‘Our traditions built loyalty to our nation, trust and solidarity among its people.’

On July 7th, Forum for Democracy’s think-tank hosted a lecture by Hungarian politician and Mi Hazánk party leader László Toroczkai. He was interviewed beforehand.

Thanks so much Mr. Toroczkai for talking to us. Being a politician sounds like a calling for you…

Yes, it is. I loved being a farmer and a simple family man. Still, I am. But the situation I was facing on a daily basis forced me to turn to politics.

I am living in Ásotthalom, a village at the southern border with Serbia. Well before the war over there, we got many people from Kosovo crossing our borders. Then came the real refugees from Syria and Afghanistan. By entering they showed the way for maffioso, who decided to turn migration into a business model.

That’s the moment when mass immigration really took off. We saw people from all over the world, from Sicily to Pakistan to Morocco. There were hardly any real refugees anymore. Human traffickers started sending us thousands of young single males, trying to find an El Dorado over here and taking advantage of the welfare systems in place throughout all of Europe. On top of that, these boys would be allowed to bring their families over as well.

You considered it hight time to do something about it…

Till then I was serving as vice-president of Jobbik, a right-wing nationalist party that didn’t play any part in government on the national level. Alongside, I had become a mayor of my village in 2013 at the time of the first wave of migrants coming to our country. But with migration totally getting out of hand and foreigners flooding our villagers’ properties, I had to do something. I created a local police force and built a fence to keep people from entering our village illegally.

So you, rather than Orbán, are the actual architect of Hungary’s border fence?

Yes, even though the situation at the border grew dire, Viktor, didn’t want to hear about a fence. Yet, when polls showed them the vast majority of the people wanted them, he changed his mind and, eventually, had a fence build along the Hungarian border.

Is it working?

Partly, yes. The pressure on our borders has been less severe than it used to be. But laws still keep the fence from working effectively. Human traffickers keep pushing migrants into our asylum system. We still heavily depend on push backs. And still our facilities outside the fence are overcrowded.

In addition, over the years we have been catching many traffickers and put them in prisons. So much so, that our prisons started to be overcrowded as well. On top of that, the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg ruled that prison cells were too small to give these traffickers sufficient shelter in accordance with human rights regulations. So, we had to pay them big fines and, eventually, had to release them.

But why all the fuss about fighting migration in the first place?

First of all, our welfare states are not built to support a massive influx of people that are not adding any economic value. But migrants from cultures that are totally different from ours are also posing a threat to our own integrity as a nation.

I am not against Islam as such. If it offers a culture that works perfectly for Turkey or Saudi Arabia, fine with me. But lots of its values are totally incompatible with the Hungarian ones. Without the ones we adhere to in Hungary we would be animals. Without them we wouldn’t be Hungarians, we would have any identity and wouldn’t be happy.

What do you value so much in the culture of Hungary for it to be protected?

First of all, I consider Hungary part of the so-called Nordic civilization, which ranges from Ireland to Vladivostok. This is the heartland of a conservative Christian culture that offered us the values that have allowed us to prosper and live a happy life.

Secondly, this Nordic civilization allows for a great variety of national cultures that, alongside some foundational values, all have different colours and tastes. 

For example, we in Hungary have a unique tradition which is called Disznovágás. We slaughter pigs, roast the meat and enjoy it with lots of Palinka, a brandy with 53% of alcohol. This tradition is totally incompatible with the Muslim ban on pork and alcohol. Our traditions built loyalty to our nation and a sense of mutual trust and solidarity among its people. That’s something we can’t count on from people that have been brought up in other traditions.

We like our women strong, outspoken and independent. This way of looking at the female sex is totally incompatible with the way Muslims are used to value their women.

You think the future of Hungarian culture and identity is at stake?

Yes, not only due to outside interference, but we also have become weak ourselves. The ideology of wokeness is eating our strength away from the inside out. That on its own is something we have problems dealing with. 

Even though in Hungary itself, powers are not able to challenge Orbán’s policies yet. But the pressure from the EU and the UN globalist powers are mounting. Think of the criticism we face when it comes to the Rule of Law in our country, covering cases ranging from LGBTIQQ to migration policies.

So, given your sympathy for Orbán, why you are fighting him?

On the one hand, I am too principled to join forces with the liberal left to ever trying to oust Viktor from power. That’s why I left Jobbik in 2018. They decided to join the evil powers in Hungarian politics to get rid of what you might call the lesser evil. I think that was a big mistake.

On the other hand, I consider the Orbán government to be corrupt. Its politicians have joined the ranks of the oligarchs in order to tighten their grip on power. By now they own the mainstream media and globalist megafirms. In this environment you tend to sell your soul for power and personal gains.

What’s your alternative?

I don’t want to do politics the usual way. I want to serve the people. And if I ever got into power, I want it to be thanks to what I not only promised my people, but also for my accomplishments as well. That’s how I served my terms as a mayor of  Ásotthalom. That’s how I want to serve my country as well. 

Ours is a grassroots’ movement. The only media access I have to my people is via social media. I am the politician having by far the most social media exposure in Hungary. That’s why Meta’s ban on my Facebook and Instagram accounts was hurting me badly. Yet, it made me start a YouTube channel that has gained me a large following among Hungarian youth.

Migration is an issue that is decided on the level of the EU. Do you have any ideas how to impact its policies for the better?

I am not against cooperation between European nations. First of all, we need to destroy the criminal business model of those human traffickers that put so many people in danger. 

Secondly, I firmly believe that Hungary should be able to decide on its own migration policies. To that end, I am trying to form a group of like-minded parties throughout Europe in order to grow our impact in the European Parliament and, by that, put pressure on the European Commission to come up with solutions that respect our national sovereignty.

That’s very exciting news, Mr. Toroczkai!

Yes, indeed! And one of the most exciting things is working together on this issue with your own party leader Thierry Baudet. I consider him one of the most courageous visionaries in European politics. It is extremely inspiring to join forces with him in order to try to change the course of history and have our civilization return to its roots.

I am very grateful for telling us about your way of doing politics and sharing your thoughts on how to preserve our civilization with us. Thank you so much!

It was my pleasure!