Good morning Honourable [former] Presidents and First Ladies, distinguished visitors from beyond our borders, Ladies and Gentlemen.
First of all, congratulations! Exactly thirty years ago, in February 1996, the Association for Hungarian Civic Cooperation was founded with the aim of bringing together civic, national and Christian forces. Dear Enikő, bravo! Since then you have provided a reliable home front for our politicians fighting on the front lines. Without you we would not be here today – either physically or spiritually. Let us also honour the memory of Professor Ferenc Mádl. You were with us in government and in opposition, in good times and in bad – even when it was neither fashionable nor rewarding. For three decades you have been our intellectual gene bank. Thank you for all this. Thank you for these first thirty years!
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Everyone is deeply intrigued about what will happen here in 2026. I am too. But never mind about that, because first we have to settle the accounts for 2025: prompt and fair accounting makes for a long friendship. Last year, 2025, saw continuation of the Russo–Ukrainian war. But in January 2025, when the new American president took office, the United States withdrew from the war. Of course this war would never have broken out if Trump had been president earlier. But it was not him, it was the Democrat Biden – who not only supported the war, but also forced every European country to join in. Except one: Hungary. This was because we resisted; and we stayed out of it. This is a good lesson for those who constantly want to align themselves with a greater power, and do not place their trust in sovereign foreign policy. One president forced reluctant European countries into line; the new president pulled out, and the Europeans who had been forced into it remained trapped in it. This is confirmation that a prerequisite for national independence is sovereign foreign policy – something we must preserve, as if it were the breath in our lungs. The danger is great: Tisza has already announced that it aims to integrate Hungary into a collective European foreign policy framework – something which Brussels is pushing for on a daily basis. My friends, this must not happen! And we shall never agree to them taking away our veto rights!
Ladies and Gentlemen,
I continue to belong to the old school: I like it when what I said yesterday is consistent with what I say today. This is why, when taking stock of what we undertook to do and what we have achieved, I always refer back to my previous year’s speech. We promised that after Donald Trump’s return, we Hungarians would once again be striding down the main street of history, while our opponents would be wandering around muddy side streets on the edge of town. And so it has come to pass! If things continue on their current course, this century will be the century of Europe’s humiliation. A new industrial revolution has begun in the world, and Europe is unable to participate in it. For the first time since the invention of the steam engine, Europe will not be shaping global economic transformation, but being subjected to it. The reasons for this are high energy prices and suffocating overregulation, which is killing the economy. But we Hungarians still have a chance. In 2025 I negotiated with and reached agreements with the American, Russian and Turkish presidents in order that Hungary would continue to be able to buy oil and natural gas at low prices. And there will indeed be oil and natural gas! Paks [nuclear power plant extension] is being built, and we will have enough energy for economic development and a data-driven economy. Meanwhile, others are paying four to five times as much for energy as Hungarians are. It all comes down to what governments arrange for their citizens.
Last year I also undertook to ensure some high-voltage rock and roll in policy, specifically in Hungarian domestic policy; this was because the new president of the United States would rebel against the liberals’ global business, media and political network – thereby also improving our chances. We too would be able to take giant steps forward and drive out of Hungary the foreign influence that limits our sovereignty – along with the agents of that influence. That was the plan. But I have to admit that we have only completed half of this work: Brussels’ oppressive machinery is still operating in Hungary. We will rid ourselves of it after April. Fake civil society organisations, bought journalists, judges, politicians, algorithms and bureaucrats, millions of “rolling euros”: this is what Brussels means here in Hungary today. There are certainly those who will find this rude, crude, or even brutal. But I am not exaggerating. Here I will quote from a recently released report by the United States Congress: “… the European Commission has pressured platforms to censor content ahead of national elections in Slovakia, the Netherlands, France, Moldova, Romania, and Ireland, in addition to the EU elections in June 2024.” I will continue: “The European Commission has taken action against social media platforms and pressured them to aggressively censor content.” Continuing: “The European Commission has activated rapid response systems ahead of the 2024 French legislative election, the 2024 Moldovan presidential election, the 2024–25 Romanian presidential election, and the 2025 German legislative election.” This is where we stand. And it is not Russia saying this, but America! Let us appreciate the friendship of the Americans, because they are exposing the censorship, interference and manipulation coming out of Brussels. Here is the truth from America. This is the real Voice of America! We must come to terms with the idea that those who love freedom should not fear the East, but Brussels – and they should turn their anxious gaze towards Brussels. The “Putin, Putin, Putin” mantra is crude and unserious; but Brussels is a tangible reality, and a direct source of danger. We would never have thought this twenty years ago! But this is the bitter truth, and we shall not tolerate it.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
I promised high-voltage rock and roll in the economy, too. We undertook to preserve jobs, even during the war. We are fighting for our factories, and we are building new ones: the “One Hundred Factories Programme”. My friends, never before has so much investment been brought to Hungary, never before have so many factories, service providers and research centres been built as during this term! While American capital is being repatriated from other countries, last year we broke the record for American investments here. This would not have been possible without President Trump.
