Italians and Hungarians are two freedom-fighting peoples who would never surrender their countries to strangers 

The Italians and Hungarians are two freedom-fighting peoples who would never surrender; would never surrender their freedom and would never surrender their countries to strangers, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán stated in Italy, at a rally of the Lega Party led by Matteo Salvini which was held in Pontida, a small town near Bergamo.

The Hungarian Prime Minister who spoke as a guest of honour of the rally, in addition to several other European right-wing politicians, recalled that today in Hungary there was a day of remembrance in honour of the heroes of the 1848 freedom fight; in those days, the Italian and Hungarian people rose up and fought against foreign rule with arms. 

“The Italians and Hungarians are two freedom-fighting peoples, and we are their heirs and successors. We will never surrender, we will never surrender our freedom, and we will never surrender our countries to strangers. We will surrender them neither to the bureaucrats of Brussels, nor to global money powers, nor to migrants,” he said, adding that Italy belongs to the Italian people, while Hungary belongs to the Hungarian people. 

The Hungarian Prime Minister described Matteo Salvini as a European patriot who is – in his view – celebrated in Hungary as a hero because he sealed the borders and protected the homes of the Italian people as well as Europe. For this, he would deserve a medal, rather than criminal proceedings, Mr Orbán added, describing the proceedings instituted against Mr Salvini in connection with illegal migration as the shame of Europe. 

He also recalled that Hungary had fought against the international Left successfully for 14 years. The mission of the Hungarian people is to prove that the Left can be defeated. “We have defeated them five times,” he stated. We govern more successfully than the left; the patriots govern more successfully than the international Left, he stated.

He also said today in Hungary there is full employment, taxes are being reduced, wages are being increased, while there are programmes to help businesses and to protect families. We will not allow marriage to be turned into a mockery, and will not allow people loving their families to be presented as clowns, he stated. 

Without families, there is no future, Mr Orbán stated, also mentioning that the Hungarian Constitution lays down that “marriage is between a man and a woman.” The Fundamental Law also lays down that the father is a man and the mother is a woman, he added, highlighting that this will be so even if the international Left “tries to turn everything upside down,” 

He also said that Hungary has cracked down on crime, while criminals are locked up. “My country is Europe’s safest country,” he said. 

He highlighted that Hungary did not let illegal migrants in and protected its borders. Crossing the border without permission qualifies as a crime, “only those may enter who are allowed to,” and people must wait for the permission to enter outside the borders. In Hungary, the number of migrants stands at zero, he stated, adding that “we will not surrender our country.” We will not allow anyone to change our culture, Hungary is our home, and we want to feel at home in Hungary, he stressed.

Mr Orbán pointed out that today the European Left and Brussels bureaucrats punished Hungary because we refused to let migrants in and protected Europe. He recalled that Hungary had been handed down a fine of EUR 200 million and paid a daily penalty of EUR 1 million for not letting migrants in. “This is shameful, shame on Brussels,” he said, adding that if they continue to penalise us, we will transport migrants from Budapest to Brussels. “If they want migrants, they will get them,” he stated. 

Turning to his audience, he said “Italy is a strong, big and rich country, if we could do it, so can you.” “Do not believe that this is impossible, it is possible, we Hungarians stand as living proof of that. Be determined, brave and follow great leaders like Matteo Salvini,” he said, encouraging participants of the rally. 

Mr Orbán warned that “our Europe is in trouble;” today, Europe is a worse place than it was ten years ago, the streets have become more dangerous, migrants are holding peaceful European people in fear, refusing to respect our laws and law enforcement officers. He also added that we were concerned for the future of our children; we dread to contemplate what life will be like in ten or twenty years’ time.

By his account, the European Union was created in the interest of peace, but today in Europe there is a war, the Russo-Ukrainian war under way, and Brussels has become a warring party, instead of standing for peace. In the meantime, the bureaucrats in Brussels are destroying the European economy, he observed, pointing out that European people are finding supporting their families increasingly difficult, while it is increasingly difficult for European businesses to stay alive.

He stated that the European Left had messed up everything; the bureaucrats in Brussels are serving their own interests, rather than the interests of the European people. If things continue like this, this will lead to the death of the European Union, he warned. 

Mr Orbán also spoke about the fact that in the meantime in the European Parliament (EP) MEPs representing patriotic forces are being deprived of their rights, in Brussels people who love their countries, people with a pro-sovereignty mindset are being persecuted, and in fact, they are sending money to left-wingers who fight against patriots. 

While in our hearts, Hungary and Italy are the most important, we cannot turn our backs on Brussels; if we surrender Brussels to the Left, they will topple the national governments of patriots as they did in Poland, he stated.

Therefore – in his words – rather than withdrawing from Brussels, we must march into Brussels; we must take Brussels back from the bureaucrats and must hand it back to the European people. 

We must combine forces, the Hungarian Prime Minister stressed, recalling that as a first step, a right-wing government was formed in Italy, followed by victories by Geert Wilders in the Netherlands, by Herbert Kickl in Austria and most recently by Andrej Babis in the Czech Senate elections. 

They also established the European group of patriots which is now the third largest group in the European Parliament, 

We must reinforce ourselves, and must press on on the path of uniting the European Right, he said, appealing to members of his audience. 

He added that “at the end of this struggle, Paris will turn, we will take Warsaw back, and we will become Europe’s largest political force. We will take control of politics in Brussels, and will make Europe great, strong, rich and free again,” Mr Orbán stated.