Good afternoon, everyone! Go Hungary! Go Miskolc!
As Philip said, naturally there are, will be, and may be questions. But before that, if you’ll allow me, I’d like to say a few introductory words – not about the war, but instead about Miskolc. Because there’s a love story here, a love story that State Secretary Róbert Répássy has already presented – albeit a little dryly. You can recognise a love story by the fact that it’s long. He said it was thirty-six years. He said that? Yes! I held my first public forum in Miskolc thirty-seven years ago. Since then, I’ve been working with you – sometimes with more success, sometimes with less. Those were the old days. I see many young people here who not only didn’t live through that, but, I fear, can’t even imagine thirty-seven years. I tell them that it was the period when communists still ruled Hungary, and the reason I came to Miskolc was in order for that to stop: communists out, Soviets out, Soviet troops home – thank you, and have a nice day! And then let a free and independent Hungary finally come. That’s why I came here, to Miskolc, to campaign for that. We’ve achieved a lot together.
I also remember that there was a time when the city of Miskolc provided one of Fidesz’s vice presidents: Ildikó Pelczné Gáll. She may even be here with us now, I don’t know – Ildikó, if you’re here, welcome! She did a very good job in Brussels standing up for Hungary. That first meeting took place in the puppet theatre. Then, in 1990, I visited you at the Rónai. Is there anyone here who was there at the Rónai? So many! Never mind. I’ll quote a witty saying from the history of the Romanian Communist Party: the Romanian communists who remained after they were decreed to be illegal say, “There were few of us back then, but a lot of us have survived.” So I was at the Rónai, and it was one of the shameful moments in my political career – because I was an hour late.
You’d gone to Barcika…
Someone else remembers it! Because there was no driver, no TEK [Counter Terrorism Centre] or anything like that, but I tried to get here in my mother-in-law’s 1300 Zhiguli – which answered to the name of “Index”. There wasn’t an M3 motorway, and I ended up in Kazincbarcika. That was the situation, but somehow Robi Répássy and his friends held the fort, and everyone waited. It was a fantastic gathering, and I remember it to this day.
And then, in this love story between Fidesz and Miskolc, an important role was played by fantastic mayors, whom young people won’t remember because they’re no longer alive. One such was Tamás Csoba, if you remember him. God rest his soul. Tamás Kobold, and Ákos Kriza. Ákos Kriza was the most self-sacrificing city leader I’ve ever known – even when he was ill and on his deathbed, his first concern was always the affairs of the city. His story is a moving one, and we mourned him. God rest his soul. And now we have a new mayor, József Tóth-Szántai. I wish him every success and good health! State Secretary Répássy mentioned the name of Tamás Wachsler, who is associated with a heroic deed that the people of Miskolc may not even know about – even though the whole city can be proud of it. Perhaps you remember – even the younger among you may remember – what Kossuth Square in Budapest looked like, only around ten years ago. Shamefully, it was “the nation’s parking lot”. As an architect and engineer, Tamás Wachsler undertook to draw up the plans for the nation’s main square. The Kossuth Square that you see in Budapest today wouldn’t have been created without Tamás Wachsler. Thank you, Miskolc!
Then, when I come to Miskolc, I always remember Father Ernő Kartal. God rest his soul. He was a good friend of mine. He died in a special way. Hungarians are a modest people, and dying is difficult anyway, so Hungarians don’t talk about it much. But, while dying, he broke the ice by continuously talking to us about how to die. To this day, remembering him is still moving for me. I’m grateful to him, and I learned a lot from him. After his death we published a collection of his writings, for which I wrote the foreword. God rest his soul, and thank you, Father Ernő Kartal.
Then I remember our Protestant brothers and sisters, who are also part of this love story. Perhaps our Protestant brothers and sisters remember that their wooden church here was set on fire. That happened too, but it was so long ago – before the Fidesz government – that we don’t remember it. But they set fire to the wooden church – it didn’t just catch alight, they set it on fire. Something happened to me here too, which I’ll now recount – but which perhaps I’m not proud of. Once in my life I rebuked a highly respected Protestant pastor, whom I wouldn’t dare to mention by name today because he’s since become a bishop. It’s better to keep the peace – who knows how these things work. But the point is that when we rebuilt the church, the previous government – in whose term the act of arson took place – was represented by Minister of the Interior Gábor Kuncze. And then, of course, the pastor asked him in a gentle tone of voice, as was appropriate, “Are you here to represent the arsonists?” And then it slipped out of my mouth, “Dear Zoltán, that’s a bit too much!”
And, of course, there are memories from my teenage years: P. Mobil and “Acélváros” [“Steel Town”], Edda, Attila and DVTK football clubs. For the younger generation: Salamon, Veréb. They’re all great heroes here. Because of course it was communism, but even under communism being a teenager was a good thing – that’s the way it was. Especially looking back from here, at the age of 60.
Well, Ladies and Gentlemen, this is the love story between Fidesz and your city. I could always count on you, you never betrayed me, you never let me down, you never hurt me. And, as far as I remember, we’ve always stood by you: you’ve always been able to count on us, you’ve been able to count on me personally, and you can count on us in the future. This love story isn’t over yet.
Philip Rákay: It would have been a shame to have missed that! Let’s see if there are any questions for the Prime Minister. Hands have shot up very quickly. The gentleman in the suit, somewhere in the middle. Thank you very much!
Zoltán Váraljai: A warm welcome to everyone! My name is Zoltán Váraljai, and as a young father from Miskolc, I’d like to ask the Prime Minister a question. I believe that Miskolc has developed significantly in recent decades; I’m not only referring to specific developments and investments, but also to the issue of law and order, which I believe is of paramount importance to the population of Miskolc. But despite this we can see that the population of Miskolc is steadily declining, there are fewer and fewer of us, and many young people from Miskolc are leaving the city. What’s your message to these young people, Prime Minister? Why should young people stay in Miskolc, why should they come back, and what can they expect? How can the Hungarian government help them? Thank you very much.
Thank you very much. That’s several questions. It seems like one, but it’s many questions. First, I can certainly share a few thoughts with you about young people. Because of the state school system, part of the responsibility for education rests with the Government – but only secondarily. First and foremost, every young person, every child, is the responsibility of their father and mother. They will become the people their parents raise them to be. And this is true in a political sense too, because young people – especially boys – like to rebel against their parents; girls are easier to get along with. I have four daughters and one son, so I’m very lucky, but I know that they like to rebel, and this can cause political problems. There are elections coming up. There’s a lot of talk about young people not supporting the Government – or rather being largely opposed to it. All I can say is that this is also our shared parental responsibility: talking about politics is part of their education. I ask everyone to talk to their own children so that they understand how important their decision will be.