And, Ladies and Gentlemen, we undertook to achieve a breakthrough in taxation. We announced that we would double the tax allowance for families with children. We undertook it and we did it. This applies to one million families. We undertook to make CSED [infant care allowance] and GYED [child care allowance] completely free of income tax. We undertook to do it and we did it. We undertook to pay the six months’ allowance for armed personnel. We undertook to do it and we did it. Thank you for your service! And in the meantime, we reduced the budget deficit. For fifteen years we have been building a family-based Hungary. In our country families are held together by mothers. They must be strengthened. Hungary will only have a future if mothers feel financially secure with their children. Today half a million Hungarian mothers are becoming exempt from income tax, and in the next three years, this number will reach one million – lifetime exemption. If we had not introduced the current family support system in 2010, there would be 200,000 fewer children in Hungary today! Is there any greater joy and pride for a person serving in government? Instead of family policy, the Left constantly demands social policy. They do not understand the essence of the matter. They do not understand that the most important chapter in national policy is family policy. This is because nothing makes sense – not the economy, nor defence, nor culture – if there is no one to inherit it.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
We also undertook to curb inflation. In January it stood at 2 per cent. The cap on food prices, the price-monitoring system, and mandatory price reductions: we did all this! But we are not done yet. It is not right for potatoes to be bought from Hungarian farmers for 60 forints, and then sold in large retail outlets for 300 forints. I could continue with a list of other examples. The national government will still have work to do after April. We undertook to launch a campaign to hunt down the drug dealers who have flooded Hungary with toxic concoctions and synthetic substances. Drug dealers devastate and kill other people’s children. Therefore they deserve no mercy. They deserve no clemency. We have initiated more than ten thousand criminal proceedings, seized fifty tonnes of drugs and drug precursors from the black market, and confiscated more than 2 billion forints in assets linked to drug trafficking. We undertook to do it and we did it.
Introduction of the fixed-interest 3 per cent home creation programme was not something that we undertook to do, but we did it all the same. Today it is easier for young people here to buy their own homes than it is anywhere else in Europe. And although we did not undertake to do it, we introduced the fourteenth month’s pension – the first instalment of which has perhaps already been paid out, along with the thirteenth month’s pension. And we raised the minimum wage by 11 per cent, even though we did not undertake to do so; because who would dare do such a thing with economic growth below 1 per cent? But that is just how Hungarians are: they solve problems first, then explain them. After all, in politics nothing is impossible – it just looks like that when one hasn’t tried enough times. My friends, the national government is like Old Spice [according to its Hungarian marketing tagline]: “Proof, not promises”. We do what we say we will do – and this will continue to be the case over the next four years. The lefties like to mock us, saying that the content of our programme is solely “We’ll continue”. It is true that we run long-term, multi-year programmes, and we want to implement them. We want every Hungarian who is able to work to be able to do so. We have already created one million jobs, and today 4.7 million people are in work. But we want to increase this number to 5 million, and to do so we need to create another 300,000 new jobs – which we shall do. We have been running our wage increase programme for fifteen years, increasing the minimum wage by four and a half times and the average wage by four times; but we are going further, and we want to reach an average wage of one million forints. We will continue with fixed-interest 3 per cent mortgages for first-time buyers until every young person has their own home. We will fully implement tax exemption for mothers by 2029. And we will fully introduce the fourteenth month’s pension. Anyone who has ever seen a government knows that it will be enough of a task to get all this done over the next four years. So that is our programme.
For its programme, the opposition has come up with something new. I am an old hand, but even I have never seen anything like this. They announced in advance that they were going to lie. They decided to shove into the country’s face the message that they would not tell the truth – because if they did, they would be found out, and never win an election. Amazing! The last time someone announced in advance that they were going to cheat was [the stage magician] Rodolfo. We thought that such things were only possible in the circus: “I’m telling you in advance that I won’t reveal my real plan. So I’m going to lie. And when you catch me lying, I’ll say: ‘You see, I’ve been telling the truth, because I told you in advance that I was going to lie.” No wonder even [former prime minister] Ferenc Gyurcsány has retired… Because, let’s face it, “morning, night and evening” isn’t enough time in the day for this amount of lying. Even he couldn’t compete with this. Well, my friends, that’s where we stand in the competition of programmes.
