Mr Orbán said representatives of the Brussels pro-war politics are present in every Central European country; they are causing havoc in Serbia and are present in Hungary, too. It is easy to recognise them, they are aggressive and violent, keep levelling threats, carry guns when attending public forums, threaten decent people with execution and insult elderly priests at the gates of churches, he listed, underlining that in Hungary they are all Brussels’ people.
Fake news manufacturing, slandering, whispering propaganda, and their goal is to destabilise the country, he added.
The Prime Minister also spoke about the fact that those who follow and understand European politics can see that Hungarians and Slovaks are tied together not only by their shared history and culture, but also by the international political challenges they are facing. He added that the interests of Slovaks and Hungarians, the interests of Slovakia and Hungary pointed in the same direction in international politics.
The story of the bridge teaches us that, when combining forces, Hungarians and Slovaks are stronger together than on their own; if we cooperate, we are both better off, he pointed out.
He recalled that the Marie Valerie Bridge had already been destroyed twice, after both World War I and World War II, and with the reconstruction of the bridge both peoples had simultaneously expressed their desire that they did not want any more wars destroying bridges in Europe. He stressed that neither the Hungarians, nor the Slovaks had wanted to take part in either World War, “yet, we were sent to the front, our lives were turned upside down with reference to imperial interests.”
He recalled that when he had first stood at the bridge in the company of commissioner for enlargement Verheugen, Slovaks, Hungarians and the representative of the EU had expressed their desire “by standing here together” to join the European Union that was supposed to guarantee the peace of the continent.
In Mr Orbán’s view, the world has changed much since, however; the European Union has become “a war project.” People in Brussels openly state that they believe that the mission of the decade ahead is to defeat Russia on the eastern front. All European people, economic actors and European nation states should serve this mission if they belong to the European Union, he warned.
At the same time, he stated: we Hungarians do not want this; yet, they want to force us into it, and this amounts to oppression.
Mr Orbán likened this to the communist times when “they spoke about freedom, and it was even the title of their newspaper,” but in actual fact, it meant oppression. Now when Brussels speaks about peace in Europe, in actual fact, it means war, he explained.
He recalled that both the Hungarians and the Slovaks knew what war meant. Young people are taken to the front, our possessions are taken away from us and are used for war purposes, next comes poverty, and we can only pray that the front will not reach us because then there will be utter destruction, he added.
The Prime Minister also said for him this bridge means that we do not want Europe to make this mistake again.
Those who learn from the past protect the future, he said, stressing that he can reassure the Slovak people that the Hungarians are working to make sure that this bridge should never have to be rebuilt again.
He agreed with Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico in that another bridge should be built between Esztergom and Párkány [Sturovo] as well for cargo traffic. He indicated that the preparations for this project had already started.
Turning to the Slovak Prime Minister, Mr Orbán also highlighted that he knew something that he alone knew in Europe. When Slovakia somehow goes astray, he returns and sorts things out, he said praising Mr Fico, wishing him all the very best this time as well.
The Hungarian Prime Minister congratulated Slovakia on the recent amendment of the Slovak constitution which defines marriage as an alliance between a man and a woman, and only recognises two sexes. It is good that we are not alone, it is good if you have a normal neighbour, he pointed out.
He added: in Slovakia it was also written into the constitution that men and women are equal. He congratulated them on this, too, because here in Hungary “we men have long been fighting for this,” he observed, laughing.
He also spoke about the fact that Robert Fico and himself belonged to different political camps in international politics. He added, however, that every time they met, he could not help thinking: “this is what we would need, too, a Left standing on national foundations, Hungarian politics would immediately become more peaceful,” he said.
Esztergom has a special place in the hearts of the Hungarians, he said, turning to his hosts. There is a major battle between Székesfehérvár and Esztergom about which one of them was Hungary’s first capital, but it is beyond doubt that Esztergom was Hungary’s first city, he indicated.
He also recalled that this was the third time he had the opportunity to deliver a speech at the Marie Valerie Bridge, but this was the first time he had the chance to stand there with Robert Fico whom he described as Slovakia’s longest-serving, “durable and indestructible” prime minister.
