Doorstep statement by Prime Minister Viktor Orbán after casting his vote
13 October 2019, Budapest

Prime Minister, who are you supporting in Győr?

In Győr I’m supporting the people of Győr, and here I’m supporting István Tarlós and Zoltán Pokorni. Do you have any further questions?

Do you support Zsolt Borkai?

I support the people of Győr.

Borkai is from Győr.

Prime Minister, what result do you expect in this election? What’s the mood of the country? Could you say a few words about the campaign?

This was a campaign that bore little relation to nationwide politics: thinking back over the past thirty years, this campaign has been the one that has concentrated the most on local candidates. We ourselves have supported this, believing that the decisions that must be taken are about whether our villages, towns and cities will have suitable leaders. We’ve sought to encourage people everywhere to vote. Democracy stands on a number of pillars, and local government is one of the most important. Of course it’s important for us to have an elected government, but it’s at least as important for those people managing local affairs which are close to the people to be representatives who enjoy the public’s trust and support. In other words, the right people for the right jobs; this was our slogan, and this was our programme. This was the spirit in which I took part personally in the campaign. For my part I’ve done everything that had to be done, but my conviction has been that the question now is not what the people think about the Government – although if someone wants to pass judgement on that, it’s something we must accept. Here the task at hand is to find suitable leaders for our villages, towns and cities for the next five years: not for four years, but five years. I think we’ll succeed in that task. I expect a high turnout and a pleasant Sunday with a good atmosphere: a kind of celebration of democracy. On Sunday evening we usually see a sharp contrast emerging between the quality of the campaign and the result of the elections. That’s what I’m hoping for this time.

Prime Minister, what do you think about the Borkai scandal? After all, a sex video featuring one of your party’s prominent politicians has been made public.

I think that today the people of Győr will state their opinion; I will do the same on Monday. That’s the correct sequence.

Prime Minister, by 7.00 a.m. around 95,000 people had cast their votes, which is a really high turnout. In light of this, what are your expectations?

You can never tell. What we can say for certain is that among Hungarian voters there’s a core group who always vote – in referenda, municipal elections and parliamentary elections. And there are those whose decision on whether or not to vote will depend on how much is at stake. I think there’s no doubt that we’ll see a democratic election, and so already – at half past eight in the morning – I can tell you that this Sunday we’ll be able to accept the results with good grace, as the decision of the Hungarian people.

If Gergely Karácsony wins, will it be possible for him to reach an agreement with the Government?

I ask voters to vote for István Tarlós.

And what do you think about the opposition’s cooperation? They’ve forged an unprecedented partnership.

I ask voters in the twelfth district to vote for Zoltán Pokorni, and across Budapest to vote for István Tarlós. This is what I myself have done.

Thank you very much.

I haven’t paid attention to other distractions. I wish you all a pleasant Sunday.