Viktor Orban's twelve tips for political success for right-wingers around the world
In his opening speech at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in Budapest this morning, Prime Minister Orbán outlined the 12 points that conservatives around the world should consider if they want to succeed politically.
Addressing a crowd of international conservative opinion leaders this morning in Budapest at the CPAC, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán said that after the parliamentary elections on 3 April, we can safely conclude that Christian conservatism has prevailed in Hungary. Focusing on the concrete steps he recommends conservatives around the world to take if they want to succeed, Prime Minister Orbán outlined his 12-point recipe.
"The first point," Orbán began, "is that we must play by our own rules. According to him, one can only win if one does not accept the solutions and directions proposed by others. "That is why we must not be discouraged by being shouted at, called unfit or called troublemakers abroad. In fact, it is suspicious that none of this is happening. Note that anyone who plays by the rules of his opponents will certainly lose," said Prime Minister Orbán.
Turning to the second point of his recipe, Orbán said that national conservatism must be implemented in domestic politics. "The cause of the nation is not a matter of ideology, nor even of tradition. Churches and families must be supported, because they are the building blocks of a nation. This also means staying on the side of the electorate," he said. According to the prime minister, his government decided to build a fence on Hungary's southern border because Hungarians said they did not want to live with illegal migrants. "They said: Viktor, build a wall. And three months later, the wall was up. The secret of all this is not to think about it too much," the prime minister said.
The third point is to keep the national interest at the centre of foreign policy. "Progressives have always believed that foreign policy is a battle of ideologies, a battle of good and evil, where the course of history is decided. But as far as I can see, my dear friends, there have been at least four of these great battles in the last 100 years. Something is wrong with the formula. Our answer should be a simple and clear antithesis to the progressives. Hungary first, America first. We need an interest-based foreign policy. This is not always easy, because foreign policy is often a complicated world," the Prime Minister said.
"The fourth point," he continued, "is that we need the media, because we can only show the folly of the progressive left if we have the media to help us." According to Orbán, left-wing opinion only seems to be in the majority because the media helps them amplify their voices. The problem is that the modern Western media is aligned with left-wing opinion. Those who taught reporters in universities, the Prime Minister added, already professed left-wing progressive principles. "I am well aware of the old ethos of Western democracy that political parties and the press should be separated. That is the way it should be. But, my friends, the Democrats in America, for example, do not abide by these rules. Have you ever tried to count how many media outlets serve the Democratic Party? CNN, the New York Times, and I could go on and on. I wouldn't get to the end, even if we stayed there until tonight.
The fifth point: expose the true intentions of your opponents. According to the Prime Minister, the existence of conservative media is a necessary but not sufficient condition for victory. "You also have to be a taboo breaker," PM Orbán said, adding that "maybe I don't need to explain this to our American friends, because who would be a bigger taboo breaker than President Donald Trump himself."
Point number six concerns the economy. Orbán said that only economic policies that benefit even those who did not vote for you should be pursued. "People want to get ahead in life. If a right-wing government cannot offer that, it is doomed to failure.
"Our seventh point is that you must not be drawn into an extreme. He says that while extremist views keep resurfacing on the right, as well as the left, if we look closely we will find that people don't really want to deal with them. "But my friends, what is the difference between the denial of science by the far right and the denial of biology by the LGBTQ movement? The answer is simple, there is no difference. We must give to God what belongs to God, to the emperor what belongs to the emperor, and to science what belongs to science.
The eighth point is that we must read every day. "I know it sounds strange, I am not a scientist, but the fact is that books are the best way to understand and communicate complex things. And the world is getting more and more complicated, so you have to take the time to understand it. For example, I dedicate one day a week to reading myself.
"The ninth point is that you have to have faith," the Prime Minister said, adding that if someone does not believe in the Last Judgement, they think they can do anything they want. "So their lack of faith is dangerous," Orbán observed.
Point number ten: Make friends. According to the Prime Minister, "our opponents, the progressive liberals and the neo-Marxists, are always united. They support each other. Conservatives, on the other hand, are capable of bickering with each other on the slightest issue, Orbán said. "And then we wonder how our opponents manage to girdle us". "If you want to succeed in politics, never look at where you disagree with another person, but look for where you have common ground.
Turning to the eleventh point of his recipe for Christian Conservative success, Prime Minister Orbán said that building communities was vital. "Friends, I have also learned over the years that there is no conservative political success without well-functioning communities. The fewer communities there are and the more lonely people are, the more voters turn to the Liberals. On the other hand, the more communities we have, the more votes we get. It is as simple as that", said Prime Minister Orbán.
In conclusion, Prime Minister Orbán stated that building political institutions is conducive to success. According to the Prime Minister, while politicians come and go, institutions remain for generations.
"It is institutions that can intellectually renew politics. We need new ideas, new thoughts, new people, again and again, and when they run out, we have no ammunition," Prime Minister Orbán said.