And before I talk more broadly about the future, since Miklós Benczés is here, with whom I’ve worked for many years, I still maintain that sport must remain a strategic sector. I’ve seen the short film, which included sports coverage and talked a lot about amateurs, thousands of children, and professionals. In terms of raising children, the best I can offer today – and the best the Government can help parents with – is raising children through sport. It’s not about the professionals, it’s about our children. It’s about showing them how to fight, that there are heroes, that you have to go into a locker room where you have to behave, where you have to greet one another, where there are rewards and punishments, where you have to do what the coach says. There’s teamwork, there’s solidarity, humility, respect for hierarchy, a shared goal. In today’s world, in this internet-driven world, the only real way to obtain these is through sport. Those who support sport support the education of young people.
I’d like to say something more specific to the questioner. I’ve collected some good data on Miskolc because, after all, we’re pursuing fact-based – or, as they say nowadays, data-based – governance. Adventurism isn’t our world. Fidesz is the safe choice, precisely because it stands its ground. This suits us very well, and others like it so much that they want to be like us. Maybe you have to eat a lot of Hungarian bean pottage before you can say that you’re the safe choice, but it’s definitely nice that even our biggest challenger is campaigning with our election message, mentioning it most often. If this continues, then on election day, in the solitude of the voting booth, even he may end up voting for us. That’s what a good message is like!
Well, when I look back on 1989 and 1990, it’s no exaggeration to say that Miskolc was the loser after the fall of communism: a socialist industrial city that not only lost jobs, not only lost livelihoods, not only lost money, but also felt that it was sliding downhill. So its prestige, its esteem, its importance, its recognition were sinking ever further. Dozens of socialist industrial cities found themselves in this situation at the time: Komló, Tatabánya, Kazincbarcika, Dunaújváros. Ózd, you’re saying here. Well, this was the fate of Miskolc at that time. So it’s worth looking at where we are today and what Miskolc has to offer young people. Miskolc was a socialist industrial city, and today it’s a modern industrial centre – a proud, modern industrial centre, operating the world’s most advanced technologies. The work of people in these factories is not one iota inferior to that of the most industrialised, best-trained workers in the world, because this is a modern industrial city.
We’ve halved unemployment, created 43,000 new jobs since 2010, and in ten years wages have tripled. In 2010 poverty was 30 per cent, while today it’s 18 per cent; that’s less than 30 – although it’s still high. In 2010 we took over debt from your city: 36 billion forints. In 2010–11 we removed in one fell swoop all the debt that the previous city administration had accumulated, that burden on the city of Miskolc. So I think the pace is good, the direction is good, but there’s still a huge amount of work to be done.
Why should young people stay here? I’m from Felcsút, so the people of Miskolc are best placed to say why someone should stay here. But as someone who’s come from far away, I can see a few things that in my eyes make Miskolc attractive. First of all, it’s developing, and has serious development ahead of it. I’ve compiled a list of the large-scale industrial investments that have arrived here, and those that are in the pipeline. If they want to stay, young people can buy their own homes in Miskolc, for which we’ve launched a 3 per cent loan scheme. Nowhere else in Europe can young people buy their own homes as easily as they can in Hungary. If you’re young and want to start a family, what do you need? Safety! This is better than it used to be. The Mayor told me to bring Donald Trump here. I asked him, “What can he learn here?” He said that in America they have a system of sheriffs, and they have one in Miskolc too – but he thinks his is better. There are good schools and good vocational training in Miskolc. The future, dear people of Miskolc, belongs to skilled workers! Note that skilled workers are earning more and more, they’re in high demand, they’ll be the most needed, and Miskolc provides Hungary with good skilled workers. And there will be secure jobs. And if a young person wants to study, there’s a university here – practically a city itself. So when a young person from Miskolc decides whether to stay or leave, there are many reasons to stay. Since the words “youth” and “adventuring” are next to each other in the dictionary, either way, you have to go on adventures. So those young people in Miskolc who feel that their wings have grown and now want to fly should be allowed to do so – as long as they have somewhere to come back to. Let there be the parental home, their parents, their own life opportunities, and let them come.
I can tell you that the prerequisite for all this is that Miskolc is able to provide all this for its young people – and, above all, that they’re not taken away to serve as soldiers in Ukraine. Because others want to send them to Ukraine as soldiers! The Tisza and DK [Democratic Coalition] parties belong to the biggest European warmongering parties in Brussels, and there they’re all talking about war. And today the leaders of the major European states have signed an agreement to send soldiers to Ukraine and station them there. They say this is for peacekeeping. I fear that they won’t be peacekeepers, but warkeepers.
And of course, in addition to everything we’ve said, young people in Miskolc need a chance, so that our money – the money of the people of Miskolc – isn’t taken to Ukraine. That money is needed here. Today the money being sent there is missing from the entire European economy, so anyone who thinks it’s a smart idea to send it will suffer the consequences. We’re not sending anything: the fruits of Hungarians’ labour must be used in Hungary. We’re not sending soldiers or money, and therefore Miskolc can develop.
If you need to talk to a young person from Miskolc, this is essentially what I can tell you. And out of the many, only a few will succeed. But why shouldn’t they be able to rise to become some of the country’s most popular musicians? Why couldn’t they one day become players in a championship team? It’s about time. Why couldn’t they become wrestlers who win Olympic titles for the city of Miskolc? You have that too! So this city can offer great opportunities – not only to the average, but also to those who are above average.
Philip Rákay: Let’s go onto the next question – from this side, let’s say. Okay, let me see your hands!
I’m listening.
Philip Rákay: Yes! There’s a gentleman there, yes, and a lady is waving too. So let’s hear from the gentleman first, yes.
András Eszlári: Honourable Prime Minister.
Philip Rákay: And we’ll ask for a microphone over there too.
András Eszlári: My name is András Eszlári, and I’m a local patriot from Miskolc. I’d like to say a few words about myself: I work as a lawyer in Miskolc. In my spare time I’m involved in forestry and am a forest manager in Szabolcs County, thanks to my family ancestry. The new section of the M30 motorway has been open for just under three weeks. This motorway is located on the Košice/Kassa–Miskolc axis. A Volvo factory is currently being built in Košice/Kassa, and a BMW factory has opened in Debrecen. A Chinese car manufacturer, BYD, is coming to Szeged, and Audi has been based in Győr for many years. With regard to Miskolc, Prime Minister, I’d like to ask when we, the people of Miskolc, can expect a similar large-scale automotive or any other similar high-tech investment coming here. In my opinion, there’s an ideal location in the city. The former steelworks in Diósgyőr – which is actually located right here, at hand – is a perfectly suitable area. In fact we, the people of Miskolc, would like Miskolc to no longer be remembered as a steel city, but as a place where large-scale investments of a new magnitude are made. Thank you for your kind reply.
