Pro-family leader Orbán says Hungary has chosen 'Christian liberty' over 'liberal freedom'

Hungarian Prime Minister, Viktor Orbán, told a conservative conference in Rome that the Hungarian Christian approach is the only one “which appreciates and accepts national sovereignty.”

Orbán made his comments during an address given to the National Conservativism Conference in Rome on February 4. In a wide-ranging speech, he spoke about his core anti-Marxist political principles, the impact of Muslim migration to Europe, the reasons for Hungary’s economic success and the relationship between national identity and conservative politics.

Orbán has said in the past that “Christianity is Europe's last hope”. He has a strong history of promoting pro-family policies in Hungary and has not been afraid to stand-up to anti-life globalists such as George Soros.

Orbán highlighted the roles played by former US President Ronald Reagan and Pope John Paul II in overcoming the Soviet Union and defending the nations of Central Europe.

Although himself a Calvinist, he singled out Pope John Paul II for his role in defending people in Central European nations from the Soviets. “We never considered the Holy Father as a Catholic leader of the Vatican,” he said. “We always considered him as the biggest defender of Central European countries on the world stage, whatever their religious background.”

Orbán explained that in his view there are two competing views of Europe. One he identified as “federalist, empire-oriented approach” which wants to “build Europe from above” and which “wouldn’t like to have sovereign states.”

The other vision, the vision he insists upon, is what he describes as “building Europe from the bottom”, which he says means “respecting national sovereignty and finding a way for sovereign nations to cooperate in order to find the common interest of the European nations.”

He describes Hungary as a “Christian democracy” and says that Hungary has chosen “Christian liberty” instead of “liberal freedom.” He said that in building up sovereign nations “we have to resist the attempts to build an empire”.

He continued by saying that, "[In Hungary] where 75% are Catholic and 25% are Calvinists, we are able to cooperate for national sovereignty on a Christian-democratic basis. That creates a national unity for national sovereignty, as we understand. So Christian democracy I think is the best framework to conceptualize what we are doing.”

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