they've bet it all. And they're freaking out. They're freaking out because they've lost in a big, big way to Russia. But if you were advising Orban, speaking to Orban, what would you tell him to do? You mentioned the one big advantage, which is that they're not in the euro. Thank God for Hungary. Thank God for that. But their currency is still going to get hit. The EU is still going to go after their currency.

They are going after a regime change in Hungary. There's no doubt about it. You know, what does Orban need to do? What do the Hungarian people need to do? Because, you know, my thinking is that they need to unite, Hungarians, they need to unite and understand that they're going to be coming under attack. And the part that really upsets me, because it's very similar to what they launched against Russia with the special military operations and the sanctions war, they're not directing

everything at Orban, per se. They have said that they want the people to suffer. They want jobs to be lost. They want the currency to be devalued. This is targeted at the Hungarian people, even the Hungarian people who are very pro-EU. Here's the EU saying, we're going to go after your well-being, your savings, your health, your currency, your job, your environment, your stability. So, I mean, what can Hungary do? What would you tell Lorban to do at this moment?

Before I answer that question, I just want to take up your first point. I mean, this is a symptom of panic. And you see the signs of panic. across the EU now, and indeed the collective West. I mean, they are absolutely scared of the fact that Ukraine is going down. And there was a very, very, very scared about developments in the United States. They see the Biden administration losing coherence and losing control. They see the Americans cooling on the Ukraine enterprise, which cannot work without. the Americans. They're completely freaking out over the possibility that Donald Trump might be elected

president in November. All of this is coming together and you can see the panic. And the signs of panic are absolutely everywhere in talks, talk of banning the IFTA in Germany, in the media stories about Russian invasions, the cause of a conscription, which is spreading to all kinds of places. The fact that they have acted in this very public and very aggressive way against Hungary is, as I said, a symptom of that. Now, what should Orban do? He should do exactly what he said. You said, he should come to the Hungarian people. He should hold a, you know, give a big announcement, make a big statement saying that there is, what is now happening is an attack not on him. It is an attack on Hungary.

It is an attack on Hungary's right to say no, to defend its own sovereign interests. The people who are being targeted are themselves. What kind of European Union is this which behaves in this way? And he should take the lesson from what happened in Greece and Cyprus. if you try to compromise with these people, if you give them an inch, you are lost. They will come for more and more and more. If you waver or show weakness in any way, you are in serious trouble. And Orban should contact Hungary's many friends around the world.

And it's a small country. the amount of economic support it would need in order to counter these sanctions would not be enormous. It's a well-run economy. We're not talking about a bottomless, you know, well that people would have to throw money into. He should go and look for, he should contact his friends. Say, look, look what is happening, what they're trying to do to me.

This is a part of the same struggle as you are. Give me what help you can. So, you know, notice the other thing that this happened is that Ukraine has just cut off gas transit from Russia. And clearly that's concerted. And it's also about Hungary as well. So all of these things, he's got to work very hard to get allies around the world to come to Hungary's support at this time. And he should also, I think this is such a sense. such a bad situation that I wouldn't myself, if, you know, international opinion is,

he, you know, he tests international opinion and finds that international opinion is responsive. I wouldn't hesitate to take it to the UN to the General Assembly, saying that this is a small country that's been picked on. Yeah. Yeah, that would not please the European Union. They don't like that kind of press. Yeah, one final question. Is there any, are there any parallels with what the central bank in Russia?

