Viktor Orbán's European election speech fact-checked

With nan European elections conscionable astir nan corner, Hungary’s Prime Minister Viktor Orbán precocious gave a reside launching nan manifesto of his right-wing populist statement Fidesz.

The reside is afloat of claims that Fidesz has importantly improved Hungary’s system and prevented nan state from being dragged into Russia’s warfare successful Ukraine.

The Cube took a look astatine immoderate of nan biggest claims to spot if they were true.

Claim: Fidesz put Hungary's system backmost connected its feet aft it was bankrupted by nan left

This isn’t true: Hungary didn’t spell bankrupt successful 2009, nan last twelvemonth of erstwhile Prime Minister Ferenc Gyurcsány.

The alleged Clean Hand Commission, convened aft Orbán’s 2010 predetermination victory, couldn’t find immoderate important grounds of financial misconduct either.

Claim: One cardinal much group are successful activity successful Hungary coming and wages person tripled

There are so 1 cardinal much group successful activity successful Hungary than location were before.

However, László Csaba, professor of world governmental system astatine nan Central European University successful Vienna, told The Cube nan worth of Hungary’s GDP successful euros is hardly supra what it was a decade ago.

"In economical terms, facet productivity has not increased, frankincense nan catchup to nan EU mean has not materialised," he said. "We are successful a middle-income trap."

While it's besides existent that Fidesz has much than tripled nan minimum costs and boosted nan mean costs by almost 3 times since coming to power, Csaba noted that this mostly occurred during predetermination years, peculiarly successful 2022.

Claim: Hungary's system has almost doubled successful 14 years

This is existent successful nominal position but doesn’t bespeak nan comparative changes complete time.

According to Eurostat, Hungary is among nan lowest EU personnel states by existent individual depletion per capita, sitting astatine 28 per cent beneath nan EU average.

Csaba said that nan figures "aren't very impressive", adding that authorities analysts person been moving connected replacement indicators to effort and propose that nan state is amended disconnected than it is.

Claim: Thanks to Fidesz, Hungary has stayed retired of Russia's warfare successful Ukraine, and 'Brussels bureaucrats' are backing Budapest's pro-war left

There is nary specified point arsenic a ‘pro-war left’ successful Hungary, arsenic each parties are against nan conflict, Zsolt Enyedi, professor of governmental subject astatine nan Central European University successful Vienna, told The Cube.

Though he noted occidental organisations had helped finance Hungarian guidance parties, to trim disparities betwixt their spending and that of Fidesz.

"Fidesz itself received overmuch support successful nan past from nan likes of nan Adenauer Foundation," Enyedi added.

He besides said it was "nonsensical" to propose that Fidesz has kept Hungary retired of nan war, arsenic only 2 parties are progressive successful nan conflict: Russia and Ukraine.

Claim: European leaders are a measurement distant from sending troops to Ukraine

French President Emmanuel Macron has so raised nan anticipation of NATO soldiers assisting Kyiv successful immoderate form.

Poland’s President Andrzej Duda has besides suggested his state could big atomic weapons.

But moreover if this happened, astir experts work together it wouldn’t mean warfare was 1 measurement away, according to Enyedi.

"It is peculiarly funny that Orbán portrays nan anti-Russian positions arsenic being portion of a leftist-progressive package," he added. "Macron and Duda are not leftist politicians, astir of nan European correct is anti-Putin."