Thank you very much for your question. When visiting any city, this is the kind of question that people always ask – only the city names change. So I’ve looked into how you’re doing. I’ve compiled a list of the five largest investments. Halms: they’re Chinese, it’s an 80-billion investment, with a thousand people working there. Bosch has recently opened two new production plants here: a 69-billion investment, employing 5,400 people. There’s a Korean factory, LG Magna, worth 20 billion, and there’s a Chinese one called Chervon, worth 18 billion. And there’s a university and a high-tech district developing around it – we hope. So there’s a decision to be made here, but it won’t be the Government’s decision, it will be yours: Do you want to continue in this direction, creating medium-sized international factories employing between 1,000 and 5,000 people, do you want this kind of modern industry, or do you want one large, major investment? This is a decision that the people of Miskolc have to make. Each option has its advantages, disadvantages and risks. Once you’ve decided, I’m at your disposal. We need to be cautious about motor vehicles and vehicle manufacturing, because that sector is currently undergoing transition to a new era. As I recall, 100,000 car factory workers were laid off in Western Europe last year. We may also have problems in Győr, where we’re currently planning a fantastic large Rába development to compensate for or offset any decline that may occur at Audi. And if you’re thinking about a large factory, you should do as they did in Szeged, and only think about electric cars – because the transition will be slower than anyone thought, but it will happen. I’m not a technical expert, but when I open the hood of a car and look inside, I can tell the difference between the two types of cars – and we can be sure that the future belongs to electric cars. If you’ve made such a decision, which carries with it the danger of a monoculture, then we’re at your disposal, and we’ll gladly bring the next major investment here to Miskolc. But most importantly, you’ll be the ones to make the first decision. You made a side comment, which I’d also like to highlight for consideration. It’s your city, so I don’t want to interfere in your affairs, but when I come to Miskolc I’ve always had the feeling that it’s difficult to find the main square – even though you have the longest pedestrian street in Hungary; I don’t know if you’re aware of that, but it’s in Miskolc. Yet it’s not so easy to find the centre of the city, its heart – the university falls outside it, and so on. But there’s a brownfield site within the city: the steelworks that you’re talking about. My proposal to the Mayor was that if they wanted to buy it back for the city then we’d put up the money. Then, whether you want to build a factory there again or instead a new city centre, which could even be the city’s core, that would no longer be my business, but yours. The gates are open for that, the golden gates are open, and you just have to walk through them: we’re waiting for the Mayor to knock on our door and tell us what he wants. And if he wants to take back this area, he’ll receive the necessary support to do so. Nowadays, large industrial plants are ugly boxes. If you go to Debrecen, the figures sound good, of course; but if you go to the industrial park, you’ll see big boxes. It’s perhaps not a good idea to put such big boxes in the city centre, within the city; it would be better to create industrial parks on the outskirts. But I repeat: this isn’t the responsibility of the people of Felcsút, but of the people of Miskolc.
Philip Rákay: We won’t forget the lady high up there at the back, and I’ll ask my colleagues to arrange a microphone for her as well. But there was some grumbling here, so yes, please – the gentleman with the grey hair. In order to be fair, we’ll choose from all areas.
Zsolt Lipták: Thank you very much.
Good afternoon.
Zsolt Lipták: I’m delighted to welcome the Prime Minister to my favourite city, which is also my home city. And let me return to the theme of love for a moment. My name is Zsolt Lipták, I live in District I, I work in District VI, and I’m a teacher – I work as a teacher. In this context I represent the more satisfied teachers. And one of my wishes would be to extend the successful love affair between those working in the school system and my colleagues who provide assistance to teachers in the school system. In relation to today’s current events, my other wish is that when we turn on the television or radio, listen to the news for a few minutes, we recognise the people who are hostile to us, or our opponents. Even before the war, there were the Brusselites, there were the LGBTQs, there was the “open society” and its various organisations. With the war we got Ukraine, with an actor as Prime Minister. I’d like to quietly note that there’s already been an actor as a leading politician, at the helm of the world: Ronald Reagan. But the acting skills of the two can’t be compared. So, to conclude my one-minute series of questions, my question is whether we know our opponents. And my request is that the Prime Minister now shows us this, and that those who are our friends prove that they can behave as friends and be our allies. Thank you very much.
I’ve identified three questions: schools and teachers; whether we have friends; and where we stand with actors in politics. Those three. Since you mentioned actors and Ronald Reagan, when he became President, he held his first cabinet meeting. It famously went like this: “There are two things I hate”, said the President, “communists and taxes. We’ll deal with those first. Thank you and good afternoon!” Zelenskyy isn’t known for this. He also beats something, just in a different way and with something else. Ronald Reagan would beat people, as he was a Western hero. What a difference! Only he used his fists… Well, let’s leave it at that!
As far as schools are concerned, we’re facing great battles. We have very serious intellectual and professional challenges ahead of us, as well as political problems. The intellectual and professional challenges can be summed up as follows: What should we teach children, in such a rapidly changing technological era as the one we’re currently living in? To what extent is new technology a blessing, and to what extent is it a curse? In France I believe they’re currently banning children under the age of 14 from using the internet independently, and restrictions are being introduced in Australia as well. At the same time, if you don’t know how to use modern gadgets, you can’t participate in modern production systems. So these are very difficult questions. Yet I don’t think it’s up to government politicians to find the answers, but instead educators. This is why we set up a professional body: the teachers’ chamber. It hasn’t been successful. We tried, but I have to say that we didn’t receive enough input, ideas and suggestions from them to help us answer these difficult questions. But I haven’t given up. I think what school staff need – my mother was a teacher, which is why I dare to talk about this at length – is continuous communication between teachers and education administrators. The education authorities know what they want, and teachers see what’s possible and what tools can be used to achieve it. And so it’s possible to reconcile the freedom of educators and teachers with the objectives of national education. But this requires cooperation between teachers and the country’s political leaders, which has been strained in recent times, with protests and so on.
I don’t think it’s been just a question of money. Teachers have undoubtedly been very poorly paid. As an example of data-based governance, I estimate that at the end of the year our teachers’ salaries – I’m talking about the average, not the top, but the average – will exceed 900,000 forints. Young people are coming in, applying to be teachers; but even with the pay rises, cooperation between teachers and the education authorities still hasn’t been established – or is insufficient. So you’re right when you started your series of questions by saying that we need to improve how we operate in this area. Well, that will be a task for the next term.
