Orbán-haters are now celebrating the fact that banning Russian gas will make utility costs more expensive. Bravo!
What I’m thinking about is this: the very same Orbán-haters who are now celebrating the Brussels decision—which practically bans EU member states from purchasing Russian natural gas with immediate effect—are the ones who have always gone on and on about the absolute supremacy of the free market.
And now they’re celebrating that Brussels is directly вмешing in the market and restricting purchasing options, which, according to basic market rules, inevitably leads to higher prices.
As a result, utility bills at home will rise too: district heating, gas prices—everything.
But they don’t care at all. As long as Orbán isn’t proven right.
They really are that simple.
1️⃣ Projecting false joy onto the opponent (“they’re celebrating higher prices”)
“Orbán-haters are celebrating that utility costs will become more expensive.”
This is a straw man.
🔹 No one is “celebrating” higher energy prices.
🔹 The debate is not about price increases, but about:
- how risky it is to rely unilaterally on Russian gas,
- how sustainable politically subsidized utility price cuts really were,
- what happens when that model inevitably collapses.
👉 This assigns an emotion to the opponent in order to morally discredit them.
2️⃣ Distorting “pro-market” arguments
“Those who used to praise the free market are now celebrating Brussels’ intervention.”
This is a false contradiction.
🔹 Energy has never been a pure free market:
- state contracts,
- geopolitical deals,
- politically set prices,
- subsidies and price caps.
👉 Russian gas itself was not “free market” energy, but a political dependency.
So the novelty here is not market intervention,
but the attempt to reduce dependence on an authoritarian supplier.
3️⃣ Oversimplified causality (“ban = immediate price increase”)
“According to market laws, prices will rise.”
This is a deliberate oversimplification.
🔹 Prices are shaped by multiple factors, including:
- alternative supply routes,
- LNG capacity,
- joint procurement mechanisms,
- storage levels,
- state compensation measures.
👉 The narrative of “automatic and immediate price hikes” is fear-mongering, not economics.
4️⃣ “They don’t care, as long as Orbán isn’t right”
This is classic loyalty blackmail.
🔹 The real questions are not about who is right, but:
- whether the model works long term,
- what it actually costs,
- who pays the difference,
- how it behaves in a crisis.
👉 The debate is reduced to personal hatred to avoid discussing how the system actually functions.
One-sentence summary
This statement is not about energy policy at all, but about pushing this message:
“If you criticize utility price cuts or Russian energy dependence, you must be happy about higher prices.”
That is emotional coercion, not an argument.