On Hungary’s national holiday marking the outbreak of the 1848 revolution, Viktor Orbán referred to the “youth of March,” who said at that time, “let here be peace, liberty and concord.” Addressing a huge crowd that filled Kossuth Square and flowed over into the adjoining streets, the PM added that “we need the same thing today: strength. [Because] the world only respects those who have the courage and strength to stand up for themselves.”
The prime minister stressed that for 12 years, his government has been building a strong Hungary: Families enjoy wide support, a million new jobs have been created, and multinationals have been tapped to pay their fair share, while public utility bills have been cut and the IMF was sent home.
“Neither floods nor pandemics nor wars have diverted us from our goal,” Prime Minister Viktor Orbán said.
Hungary was the weakest in 2010, but then the Right was allowed to govern again, “leading us to where we are now.” Today in Hungary, 200,000 more children have been born than if the Left had been in government; furthermore, the country has a national constitution and one million new citizens, he said.
Speaking about the war in Ukraine, PM Orbán highlighted that Hungary is now operating its largest-ever humanitarian aid operation but added that “this war should never have happened, and Hungary did everything it could and should have done for peace.”
“We know that the best war is the one we manage to avoid,” the PM said, adding that “it is in our interest not to be pawns in someone else’s war since we have nothing to gain and everything to lose.”
Referring to Katalin Novák’s election as President of Hungary, PM Orbán said that this is the best time for Hungary’s first woman president to take up office. “Women want to win peace, not the war,” PM Orbán recalled President Novák’s words, adding that if Hungary wants to stay our of this war, then we must listen to our women.
The prime minister also noted that “the Left has lost its common sense and would wade moonstruck into a brutal, protracted and bloody war.” However, he said, “we will not let the Left drag Hungary into this war; we will not allow the Left to make Hungary a military target.”
Referring to the upcoming parliamentary elections, the PM said that in the shadow of war, what is at stake are peace in Hungary and the country’s security.
Do we want “a party on the Right in favor of peace or a party on the Left in favor of war?” Prime Minister Viktor Orbán asked, answering that “we need a government that is not caught by surprise and that is not venturing out into open water for the first time.”
In conclusion, referring again to the elections, he said that Hungary faces great dangers, and the only solution to this is a great victory on April 3.