And then, do we have any friends? After all, in Brussels I imagine you constantly hear about who we’re clashing with and how. I’ll now try to present you with a long list. Who are our friends? Well, America! The United States – that’s not so bad: if we ever have to fight in the streets, it’s good to have such a big brother. Our friends are the Chinese. This is a very interesting story. We don’t have time for it now, but even in communist times, after World War II, when there were regular conflicts between the Russians and the Chinese, the Hungarian communists always sided with the Chinese. Even when there were border disputes between the two countries – I’m not talking about between us and China, which isn’t currently the case, but between China and Russia – the Hungarians were always restrained and tended to side with the Chinese. There’s a long-standing cooperation dating back to the period after World War II, which I’m trying to cultivate so that it doesn’t become just a hedge, but a large tree. We’re making good progress, and although it might not be obvious to everyone, in the last two years – 2024 and 2025 – 34 per cent and 40 per cent respectively of all Chinese investments in Europe came to Hungary. Do you see what I’m talking about? Of all the twenty-seven European Member States, Germany, France, 40 per cent of all Chinese investments came here! So the Chinese are our friends. Our friends are the Turkic world – which means not only Türkiye, but also Central Asia. This isn’t an easy thing to do: Nándorfehérvár/Belgrade, the conquest of Buda Castle, 150 years – there are issues there. But even so, in today’s world we can safely say that we can count on the Turkic world, Central Asia and Türkiye as friends. I don’t want to use the word “friend” now, because it would seem provocative, but we have a fair and balanced relationship with the Russians. And that must be appreciated: it will be of great value in the future. Now let’s see, do we have friends within the European Union? Well, that’s a trickier question, but after all we do. We’ve experienced setbacks there. As we’re among ourselves, we can talk about it. I think the low level of German–Hungarian relations is a setback. German–Hungarian relations have always enjoyed a special status – I look around, and you can see it from the investors. I won’t say that Germans are the most popular nation in the world: they drink a lot of beer, they’re loud, they have a long history. So there are all kinds of problems, but we get along quite well with them in Hungary. The Germans living in Hungary are good patriots, good Hungarian patriots: they’ve always been on the side of the nation, they’re still there, and I’ve seen a confidential survey that shows that if they lived in Germany most of them would vote for the AfD – just saying. So it’s a setback that German–Hungarian relations aren’t at the level they could be at. But there’s compensation from Italy. We have a particularly friendly and deep cooperation with Italy. The Italians think exactly the same as we do about the most important issues of civilisation; but since they’re a theatrical people, they don’t say it as often as we do. There, on the stage, they allow themselves more freedom; and as a larger country with greater influence, they don’t achieve results in opposition to Brussels, but instead through serious influence, skilfully manoeuvring around the stage. But don’t forget: four or five years ago Western European liberals simply labelled the current Italian prime minister a fascist – not a right-wing extremist, a fascist! And we, Fidesz, were the only party to cooperate with her, when her party was at 4 per cent in the polls – at 4 percent! She began cooperating with us because we all felt that this was the future. And so it turned out: this is the future in Italy, too. So when it comes to the Italians, one can count on them, taking into account their flair for the dramatic. Within the EU, we have the Czechs, who now have a new government. And although a conflict is currently making life difficult, we also have the Slovaks; but this Beneš thing needs to be sorted out, because it’s obvious that no Hungarian government – including our current government – can accept the notion of collective guilt. That’s unthinkable! And an integral part of our policy is cooperation with and protection of the Hungarian communities living in Central Europe, whether in the detached parts of the nation, in the territory of historical Hungary, in Felvidék, or in the Carpathian Basin – or whatever names people want to call them by. This is our task, no one can object to it, no one can reproach us for it, and Slovak–Hungarian friendship must be able to withstand it. Incidentally, in order to ensure that Hungarians living there don’t suffer financial disadvantages, we’ve now set up a consortium with one or two law firms whose task is to ensure that those against whom the Beneš Decrees are to be used – which basically causes problems in the settlement of land issues – will be able to have their interests represented and defended by Hungarian law firms at the expense of the Hungarian state.
I’ll also need to discuss with your mayor what the Miskolc–Košice/Kassa axis should look like. Looking at it from a distance, I think that Miskolc also has a role to play in this national integration, so it would be worthwhile to establish some kind of cooperation – a deeper cooperation – between Košice/Kassa and Miskolc that’s appropriate to the actual circumstances. But again, that’s up to you. You could perhaps consider something similar to what we’re currently doing with Belgrade: a high-speed railway. Or what Minister Lázár did between Hódmezővásárhely and Szeged: a tram-train. I don’t know if you want this, but if you do, it’s possible, and fits in with our national policy strategy.
And there’s another special friendship that I’d like to mention now: the Serbian one. Well, that’s also a turbulent historical relationship, the Serbian–Hungarian relationship. I don’t want to talk about this at length now, but believe me, there can be no Hungarian ascent, no successful, secure Hungarian national strategy, without strategic cooperation with the Serbs. The Balkans are a constant threat in terms of instability. It’s a difficult region, and even though you live in the north, you know it from your history books – if not from elsewhere. No one else can stabilise that region except the Serbs, a strong Serbia. Then we’ll have a strong Serbia on our southern border, with which it’s vital that we’re not hostile, but with which we cooperate, linking our economic systems and strengthening each other. I’ve put a lot of work into this – over more than fifteen years. And we’ve reached a very high level, historically the highest-ever level of Serbian–Hungarian cooperation. This is very valuable and will bring many benefits in the future. All in all, I say “Go for it, Ronald Reagan! Yes!”
Philip Rákay: Thank you very much! I’d like to quietly point out that in forty minutes we’ve had time for three questions. So I’d encourage the questioners to be a little briefer. Just now, a group at the back was waving at me; and I’d also like to point out that, yes, there’s a lady in green – finally a lady. I’d also like to point out that influencers and government officials present at the event aren’t allowed to ask questions, because I can see that there’s a demand for that. The lady has now received the microphone.
I’m willing to give shorter answers. I can be brief if our hosts, whom I thank for allowing me to be here, don’t consider it rude for me to give short answers.
Philip Rákay: I think they have time, as far as I can see. They have time. Let’s listen to the lady – yes, finally a lady.
Nikolett Kazárné Kalber: Thank you very much for the opportunity to ask a question. I promise I’ll only ask one question. My name is Nikolett Kazárné Kalber, and I come from Emőd, a small town nearby. In recent years we’ve all seen and experienced the positive side of Fidesz, which has always had big goals and plans, which it’s also implemented: one million new jobs, zero migration, family-friendly governance, support for young people and the elderly. And as a mother of two daughters, I’d like to ask the Prime Minister whether, in the current situation, in the shadow of war, Fidesz still has – or can still have – big plans. Thank you very much for your answer.
Since Father Kartal has been mentioned, we know from our Catholic brothers and sisters that you can’t build a house on sand, so every grand plan must have a rock-solid foundation. For any ambitious future goal there are four prerequisites.
