Going into Tuesday’s Summit of European leaders on the Brexit referendum, Prime Minister Orbán emphasized that a significant conclusion can be drawn from the surprising result of the plebiscite. “[R]eality is that the decisive topic was migration. And if the European Union is unable to resolve the migration situation, challenges of this nature – such as the one we have experienced with the United Kingdom – will multiply.” Orbán added that if a member state manages the situation using its own resources, as Hungary has done, instead of receiving appreciation from the EU, it gets heavily criticized.
Certainly, that has been the case in the European Union in the past.
But let’s hope that this approach will change as just one of the results of the Brexit referendum. Let’s hope the EU will be able and willing to protect its own borders and appreciate the efforts of member states doing so. In any case, the Prime Minister’s message to the 2016 graduating class of uniformed services clearly states that Hungary will remain on this path. The reason is not just national pride but also common sense.
Countries that maintain order and guarantee security and the rule of law enjoy advantages over those countries that fail to do so. Without order, economic growth, investment and the “good life” vanish. There is an unspoken competition among nations for upholding security and the “more you succeed in upholding law and order in Hungary,” Orbán told the graduating students of the Police Studies Faculty and Disaster Control Institute of the National Public Service University, “the more Hungary’s position will improve in this competition among nations.”
“When you serve your country, this is not just a workplace, this is not just a job, but a calling; those who obey the calling of the homeland are courageous people,” Orbán proudly told the new graduates. He recalled the time less than ten years ago when a police uniform triggered fear in ordinary citizens. When the Socialist government abused police powers in 2006 in the beating of peaceful demonstrators, the uniformed services suffered a terrible loss of trust and that had to be restored after 2010. In the past six years, Orbán highlighted, policemen worked hard to restore the public’s trust and have succeeded in this goal.
Over the weekend, 219 new police officers were awarded their diplomas at the National Public Service University. These fine young men and women will protect their and the country’s reputation as it should be: a police force that works for the people, not against them, and a country that is safe and secure to prosper.