Speaking at the Fidesz party congress earlier today in Budapest after being reelected as the party’s president, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán began by stating that being a member of his party is synonymous with “loyalty, belief and trust,” adding that Fidesz has stayed true to the interests of Hungary and the Hungarian people.
“As long as this loyalty exists, not even the gates of hell can tear down Hungary,” the prime minister said.
“What is our goal now?” PM Orbán asked, recalling that 10 years ago his party promised to create 1 million new jobs, pull the country out of debt, protect Hungarian pensions, support families, and restore Budapest’s historic grandeur. According to the prime minister, the Hungarian government has delivered on every one of these promises. “This is why we can ask for the support of Hungarian voters once again, this is our collateral,” he added. While the most important “ally” of his government is reality itself, and their performance has been clearly demonstrated by a job well done, the only performance liberals have to show “is that they are liberals.”
“Liberals have no achievement whatsoever to show for themselves, yet they want to tell us how we should be thinking,” PM Orbán said.
“What we offer Hungary is that it should strive for more, we must not be content with what we have achieved so far,” PM Orbán said, underlining that in the next 10 years, railway vehicle production will be reformed, the V0 railway ring will be constructed, and the national airport will be back under state ownership.
Aside from the epidemiological threat, according to the prime minister, there is also the threat posed by the “Brussels network” who seeks to force migrants upon us and put Hungarians’ financial security into jeopardy. PM Orbán said that these forces say that people should heat their homes less and use less water, and if they use more gas or water, they should pay more. He compared this way of thinking to János Kádár’s infamous quote: “It’s not the roll that’s small, it’s that your mouths are too big.”
Touching on the topic of Hungary’s EU membership, the prime minister recalled that the reason we joined the bloc was that they offered integration. “This was supposed to mean that we do things together, in a friendly and cooperative manner. Taking away our rights was never on the table,” PM Orbán said, adding that we must not passively accept Brussels’ plans.
In the PM’s view, the only way for a political party in Hungary to remain an “unavoidable force” is not by serving the prevailing ideology but by serving the people. “The Left could not make use of the legitimacy it gained [in 2002],” but the current government could. According to PM Orbán, this is because “our policies benefit even those who did not vote for us, while the policies of our opponents harm even those who vote for them.”
Commenting on the size of the crowd that gathered to listen to his speech on October 23, the prime minister said, “We looked pretty good, sure, but that was a mere flexing of our biceps,” adding that the crowd will be two or even three times bigger as the finish line draws near.
“Even the entirety of the Left, Brussels and George Soros’ army won’t be able to stop us. Together, we will overcome even the thickest of barriers, and we will rise to victory. Because Hungary must and will continue forward, not backward,” the PM said in closing.