The first: we must stay out of the war. Perhaps there will be time to talk about this later, but believe me, this is a daily danger. So the idea that Hungary could be forced into the war isn’t a theoretical possibility, it isn’t something that’s far off: it’s something that knocks on the door every day, and every day I have to keep that door shut with my hands and feet. Being dragged into the war is a daily danger for Hungary. So the first prerequisite for any grand plan for the future is to stay out of the war.
The second is that we mustn’t give our money to the Ukrainians. This may sound harsh, but if you don’t have money, there won’t be any big plans.
The third prerequisite for any grand plan is full employment. The big difference between Hungary before 2010 and Hungary after 2010 is that since 2010 it’s only been possible to make a living from work. Before 2010 it was possible to think that it was possible to live without work. That’s no longer the case. The Hungarian economy is strong today because everyone who’s able to work and wants to make a living must work. This also brought back, in a spiritual sense, what Klebelsberg taught us between the two world wars: that the most important asset is a productive life. If you can, do something! God has given everyone some kind of talent. Do something, be active! If you wait for someone else to do it for you, or for it to fall into our laps, we’re finished. And before 2010 Hungary went bankrupt because it allowed people to be convinced – or perhaps it convinced them – that without work, but with cleverness and trickery, it was possible to get by on welfare benefits. It is not possible! Work is necessary; a work-based society is the third prerequisite for all future grand plans.
And the fourth is a family-based society. This sounds a bit abstract and sociological, but if you look at how Western Europeans think about their communities, what’s at the centre of it, you’ll see that they believe that the basis of everything is the individual person: everything’s built on that. This has its advantages and its terrible consequences – just think of gender and other issues. In fact I think that the Hungarians I know – or those I consider to be part of – believe that the basic unit of society isn’t the individual, but the family. Because we didn’t fall out of a tree: we have a mother, we have a father – that’s already a family – and we have children. Therefore, when we think about the future, we must consider not only the future of ten million or more Hungarians, but also the future of many millions of Hungarian families. And this has consequences for education, the tax system, job creation, and so on. This is the fourth condition.
Preserving a family-based society and a work-based economy, not giving money to the Ukrainians, and not going to war. Once we have that, then we can talk about big plans. I have a nice list of these. If you have the patience, I’ll tell you about them. They’re not all equal, but they can all be considered to be big, and the biggest one is at the end – which I’ll leave for last, if Philip will allow me.
So, in the next term we’d like to see the average wage rise to one million forints. We’re currently at 700,000. The minimum wage is between 310,000 and 320,000, and in the next term we want to raise it to 400,000 forints.
We want to implement the fourteenth month’s pension: we’re giving the first week of it now, and we have to see it through to make sure it happens in full. To my mind, pensioners are among the active population because they’ve worked – it’s just that now they’re older. But they’re the part of our world that symbolises a productive life. They’re not dependents, they’re not a burden, they’re not beggars, and they’ve worked their whole lives for the country. What they receive is the result of their work. They’ve paid contributions and worked, so I want to see through the fourteenth month’s pension.
Then we want to build a new agricultural economy. There’s a complicated issue here, which I’ll explain simply. The European Union doesn’t allow us to give unlimited money to Hungarian farmers, to the farmers of one’s own nation: it sets an upper limit, which is 80 per cent. For a number of reasons, in the past Hungary hasn’t been able to give even this much, as we’ve prioritised other developments. But two years ago we launched our new agricultural policy to give farmers and the food industry the maximum that can be given within EU rules, which is 80 per cent. Within two to three years this will produce fantastic results, and we’ll all see a new agricultural economy – because I believe that we must make a living from what we know how to do. And this is something we certainly know how to do.
My next big plan is for Hungary to become completely energy independent. You see, we’re a country that lost World War I, then World War II, and everything was taken away from us. Everything was taken from us that could now serve as energy for Hungary: oil, natural gas, mountains for hydroelectric power. Nothing left. Today this country consists of what we inherited from our ancestors and what we’ve been able to add to it with our muscle and brain power. This is a country which was built on work and which functions through work. How can a country like this, which has no energy resources of its own, achieve energy independence? We have two answers to this: nuclear power and solar power. We’re extending the operating life of Paks I Nuclear Power Plant, and building Paks II. We’re progressing more slowly than we should, but we’re progressing nonetheless, and together these two will provide more than 60–65 per cent of the country’s electricity needs. We’ll supplement the rest with solar energy. But this is the most complicated thing, because people think that you can just collect solar energy when the sun’s shining, and then you have a lot of it. But where do you put it? And when the sun isn’t shining, you don’t have any. So the key question is whether in the coming years Hungary will be able to make huge investments in large solar energy storage facilities in industrial parks and for the population. We’ve just announced a programme: anyone who has solar panels can receive 2.5 million forints, 50 per cent of the investment, to purchase and install energy storage devices and batteries for their family home, housing estate or condominium. So if we do all this in the coming period, we’ll be able to achieve energy independence for Hungary. As for oil and natural gas, we buy them – but we don’t talk about this much. Because if you don’t have them, you have to buy them. We have a gas field in Azerbaijan. There are countries where we have oil fields. It’s true that they aren’t in Hungary, but they’re owned by Hungarian companies – some by MVM and some by MOL. So in the meantime we’re also ensuring that Hungary is a secure country in this sense as well.
Artificial intelligence is the next grand plan. We both trust it and fear it. That’s how I feel about it too: I see the potential, but I can’t foresee all the consequences. What jobs will disappear? Where will this lead in terms of unemployment? Where will we be able to provide job opportunities for those people? If we allow it into education, we must do so in a way that makes children smarter, not dumber – because fundamentally we don’t need artificial intelligence, we need natural intelligence. That’s more important than artificial intelligence. So we don’t see this clearly yet, but we’ve entrusted Minister Palkovics with the task of working out plans in a special working group that will enable us to incorporate the future new developments in artificial intelligence into Hungarian life for our benefit.
And of course we also have a lot of grand plans for transportation and other areas. I won’t talk about them now, but I’ll say a few words about my grand plan. You may have heard this from me before, so I apologise to those who have already heard it, but allow me to repeat it. I didn’t enter politics to become Prime Minister – it just turned out that way. I’m not saying that I’m innocent in this – it would be pointless to say that, as hardly anyone would believe me. I entered politics because I wanted to do great things – or, rather, I wanted to be involved in great things. Whether that was first, second or third on the list is another question. That’s how we got here. We formed opposition student groups in the mid-1980s because we wanted to achieve great things: an end to Comecon, out of the Warsaw Pact, out with the Soviets, down with the communists, back to the old Hungarian spirit, up with national sentiment up, and room for our priests to evangelise – because we needed it. Those were the great plans. And our plan was to correct the historical mistake that we made in World War I, when we lost, and our fate and our path weren’t determined by us, but by our enemies. They drew the borders and adjusted international politics so that we, who are called Hungarians, would always be small and always be poor. And I’m in politics to change that – and for Hungarians to be great, to be rich, and to be strong again. That, in reality, is the grand plan.