And now let’s see what we can say about 2026. I am looking at the results of the by-election in Balmazújváros. There will be no more by-elections with this impact until April. We won! However, according to the left-lib press, this election does not really matter – and in fact it was bad for us. What would they have written if we had lost? It is true that earlier they had the nerve to write that it was bad for us that our friend won in America. In any case, I promise that when we win the national election in two months’ time, we will take it in our stride when they write that our victory is in fact a defeat.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
I am already campaigning around the country. It is clear that on all major civilisational issues people are on our side. They do not want migration. They do not want war. They do not want to send their money to Ukraine. And they find it inconceivable that the responsibility for children’s upbringing should be given to people who think that before going to bed it is good for children to read stories about princes in love with each other from a fairy tale book called “Csipkejózsika” [“Sleeping Boy Beauty”]. My friends, this simply cannot happen in Hungary!
As I travel around the country, I also see that we are being joined by those who live from their work: the huge mass of people who get up early in the morning, work during the day, deal with the upbringing of their children after work, take care of their parents, and keep their families together. And I see that we are being joined by older people who have worked all their lives, and who know that the future can only be built on work. They want young people to continue the work that they have done, and they do not want adventurers sent from Brussels dismantling what they have built. And there are many young people with us – many more than we might think. Most of them are not content with performative rebellion, and shouting “Filthy Fidesz” at parties. Of course there are some like that, but there were loudmouths and armchair revolutionaries in our time too. However, I meet many young people who truly love their country, who think seriously about their future, and who are willing to rebel against the idiotic instructions coming from Brussels, international networks, and big capital. These young people are with us. I think they are in the majority. We call on them: come and fight for your country!
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Before every battle, it is worth holding a review of the troops. Captain [László] Bölöni knows that before a battle you have to look around the dressing room. How are we doing, and how are our opponents doing? I have to say that we are looking pretty good. Wherever I go in the country, whether it is an anti-war rally or some other kind of gathering, I meet people who are determined, cheerful and happy. I feel both strength and optimism. This is a cheerful and strong community, the strongest political community in Europe, in which I see determination and willpower. This community wants to win the election – and it will win! What do I see when I look at our opponents? Anger, rage, hatred and discontent. The contrast could not be sharper. But you cannot build a community on hatred, revenge, anger and unfulfilled ambitions. Who wants that kind of leadership? Our opponents have gone so far as to organise known criminals into a gang, and provide them with transport in order to disrupt Fidesz gatherings.
My Friends,
In pre-democratic times, those who disagreed with each other would crack skulls. The essence of democracy is that we do not crack heads, but count them. Let us not allow Tisza to take us back to a world governed by the law of the fist. Hungary deserves better than that! Community – including at national level – can only be built on love and cooperation; and that is what we have been doing for decades. As it is written: “Faith, hope and love; but the greatest of these is love.” Therefore, no matter how full of hate our opponents may be, we continue to believe in the power of love and cooperation. Let this be the guiding principle during the election campaign as well.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
We have always known that our real opponents are not the opposition parties in Hungary – not Tisza and not DK [Democratic Coalition]. Our opponents are their masters in Brussels. DK sold its soul long ago, and now flies the flag of the United States of Europe – or rather the Brussels empire. This comes as no surprise to anyone. When necessary they will use the Soviet hammer and sickle, and when necessary the stars of the EU. They are born “labancok” [pro-imperial collaborators]: they have always imagined Hungary’s future under someone else’s control. Tisza is a direct creation of Brussels. Everyone over there knows this. Fidesz left the European People’s Party because it would not give in to the Germans, led by Herr Weber, who demanded that migrants be allowed in. The Germans know that they cannot stay on their feet without a Hungarian party. They created a new party after the KDNP [Christian Democratic People’s Party of Hungary] also said no – whom we thank for that!. Yes, the Tisza Party was founded by Germans – led by Herr Weber, with Ursula von der Leyen as godmother. Everyone in Brussels takes this for granted – over there it is customary to have someone from Hungary as well who never says no to orders from Brussels. This is nothing new, and it was already the case in the 2024 European Parliament elections.
