Good evening, Ladies and Gentlemen.
Dear Matteo, I welcome you with great respect. And we are grateful to Mrs. Le Pen for honouring us with her presence here today.
Last autumn, when I was at the Lega party rally in Italy, one of the most unjust dramas in Europe’s 21st-century history was unfolding. A statesman who had defended his country and Europe was being threatened with imprisonment. We remember that Federal Secretary Salvini was being persecuted by the globalists for daring to stand up to them. At that time we told our Italian brothers and sisters at the rally that for his actions what Matteo Salvini deserved was not to be punished, but to be honoured. So here today, justice has triumphed for the second time. The first time was when my friend Matteo was acquitted by the court. It turned out that all the accusations were false: a politically motivated witch hunt. Now in the drama of justice we have come to the second act. Federal Secretary Salvini is about to receive the medal he deserves. The Scriptures say that “Evil will pursue the wicked, and the righteous will be well rewarded.” We Hungarians, of course, cannot offer the same reward as God, but we can do our best to express Hungary’s gratitude. As a token of our respect and appreciation, today Federal Secretary Salvini will receive the Hunyadi Prize for defenders of European nations. Receive it with brotherly love, the kind of love that we give.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
When we praise the actions of Federal Secretary Salvini, I must also say a few words about János Hunyadi – because he was also a fighter in the same struggle. The fight waged by them comes from the same source. One was guided and one is guided by the same moral imperative: Europe’s borders must be defended. In the 15th century the Ottoman Empire set out to conquer Europe. Alien armies were ravaging all that we held sacred and inviolable. It was then that Hunyadi stood up for Christian Europe and won, halting the Sultan’s troops in a siege at Nándorfehérvár [modern-day Belgrade]. The outcome of that battle determined the fate not only of Hungary, but of all Europe. If Hungary had fallen then, a path would have opened up towards Europe’s interior: to German lands, and to Italy – even directly to Italy. The sons of Europe’s heroic nations fought shoulder to shoulder with Hunyadi. With us were the Serbs, and with us was a warrior friar from Italy, whose name is preserved in Hungary’s national memory. I, too, learned about him in high school: Saint John of Capistrano, a determined Italian friar who fought with arms alongside Hunyadi, and who with him defeated the invaders. This event lives on in our hearts to this day. This is why church bells ring every noon, all over Europe.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Europe cannot exist without Italy; the Italians have made us civilised, refined, and free. Here I can mention that, during hostilities with the Turks, the system of border fortresses everywhere in Hungary was designed by an Italian: Filippo Scolari, whom we Hungarians know as “Ozorai Pipo”. And Hunyadi, whom we have just seen on film, learned the art of military leadership in Italy – although we did not see that part. It was in wars there that he learned his trade – unsurprisingly, because the best warriors learn from the best. Here I can mention that Hungary was the first European state – and now I am talking about the present – in which illegal mass migration was halted; and Italy was the first founding state of the European Union in which patriotic sovereigntist forces came to power and did the same.
I can remind us, Ladies and Gentlemen, that Federal Secretary Salvini’s work is not over. Today Europe is flooded by unprecedented numbers. Since 2015, nine million illegal migrants have entered Europe. Eerily, the number we saw in the Soros Plan in 2015 was one million a year. That plan not only exists, but it is working. If migrants were a single country, it would be the fifteenth largest in the European Union today. That is a huge mass of people – in essence a complete population change. Just as they did in the past, they have been coming along three routes: they have been coming overland across the Hungarian border, via the Italian sea route, and through the Iberian Peninsula. We were the first to be attacked, and since then we have been attacked with the greatest force. This is why we needed to be the first to act. We stopped illegal migration on land, and Federal Secretary Salvini stopped it at sea. Both of us have defended our nations, and the result has been that now both Italy and Hungary have patriots in government. Iberia is keeping us waiting, but I hope that Santiago will not be too long in arriving.
My Friends,
The age of progressive liberalism, which has ruled in Brussels, is at an end. One does not need to be a historian of ideas to know that: you only need to read the news. On the other side of the Atlantic a patriotic realignment is taking place, and patriots are the strongest political force in Central and Southern Europe. Here in Brussels the progressives have taken over, and today they rule Brussels. If we do not change this, Europe will soon disintegrate before our eyes.
Federal Secretary,
Allow me to express my conviction that the liberal elite in Brussels cannot remain in place. Europe needs new leadership: new patriotic leadership that does not build its own power, but strengthens a Europe of nations. Our joint task is to restore a Europe of nations. We must take back the rights that have been illegally confiscated from our nations in recent years. We must ensure that the rules apply uniformly and identically to all European Member States. We need to expel the Soros network’s agents from the European Commission, and remove corrupt lobbyists from the European Parliament. Corrupt dollars and euros should not be allowed to enter the Member States. The EU must not be a financial network designed to weaken national governments. The clean-up that our friends in America are doing now will also be needed by us here in Brussels.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Of course you can say that we are hugely outnumbered. And that is true. But what if Hunyadi had given up and not fought, because his opponents outnumbered the Christian armies five to one? Nor will we give up just because at the moment progressive liberals are in every important position in Brussels. We have excellent fighters on our side: last year’s winner of this prize was Professor Legutko, and this year’s is Federal Secretary Salvini. With such excellent fighters we will surely win.
Finally, in conclusion, my dear friend Matteo, allow me to address you personally. I ask you to accept this award not only as a form of recognition, but also as a form of validation. What you are doing is not only the right thing to do, but is a mission to shape the destiny of Europe. You need to be reassured that you are not alone. The nations of Europe, all freedom-loving people, are watching you and appreciate your personal struggle. I trust that this award will remind you that you are defending not only a country, not only your own country, but an entire civilisation. And I trust that this award will give you strength for the difficult days ahead – because there will be difficult days ahead. The stakes are high: the battle is for the soul of the Western world. But for this cause it is worth committing to the fiercest of struggles.
God bless you Matteo! God bless Italy! God bless Europe!