Philip Rákay: That would be a great closing remark, but I think there’s room for a couple more questions. This genre is so masculine that we’re searching for women. I promised a lady in the audience the chance to ask a question. And yes, the one in the “Master Plan” top. And there was also a lady up there, if I’m not mistaken, who’s just raised her hand. Yes, further in, in black. Okay, and the lady in the “Master Plan” top, if you move closer to the lady who’s asking the question, then maybe the microphone will get there a little faster. Thank you for your assistance.
Evelin Kecskés: I warmly welcome everyone. I respectfully greet the Prime Minister and thank him for the opportunity to ask a question. My name is Evelin Kecskés, I’m a teacher in Taktakenéz and Prügy, I’m of Roma origin, and I’m a satisfied educator. I graduated from the University of Miskolc and, as I mentioned, I currently teach in Prügy and Taktakenéz. There the number of disadvantaged Roma children is exceptionally high, at nearly 98 per cent, and I feel that their future is a matter close to my heart. I think that here in Miskolc, in Borsod, the question of the Roma issue cannot be avoided. We, the Roma, trust in you, Prime Minister. Therefore, I’d like to ask what plans there are in relation to the Roma in the future. Thank you very much for your kind response.
Philip Rákay: Thank you! We’ll now pass the microphone to the other lady, and then we’ll have two questions at once, Prime Minister, if that’s okay.
It’s not easy to give a lower middle-class family the opportunity to move up to the middle class, or even higher. But the hardest thing is always helping those at the bottom to join the middle class; because there are not only differences in living standards, but also differences in culture, different attitudes towards order, different families, many things. It’s very difficult. And that’s why, as you say, one of the most important issues for Hungary’s future is cooperation with the Hungarian Roma – but please don’t take offence if I use the word “Gypsy” from time – community. And what can I say about this? I signed an agreement with you in 2010, and as far as I know, it’s still in force. At least I’m doing my job, and I’m getting good feedback from your world. It’s an agreement that consists of two points. The first is that you’ll get a job, but then you have to go to work. The second point is that we’ll help you raise your children, but you’ll have to send your children to school. Because we can’t help children if, when they leave for school, they see that there are people in the household who haven’t even got up yet. So this isn’t a simple matter we’re talking about, but rather a process of civic integration, a process of middle-class integration. When it comes to education, I see that – thanks in part to you and others like you – we have ever more teachers of Roma origin, which is a great help. I believe that we can get most Gypsy/Roma children in schools to obtain vocational qualifications; and believe me, skilled workers are the future. You’ll see! Today everyone looks at degrees; degrees are very important, intellectual achievement is very important, sophistication is very important, but watch how the world that’s approaching will value skilled workers the most. I think that this will also provide opportunities for Gypsy/Roma children. We’ve also opened up channels to higher education, where we’ve doubled the numbers. Although doubling anything that’s good is a great achievement, the starting point was so low that I’m not proud of this, and here we’re still talking about only a thousand or two thousand – that’s how many young people of Gypsy/Roma origin are currently attending higher education institutions. Obviously we’ll have to help with this. But I can say that a very large part of the Gypsy/Roma community has been able to integrate into the new Hungarian economic system, the work-based economy that was built after 2010. I see houses – not fake ones, real houses; I see cars, and at resorts I meet Gypsy/Roma families who are on vacation. What I want to say is that this community has begun to integrate into Hungarian life. And no one else in the past thirty-five years has considered this important. Others have just talked, but we’ve done a lot to achieve this.
There’s another data set that may surprise you, but in this circle perhaps it’s appropriate to talk about such things. How much more do people have now, compared to 2010? Look at the data. We can see that financial savings have increased. You could say, “Well, okay, that’s the rich.” Then I see that there are more than a million more vehicles on the road in Hungary today than there were back then. You could also say that the poor have been left out of this. I’ll give you a strange figure: How much meat do Hungarians eat? How much can they afford? In 2010 the average Hungarian ate 53 kilogrammes of meat, and by 2020, this had increased to 69 kilogrammes. From 53 to 69 kilogrammes! You could say that a few kilogrammes of that is on me – but it would be an exaggeration to say that all of it’s ended up here! And I look at this separately: I also look at it broken down in relation to the poor. In the case of the poor, it looks like this: in 2010, the poor could afford 39 kilogrammes of meat a year, but in 2020, 64 kilogrammes. Something has happened here! This shows something, it shouldn’t be underestimated, it’s important! But before we imagine that everything’s fine, let’s talk about why that’s not the case. There are still problems, issues and difficulties that need to be worked on.
The first is order. We must uphold our agreement with the Gypsy/Roma community that there’s no future without order. And if they want a future for themselves, they too must maintain order, and there’s no room for compromise there. There are 80,000 apartments, houses and buildings in Hungary that don’t have running water – 80,000! So there’s no running water there. If I multiply that by four, it could mean 320,000 people – and the multiplier could perhaps be even higher. I grew up without running water – why would there have been? I went out to the well, pulled the rope… But these aren’t houses like that, they’re not village houses that were built a long time ago and had no water in the days when I was a child – and of course no toilet, but I won’t bore you with our winter adventures related to that. Those who know about that know that life isn’t always easy. But what we’re talking about now are more like shacks, if you’ll pardon the expression. I don’t mean to offend you, but these are more like hovels in shanty towns – which not only have no water, but are only suitable for human habitation in the narrowest sense of the phrase. We shall deal with this, but through a strange logic I’ve set things up a different order – which can be argued with, of course. Because my thinking is that if we give any kind of help to those at the bottom in terms of home creation, while the middle class can’t get housing, then we’ll turn the middle class and the Gypsy/Roma community against each other. So first we need to open up the possibility for the middle class to own their own homes. This is the fixed 3 per cent loan. We announced this first, because now anyone who really wants their own home can get it at a fixed rate of 3 per cent with the help of the Hungarian government. And now that we’ve opened up this opportunity to everyone, we can start talking about what to do with the shanties. This is how I proceed, following this logic. So, over the next four years, we need to focus on the issue of housing for members of the Gypsy/Roma community, while maintaining the agreement that there will be work, but you have to work, and there will be help with raising children, but the children have to go to school. If all this goes well, we’ll make great strides in the next four years – and I recommend that we make these great strides together!
Philip Rákay: Let’s hear the young lady’s question.
