The European parliamentary elections, along with the presidential election in the US in November, will decide between peace and war, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán told public radio on Friday.
Orbán said the assassination attempt against Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico was „not unprecedented” and referred to the murder of Serbian PM Zoran Đinđić in 2003. „This part of Europe is a lot riskier hunting ground than the West,” he added. Still, he said, Fico’s attempted assassination had shocked everyone, „but growing aggression in Europe is not a surprise”. After several acts of terrorism in Europe, with the outbreak of the war in Ukraine, „Europe is being transformed” into a pro-war bloc, he said. „We do not even realise how radically Europe’s position on the war has changed,” he said, adding that „Germany wanted to send helmets to Ukraine two years ago, and now European leaders, and even NATO are discussing sending troops.” Violence has become part and parcel of everyday life and „it is tangible in Europe,” Orbán said. „The most important mission of the European Union is peace and welfare comes second … after an attack like that it requires a strong faith to maintain that position,” he said. „Our task is to try to curb aggression in everyday life and the risk of war in politics.”