In his speech, Mr Orbán said it is a great joy that on Thursday a Hungarian won the Nobel Prize in Literature. In three years, this is now the third Hungarian Nobel Prize, after the Nobel Prizes in physics and medicine, here is another in literature, he indicated.
Turning to the Romanian hosts, he explained why cohesion among members of the Hungarian nation was so profound, regardless of whether they lived in Hungary, Romania, Slovakia or Serbia. The Hungarian nation is tied together primarily not by geography, not by state borders and not even by blood, but by language, culture and a common spirit. Without literature, there is no Hungarian nation, he laid down.
He also added that we Hungarians had a nightmare: if we are unable to tell for what reason we are in the world, the Almighty will erase us from the book of nations.
We are in a tight spot, we can argue neither with our size, nor with our population; neither with our army, nor with our economy; therefore, it is very difficult for us to answer this question. Our answer, the Hungarians’ answer can only be our performance, the list of our merits, Mr Orbán stressed.
We must prove that we have given more to humanity than humanity has given to us, Mr Orbán underlined.
“We can tell the Lord ‘Please Lord, look at our saints from the Árpád Dynasty, at our victory at Nándorfehérvár [Belgrade], at István Széchenyi, at János Neumann, at Öcsi Puskás, at our Olympic champions, and please Lord, look at our Nobel laureates,’” he said, adding that the Nobel Prize is grounds for the Hungarians to exist.
“This is why we must thank László Krasznahorkai, that with his life’s work he has earned another few decades for the Hungarian nation,” he observed.
Mr Orbán said the future belongs not to those who just gaze, but to those who take action. The future belongs to those who speak with their deeds and actions, and those who fail to use the opportunities of the future will forfeit the future, he pointed out.
Referring to the 35th anniversary of the establishment of the Democratic Alliance of Hungarians in Romania, he highlighted that the organisation had proved that it was not size, but determination that lent a community weight.
In Bucharest RMDSZ is stability and common sense, in Brussels a representative of the Hungarian interests, while in Budapest a reliable partner, the Prime Minister said in summary, highlighting that RMDSZ is not a minority organisation, but a factor in nation strategy.
He stressed: next year we will decide not only about the next Hungarian government, but also about the future of the nation, “about the freedom and sovereignty of our country,” and in April 2026 the country will need the Hungarians of Transylvania.
Mr Orbán said the Hungarian community of Transylvania is proof of the fact that a community lives as long as there are people who believe in it. If we believe in it, victory, too, will be forthcoming, he underlined.
The Hungarian community in Transylvania is strong, works, educates, creates, builds and wins. Every year, it wins time and time again, he stated.
The Prime Minister said people in Budapest take the view that it is a shared interest of Romania and Hungary that there should be stability in the basin of the Danube. Rather than trampling on one another, the peoples living here should cooperate. If our neighbours are strong and free, we ourselves will be stronger and freer. Therefore, we have a vested interest in Romania’s growth, in the success of Prime Minister Bolojan and his government, he stressed.
“Today, there is peace, coexistence and cooperation,” he said, adding that on the part of Hungary, achieving Romania’s accession to the Schengen Area is proof of this. With a past such as the common past of the two countries, peaceful coexistence is not evident, and not an accident, but a decision day after day.
We are looking for Romanian partners for this decision of ours day after day, he pointed out.
Mr Orbán underlined: what we have built in 35 years is the very legacy of our generation. He wished that they may have courage to preserve that which they had achieved and strength to continue that which they had started. We should have faith in that our best days have yet to come, he said. The Lord above us all, Hungary before everything. Come on Hungary! Come on Hungarians! the Hungarian Prime Minister said, concluding his speech.