Lady in the “Master Plan” top: Thank you very much for calling me “young”. Now I’ll stand a little taller. First of all, I’d like to warmly welcome the Prime Minister and the entire assembly here in Miskolc. When it became clear last year that we wouldn’t fit into the calendar year, I was very sad; but now I’m all the happier, because we’re the first. Thank you very much! Returning to the “Master Plan” T-shirt, I bought one for my 12-year-old son, because if it’s a plan, it should at least be at the “master” level – we won’t settle for anything less. And he told me how great it would be to decode this plan. I told him, “This is the plan for world peace, son! So that’s how we feel about it – thank you. But unfortunately he doesn’t dare to wear it in case his sixth-grade classmates tease him, just by the way. For that reason I’m very sad. And I have a request, not a question. The Prime Minister mentioned that he doesn’t really read the comments, and he’s absolutely right not to. However, I read them quite a lot – although not as a matter of habit. And I’ve found a group among the commenters who claim that all the welfare measures that have been introduced recently are being implemented through debt. I’d like to ask the Prime Minister to provide information on how to respond to them. Thank you very much!
Since you’ve mentioned the comments, on the one hand I don’t have much time for that, so perhaps that can be forgiven; there’s no rudeness in that reluctance – it’s simply that I don’t have time for it. On the other hand, there are many people I’d like to talk to, and they have faces. So I’d put them first if I wanted to talk to someone, and not do it electronically like that. But now I’ve been made to do it, because after comments like that come in, a lady who does TikTok for my team comes rushing in, pushes ten or so in front of me, and I have to say something about them. So maybe now that the campaign is coming up I’ll be more active, and I’ll have to talk to everyone. Now, let’s talk about the indebtedness of the Hungarian economy, shall we? Not just in relation to the current measures, but how we should think about Hungary and its debt problem. We need to acknowledge that for a long time Hungary has been unable to cover all its needs – welfare, economic development, investments, military spending, law enforcement – from the money we generate every year. This is why you hear that there’s a budget deficit. Normally people would work, produce value, pay taxes, and the state spends as much as it collects in taxes, resulting in a balanced budget. But Hungary hasn’t been able to do this for a very long time. The reason for this is that when communism fell, Hungary inherited a very large level of debt. Now I’m striving to achieve a situation in which there should at least be a balance, if I set aside the interest on the loans taken out previously which has to be paid every year – if I don’t take that into account, but only the new expenditures and the new revenues. And from that point on we can start to increase revenues, because we have a work-based economy. And then we’ll not only be able to pay as much as we’ve produced, not only will it be enough to pay what we need to pay every year, but we’ll also be able to start repaying the debt we took on earlier. Depending on the situation in the money market and the international financial market, this will be a long process lasting many years. But we mustn’t give up, because in the end we’ll have to get there. And once we’ve worked off this debt, we’ll then be able to lend to others. It’s so nice! The interest rate is so nice! We’re lending money now – not because we can, but because we sometimes have to do so in order to stabilise a neighbouring country or region. This is current political – or rather security – expenditure. So, how do we look in terms of public debt? How much of a burden is weighing on the Hungarian state today? Overall, our total debt stands at 73–74 per cent of our annual income, and we have to pay the interest on it every year from our work. That’s how you have to think about it. If only we didn’t have to bear this burden – Switzerland and all that. But we do have to bear it – we inherited it, it’s here, and we have to work our way out of it somehow. So anyone who says that Hungary’s in a difficult financial situation, yes, that’s true; but it’s been that way for fifty, sixty, seventy, eighty years – maybe even since Trianon. This isn’t a new thing. What will be new is when we get rid of it. Therefore it’s foolish to bring up this fact in relation to the current measures, because it has nothing to do with the current measures. The current measures are within the income that the Hungarian people will generate in the coming year and years. We’re able to pay for all of this without increasing the Hungarian national debt. We’re capable of this, and we’ll be able to do it. So if anyone wants to undermine the current measures – first-time home ownership, an 11 per cent increase in the minimum wage, tax breaks for families with children – by saying that they’re being financed by debt, they’re playing fast and loose with the facts. Don’t believe them!
And I’d even add to this, if I may, that we’re the only government in Hungary that’s reduced the budget deficit in every election year. So not only have we not overspent because of the election, but every year the national debt was lower in the election year than it had been in the previous year. I’d like to say – excuse me if this sounds pompous, but I say this with due humility – that we, and I personally as the head of the Government, are capable of developing Hungary in such a way that it doesn’t squander its future and doesn’t do so on credit. Yes, we’re capable of this.
Philip Rákay: Yes, there, somewhere in the middle, under the LED wall, a gentleman in a black jacket and black shirt has been signalling to me for a while. I see that many people would like to ask questions, but unfortunately not everyone will get a chance today. Please help pass the microphone to that gentleman, he may be a little far away. Thank you very much!
Krisztián Oláh: Thank you very much. Blessings and peace, Prime Minister!
God’s peace be with you!
Krisztián Oláh: My name is Krisztián Oláh, I’m the Mayor of Cigánd, and I’m also a fellow campaigner of Dr. Boglárka Gál from Voting District V. Prime Minister, I’ve come with two thoughts. Cigánd lies on the banks of the Tisza, so I’d like to start with a water level report. The water level here is completely fine. There are no “slim-fit messiah” sailors on the flood, no one’s waving their arms at us, and there will be no landing here. But moving on to more serious topics, I have two thoughts. The first is to help Fidesz a little with its anti-war campaign by saying that when the war broke out Cigánd was among the first to receive refugees. We took in eight or nine hundred people a day, and provided them with shelter and food. And at the same time we saw the hopelessness in their eyes, the search for a way forward that was reflected in their tearful eyes. And in Cigánd we all agreed that whatever happened, however slim the chance of war, we should never be in their situation, and we should always help them. This brings me to my second thought, though I don’t want to make too many demands on your patience and time. In 1992 György Szabad, the first freely elected speaker of the National Assembly, visited Cigánd to publicly unveil our World War II memorial. And there he expressed a thought that I believe can still serve as a guiding principle today. He said that he hoped there would be no need for a third memorial. I believe that this guiding principle should be present in all of us. Someone destroyed that memorial three years ago, breaking it in two; and although there’s been a fundraising drive, as Mayor I’d like to say that we’d be very grateful if we could receive a little help in restoring it.
There’s no such thing as a free rally. Yes…
Krisztián Oláh: Thank you very much. The people of Cigánd would have killed me if I hadn’t said that. But I believe that this guiding principle would put everyone’s life in order, because there’s nothing more important than not having a third memorial in any town in the country – whether in Miskolc or Békéscsaba. Thank you very much for your attention. And one more personal thing, Prime Minister. We met in 2017, and you invited me to join you at the Cigánd–Puskás Academy football match when we were in NB II [Division II]. You trounced us, which didn’t feel good, but what you’ve done for the country feels very good, and we’re grateful! Go Hungary! Thank you very much!