What is new is that global big capital has also entered the game. Until now they have only worked behind the scenes, but now they are out in the open. They have stepped into the limelight, onto the stage. The masks are off, as are the costumes. Here we see international financial power, naked and open. They know that the stakes are high. It is crystal clear that the oil business, the banking world and the Brussels elite are preparing to form a government in Hungary. My friends, things are getting serious. It is time for Hungary to wake up to what international big capital is preparing to do in Hungary, and to take it seriously – with deadly seriousness. The Left, which now operates under the name “Tisza Plc”, and is already stuffed with billions, is now representing them again, has made an agreement with them, and will be their advance guard and the executor of their expectations. This is why they have made agreements with Shell and with Erste Bank. Shell, along with the other players in the energy sector, simply wants its money back. Erste and the banks want the same thing. Brussels is asking for its share, so that it can give it to Ukraine. Once again, it is all about money: our money. Shell, Erste and Brussels are forming a war alliance. They are the ones who will profit from bloodshed. They are the ones who have an interest in continuing the fighting. They are Death’s toll collectors, the dogs of war. Of course they are not participating in the fighting; that is what the Ukrainians are there for – and, if necessary, their Central European neighbours. From a safe distance, they watch their screens in comfort as cities are destroyed and their fortunes grow through the destruction, through the tragedy and the torment of millions of innocent, helpless people. It is time to talk openly about this. In this war one of the main winners is Shell: it has made tens of billions of dollars from the war and from the sanctions against Russia. Their goal is to cut us off from Russian oil and gas, raise prices, and multiply their profits in Hungary. They do not care that this will ruin Hungarian households and businesses. Today Hungarians pay an annual average of 250,000 forints in energy bills. In Poland the equivalent figure is 800,000, and in the Czech Republic it is one million. Well, this is the future Shell has in store for us. This is why they have delegated their own representative to an aspiring government. Incidentally, I would like to note that Hungarian green and alternative political movements and parties are also carrying water for Tisza, and thereby Shell. This highlights the true nature of Hungarian pseudo-greens, and the plight of genuine greens. The goal of international banks is no great mystery. For them Gyurcsány’s years in government were a golden age; but the national government has made them share the public burden, imposing heavy taxes on them. They have had enough of us, enough of the national government, and enough of governance that serves the people. They just want us to give them their money back. This is why they have delegated a ministerial candidate from Erste, alongside one from Shell, to the aspiring government.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
International banks are profiting from the war, just as they always have. Brussels supports Ukraine, but it has no money; so it borrows from the banks, whom the Member States will then repay. Every month 35,000 people are dying or being maimed, amounting to 400,000 per year. The banks do not care about that, as long as the cash keeps rolling in – as long as the interest is right and the money keeps coming. They feed the unfortunate Europeans with the idea that their money is serving a good cause, when in fact it is only filling the vaults of Western multinationals. Most recently Brussels took out a loan of 90 billion euros to send to Ukraine. The banks were happy to line up, as they had guarantees from the Member States. Hungary managed to escape this, but only after major conflicts. Thank you for standing by me throughout, so that we could stay out of this madness! And now let us look at the figures that explain why they want to replace the national government, and what Shell and Erste are doing here.
My Dear Friends,
I am now going to speak in a way that is unusual for me, and present facts that I do not usually talk about: facts that I do not usually discuss so bluntly. But in this way I hope to answer this frequently asked, puzzling question: From what sources? From what sources can Hungary afford to provide the most generous family support in Europe? From what sources can it afford to reduce household energy bills? From what sources can it afford to provide thirteenth and fourteenth months’ pensions? From what sources can it afford to build new factories, renovate historic buildings in Budapest, and even rebuild entire neighbourhoods? From what sources can it afford the Hungarian Village Programme, student loans, worker loans, and fixed 3 per cent first-time buyers’ home loans? From what sources? Well, using various methods, between 2010 and 2025 we took a total of 14.956 trillion forints from three economic sectors: banks, energy companies and retail chains. So 14.956 trillion forints! And, according to our plans, in 2026 we will take another 1.922 trillion forints. We politely call this social responsibility, or say that we have involved them in sharing the public burden. They have not gone bankrupt, indeed they have still made good profits; but if it were not for the Fidesz government, today they would have an extra 14.956 trillion forints in their pockets. Is it any wonder they are snarling? Their first goal is to prevent us from collecting the 1.922 trillion forints due from them in 2026. If they succeed, they will start collecting back the 14.956 trillion forints that we have so far taken from them and given to ordinary Hungarians. This is what it is all about! If we allow the Tisza–Brussels–big capital coalition to come to power, they will fleece Hungarian families. They think in terms of everyone getting what they have wanted: Tisza will be able to satisfy its unfulfilled political ambitions; big capital will get its money back; and Brussels will be able to send Hungarian money to Ukraine, and push Ukraine into the European Union. They are right when they say that they are preparing for a system change. Instead of a national government that supports Hungarian families, there would be a takeover by the Brussels system. Reductions in household energy bills, family support, home creation – all of this would be gone.
