Earlier today, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán delivered a speech at the inauguration of the renovated Tisza Castle in Geszt, marking the Day of National Unity. With the looming shadow of another potential war, PM Orbán said Hungary's mission is to stay out of the conflict and preserve peace within its borders.
"We send our greetings and ask for God's blessing on the Hungarians in Transcarpathia, who have been living under the shadow of war for two years, deprived of their rights and awaiting its end. We stand with you and give you courage; the day when your fate will take a turn for the better is not far off," PM Orbán declared. He also sent greetings to Robert Fico, Slovakia's pro-peace prime minister.
Reflecting on Hungary's historical struggles, the prime minister stated, "We can say with pride, under the threat of another war, that today in Geszt, history is condensed." He highlighted Hungary's resilience and will to survive against all odds. "The nation did not choose resignation but struggle and survival. We express our boundless will to live and our unity, and we are grateful to the Tisza family, which has given so much to our nation."
The Tisza family, he noted, had a significant role even in the fight against the Turks, and the last successful era of the Kingdom of Hungary is inseparable from them. "The death of István Tisza marked the painful end of a historical era," PM Orbán recalled. "For 104 years ago, we were saddled with an unjust diktat. We lost the best of our industry and fertile land, and our cultural treasures ended up beyond our borders. A Hungarian is someone who feels the national wound of Trianon most deeply."
PM Orbán firmly stated that the Treaty of Trianon aimed to bury the Hungarian nation. "Our homeland's good stewards were either eliminated or forced into exile. In our darkest hour, our country was handed over to people about whom, even 100 years later, it is hard to decide whether their ill intentions or incompetence was a greater curse on the nation," he said.
Recalling the historical context, the prime minister mentioned that the devastating loss of the country 100 years ago was brought on by a war that István Tisza opposed. Hungary had no choice but to march into the war due to intense pressure from Vienna. "If we had been stronger, the crown would have remained, and the nation would have suffered less," he added.
"The victors also lost in the war, not just the vanquished," PM Orbán pointed out, explaining that the peace treaties did not bring tranquility but rather new turmoil to the Carpathian Basin. "New countries emerged, and ethnic tensions far greater than those in the former monarchy flared up. The artificially constructed states dissolved at the first opportunity," he reflected.
Despite the gloomy clouds over Central Europe today, PM Orbán sees a hopeful ray of light. "The peoples of the Carpathian Basin now wish to be free and sovereign. It was 110 years ago that they fought against the Hungarians for their sovereignty. Today, these peoples clearly tell the great powers: We do not want war."
He stressed that the Carpathian Basin nations do not want to be sacrificial pawns on the chessboard of great powers. "We, the Hungarians, the most populous nation in the Carpathian Basin, proclaim this most emphatically," he emphasized.
PM Orbán asserted that the people of this region must now fight for their sovereignty not against the Hungarians but together with them. "On the Day of National Unity, it is not only we Hungarians who must join hands but also the peoples of the Carpathian Basin," he pointed out.
He urged for not just unity but also connectivity. "We must dream of a glorious future, and anyone who suggests we should be content with small ambitions commits a crime against the Hungarian nation," he declared.
"We must be the ones to advocate for cooperation, solidarity, and rejoice in our neighbors' successes," PM Orbán said.
He warned of the same danger facing Central Europe today as 110 years ago: being dragged into war by imperial interests. "Wars are always the result of human decisions, and we must achieve what István Tisza could not: prevent Hungary's participation in another European war."
"We elect our government, we hold the reins of power, we Hungarians decide our fate. We make these decisions in the broadest public arena, through national and European elections. Now we can do what was not possible 110 years ago: clearly and democratically say no to war," the prime minister stated.
PM Orbán emphasized that today's national government and its supporters are not merely renovating but restoring, rebuilding, and mending the torn fabric of Hungarian time. "We exact our revenge on communism by stepping over it. We seek to connect pre-German and Soviet-occupation Hungary with today's Hungary. This is the original and deepest meaning of the regime change," he explained.
Concluding his speech, the prime minister underlined the importance of today's remembrance as part of this mission. "Our generation's motto is that every match lasts until we win," he asserted, highlighting the unyielding spirit of the Hungarian nation.