What Nebula, Nelvira Nebula did in Russia to shore up the rubble and to deal with the economic war that was waged on Russia that perhaps Orban can adopt in Hungary with the foreign? I mean, is there anything they could take from the way, take away from. what Russia did and tried to insulate themselves from what the EU is about to do to them? I doubt that they can do very much of the kind of things that Russia did. I mean, we're talking about a much, much smaller economy. But precisely because it is small, I mean, it can be supported in all kinds of ways. So, for example, if you're talking about a run on Hungary's currency, Hungary has many friends, just ask them to buy Florence, Florence.

and that will support the currency and it will negate a lot of this pressure. Just say. I mean, another final question, another final question, would you actually suggest China or Russia or, I don't know,

I mean, absolutely. I mean, China could, I mean, it wouldn't even be small change for them. I mean, you know,

they could do it. They might not need to do it themselves. I mean, you could get Chinese investors to come along, start buying up Hungarian currency, can be easily done. I mean, as I say, when this is not a wide huge, big, in massively traded currency, for example, and, you know, provided, provided Hungary can maintain access to funds.

That's, that's the key to this. And, you know, if its banks come under pressure, get support, again, for him, its friends, not just his friends in the bricks, but, you know, friends in the Middle East, all sorts of places. I mean, bear in mind, the one thing the EU probably will stop, you know, can't quite bring itself to do, is to impose an outright economic blockade on Hungary, which is what effectively they've done with Russia. Stop trading goods, things of that kind. Because if they start taking steps like that, then they're breaching their own rules about the single market.

And I think even they are not prepared to go that far. And of course, doing that would be grossly illegal under their own regulations. And there are other states within the EU, which would probably oppose this. I mean, Slovakia probably would. But I suspect other countries, Romania is now becoming increasingly wobbly, for example, Bulgaria too. I mean, I don't think they can just impose an economic blockade on Hungary, which in effect mean, by the way, expelling Hungary from the European Union. So, provided Hungary can maintain currency flows, financial support, it should be able to come through.

And Hungary has friends, Orban has friends, he's widely admired. around the world. He's got friends of the United States. Just saying, not just, not just Donald Trump, that, you know, within the Republican Party generally, and provided Hungary, which has a very capable diplomatic service, works as well. I mean, they can find ways to counter this. The biggest mistake they can make is faced with an all-out assault like this, it is to back down and back off. And I must say, Orban has had a tendency to do this in the past,

but in an existential battle like this, he can't afford to do it. Yeah, if he backs down, he's toast. Yes, no doubt about it. One final note. You mentioned the UN. They could go to the UN. What if Orban could he go on the offensive

within the European Union? Okay, he asked Slovakia on side. Okay, Poland, back when it was law and justice, he would have had maybe a friend in Poland, probably not so much anymore. But is there a way that Orban can use the European Union against Ursula and Borrell and Michelle and all of these people that have Schultz, I'm sure Germany and Schultz is behind this barebox, Schultz, Habek. I'm sure they're 100% behind this. Is there any way that he can use the European Union to try and put pressure on, say, Michelle or Ursula? Absolutely. And try to get them leveraged out.

Of course he can. I mean, he could come forward and say, look, he could demand an urgent, an immediate meeting of the European Council. And you can come along to the European Council and weigh this article in the Financial Times. And so, look, we're an EU member state. We're simply exercising our rights under the, you know, the Lisbon Treaty and all the other treaties. And here we read things like this, that the EU itself is trying to destroy our economy, which is, of course, a part of the economy of the European Union itself. And I want a full explanation from the Commission as to why this is happening and who's involved.

And I think that is what he should do. And I think he'd get some support. I mean, our feet so in Slovakia would probably support him. But I suspect even some of the, you know, pro-EU leaders around the bloc. I mean, even people like, you know, well, I mean, Piotr in the Czech leader. I've forgotten his name, but he's Piotr. I mean, I think even he would probably be nervous. about going to these kind of legs.

And, you know, Croatia, the president of Croatia, all kinds of people like, I mean, you know, he could come along and say, you know, we fought against Soviet Union, we fought against the President of Gokrin there. And, you know, how dare we be threatened in this way? I think that it would be a powerful step for him today. We'll see what he does. See what he does.

All right, we will leave it there. The durand.com. We are in Rumble, Odyssey, bitch, shoot, telegram, rockfin, and Twitter X, and go to the Duran shop, 15% off all T-shirts. Take care.