My Dear Friends, Ladies and Gentlemen,
It is no coincidence that we have a feeling of déjà vu. This has happened before, we have seen this movie before, it has happened to Hungary. In 2002 we said that if the socialists won the election, big capital and big money would form the government, and we would lose everything. Unfortunately, half the country did not listen to us. For that we paid dearly. For eight years the whole country, every family, groaned under the weight of it. We said they were preparing to raise household gas prices, but they denied it – straight to our faces, just like the Tisza-ites are doing now. During those eight bitter years they raised household gas prices fifteen times! They also said they would continue with the good things: home creation support, and the Széchenyi Plan. The same familiar story: a year later there were no home loans and no Széchenyi Plan. And they did not care about the fact that Hungarian families were being crushed by unaffordable household energy bills. What followed was poverty, debt, unemployment, immiseration, and then bankruptcy. It is true, my dear friends, that Hungarians quickly get used to good things, but are reluctant to remember bad things. We are a clever people! This is nothing new. Dante – yes, Dante – wrote about us more than seven hundred years ago. He even dedicated a few lines to us in his Divine Comedy. He wrote: “Oh, happy Hungary! But do not let yourself be led astray.” I can report, Dear Maestro, that we are working on that.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
And if big capital were not enough, we also have war on our hands: “Here’s a hump to match your limp!” Europe has decided to go to war by 2030. I do not mean it wants to, or it may be planning to – it has decided! The election in April will be the last Hungarian election before the war. The next government will have to decide on the question of war and peace. Brussels has decided it will defeat the Russians on Ukrainian territory. Everywhere except Hungary and Slovakia, preparations for war are underway. Nine countries already have compulsory military service! In some places, it has been expanded to include women. Guidelines are being sent to countries’ populations on what to do in the event of war. Military spending has skyrocketed. Agreements are being signed to send troops to Ukraine. So far Brussels has spent nearly 200 billion euros on the war in Ukraine. In December another 90-billion-euro loan was granted. And Ukraine just keeps devouring money. Now they are demanding 800 billion euros for maintaining state operations, and 700 billion euros for the army. Meanwhile no one knows the answer to the simple question of how to defeat a nuclear power without using nuclear weapons. What Europe and Brussels are doing is hugely irresponsible. My friends, we know what war over there is like. We have been there once before: Hungarian boys died on the Don Bend for foreign causes, under foreign orders, on foreign soil. Once was enough. As long as we have a national government, we shall not send weapons, they cannot take our money, and they cannot send our young people to Ukraine. No, no, no!
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Our community is not simply a political gathering, but a national fellowship of purpose. You do not invent your purpose in life yourself: you recognise your purpose in life. Having a purpose in life does not mean wanting something. The essence of a purpose in life is precisely that one cannot want it: a purpose in life is something you follow even when no one pays you for it, no one applauds you, and no one asks you to pursue it. Our purpose in life is to preserve Hungary’s independence and sovereignty – not as a museum exhibit, but in a living, breathing, active way, so that we can pass it on to our children and their children. In the past, all of Europe was like this, and thought in this way. Today, however, what lies to the west of us is different from our world: it is a mixture of something, something chaotic, something uncertain, something soulless, something in flux – and no one knows what will come of it. We have order and security. Hungary is the safest country in Europe. There is confident calm, a Hungarian world that suits us, where we feel at home, and of which we are proud. And we want it to stay that way. This is why Fidesz–KDNP is the safe choice!
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Finally, among ourselves let us discuss why we are here. We did not get into politics to become prime ministers, ministers, or any kind of factotum. Many, many years ago, we wanted to gather friends, allies and fellow fighters to mobilise an entire nation in order to collectively change the destiny of Hungary. After the lost wars, after the lost battles and wars, our opponents wanted us to be small and poor. For decades they taught us to be weak, and to be losers. To just accept our fate. Well, we won’t! We have come together – and in this we call on everyone – to make Hungary a great and rich country again. We have worked hard, and we are making good progress. But we are not done yet. This is why we must – and will – win the April election. The year 2026 will be the year of victory: a year of victory for families, for the Right, for Fidesz. A year of victory for Hungary.
God above us all, Hungary before all else! Go Hungary! Go Hungarians!