Although that wasn’t a question, I’d still like to say a few words about how serious and immediate this threat of war is, and how difficult it is for the Hungarian government of the day to stay out of it. Let’s start with our own historical experiences. Losses, Hungarian losses. World War I, no exact figures, but between 600,000 and 650,000 Hungarian victims. World War II, between 800,000 and 900,000 – including deported Jews. That puts us at one and a half million. The Soviets came in, and 250,000 people immediately fled. Then 200,000 Germans were deported. Then, after 1956, between 180,000 and 200,000 left. Let’s quickly add it up: 2 million, 2.2 million Hungarian lives are missing from Hungary today. If they were still here, or if they’d had children and grandchildren, Hungary would have no demographic problems whatsoever. War is destroying us: old wars are still destroying us. We’re still struggling with the consequences of that, when you look at the number of children, the birth rate, and so on. War has decimated us. And I won’t even mention how they destroyed the country, with Budapest at the forefront, or what kind of financial damage it caused. This is why we have a red warning light in our brains that immediately starts flashing when we hear the word “war”. Now I sit among them, twenty-seven heads of state and government sitting around the table, when we meet in Europe. And I can tell you emphatically that they’re going to war. These meetings aren’t political discussions. They are, in fact, councils of war! They’re where they talk about how “We’re going to win”. These are countries that are alarmingly larger than ours: the Germans, the French, and so on. How we’re going to defeat the Russians. How we’re going to force them to make reparations. How we’ll make them repay the money we’re now giving to the Ukrainians. So they’re not children sitting there; these are responsible, elected European leaders. And that’s how they allocate the money, send it to Ukraine, spend it on weapons for Ukraine, spend it on weapons for themselves. In Western Europe there are real preparations for war. To anyone who’s interested and intrigued in this topic, I recommend that they read up on the period around the outbreak of World War I. The world war didn’t start as a world war: at first it was thought to be a Balkan war. Then it became a European war, then a world war, then an American landing in Europe, and then the collapse of the Hungarian state. That’s how we got here. So war is very close, and it’s knocking on the door – mainly because the physical theatre of war is in a neighbouring country – not somewhere far away, but in a neighbouring country. I’ve just looked at the latest figures, and the Europeans think they’ve given 193 billion euros so far. Now they’re giving 90 billion. That brings us to around 280. The Ukrainians have submitted a demand, stating that they need 800 billion euros over the next ten years to maintain Ukraine – let’s call it Ukraine’s operating costs. This doesn’t include weapons and security, which will be a separate item. And the Americans have pulled out of this; over there money talks, they’ve done their calculations, and taken back what they need. They have their money, and the Europeans can spend their money on a war if they want to. How are we getting dragged into this, when Europe has no money? Because if Europe were developing and had plenty of money to spend on other things besides itself, then maybe we could get away with not being involved in the war. But it doesn’t have the money: Europe is in decline, and there’s no money. So the Europeans take out credit from the bankers and give it to the Ukrainians as loans. But everyone knows that the Ukrainians will never pay back the loans – and how could they, the poor souls? And when the loan agreement expires and the Ukrainians don’t have a chance of paying it back, the bankers will take the Europeans’ money – after having continuously collected interest on it. This will ruin Europe. We have to say something about this, so that we don’t go bankrupt. What are European leaders saying about this? “We won’t be ruined, because we’ll win on the front, we’ll defeat Russia, and we’ll force Russia to pay reparations.” Well, no one should bet big money that a nuclear power will pay reparations to Western European countries or to Ukraine. It’s all a fairy tale! We’re getting involved, and spending more money every day. It’s like when you have a loss-making business and you’re always faced with the dilemma of the bad money that’s already gone. But you still have good money. Should you throw good money after the bad money? Or should you shut it all down, admit defeat, and start something else with the good money? Their answer is to throw good money after bad money. That’s what’s happening. And in the end, there will be no other way out of this except to really try to defeat the Russians – because otherwise there will be a collapse. So far, the military industry has pushed us into war, and now the bankers are pushing the politicians, who can’t stop the process, because then they’d have to go home and admit that it wasn’t a good idea. We’re now handing over 90 billion euros for two years. That’s the money, but let’s count this in people. Today there are many reliable statistics, and according to reliable data, every week a total of nine thousand people on both sides die or are disabled on the front line. Four times nine makes thirty-six: 36,000 people every month. If you multiply that by twelve, you get around 400,000. So today we’re giving money to Ukraine for two years so that in both years, 400 plus 400 – 800,000 people – will die or be disabled. That’s the non-monetary side of it. So, in my opinion, if there’s a morally correct position that responsibly represents Hungarian national interests, then it’s the position of peace. We must not get dragged into war! The question is, will we manage to stay out of it? Let’s take two minutes to think about staying out of it. No one knows for sure if it will work. But we do know that the only people who can stay out of the war are the ones who actually try to stay out of it – that’s the prerequisite. We want to stay out of it. Tisza and DK don’t want to stay out. If we win the election, peace will remain. If they win the election, war will come. They belong to the European war-mongering party alliance. They’re the Hungarian branch of the European war party. The European leader of the Tisza Party, Manfred Weber, is the number one European warmonger. That’s the situation! So if we have a pro-Brussels government here, they’ll push us into war and into the economic policy that finances war – which is a war economy, and which they’re building. And then we can kiss goodbye to all the plans we’re talking about: raising the minimum wage, home ownership, tax exemption for women after two children, doubling the family tax allowance. None of that will happen. That’s the situation. And let’s be honest with ourselves. There were two world wars, and we couldn’t stay out of them. We wanted to, but we couldn’t. Now I’m not talking about whether we want to, because the Tisza-ites don’t want to – but we want to. But can we? I look at what we can learn from history. István Tisza didn’t succeed in that, and Miklós Horthy didn’t succeed in that. The big question is, can we succeed? And I think it’s possible. I’m building up our international relations so that Hungary can stay out of the war.
Of course, I consider innovation, boldness and even adventure – which are characteristic of young people – to be good things; but there’s a time and place for everything. Here I am, an old crow. I still have my teeth, but I’m considered to be an old lion. And I need all my knowledge, all my experience, all my know-how, my thirty-five years of foreign policy experience, to have a chance of keeping the country out of trouble. This mustn’t be entrusted to young adventurers, this mustn’t be gambled with. We must play it safe. This is why I say that Fidesz is the safe choice!
Go Cigánd! Yes?Philip Rákay: Prime Minister, thank you very much! The good news and the bad news is that that’s all for today – but we’ll continue in Kaposvár in a week’s time, and you can ask questions there. Prime Minister Viktor Orbán! Thank you very much!
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