Good afternoon, Ladies and Gentlemen.
I respectfully greet the people of Békés, of Békés County! Two of us are here representing the Hungarian government: Minister Lázár and myself. We imagine that you did not come because of us, but rather we came because of you. Thank you – thank you for allowing us to be here. We are delighted to be here among you. I see some familiar faces in the crowd, whom we met on Saturday at the national gathering of the Digital Civic Circles. It was a wonderful little evening. Everyone could see that we are preparing for victory. I would like to extend a special welcome to the mayors of the region, many of whom are here. Mayors, thank you very much for being here with us! I also see the county lobby gathering in the form of representatives and constituency leaders. We will have a lot of work to do this afternoon. I know in advance what they will say: “More, more, more – this much is not enough!”
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Mr. László Krasznahorkai, a writer, is a native of the neighbouring town of Gyula. One of his novels begins on a train in an unnamed county town, but if I am not mistaken, it is very similar to Békéscsaba. What unfolds in that novel is Minister Lázár’s nightmare: trains that never arrive, a panicking stationmaster, frustrated passengers, dilapidated stations. We could say that the situation in that novel is not very favourable. But with the renovation of the Békéscsaba–Lőkösháza railway link, this has changed; that novel is the past, and this is the future. Here there will be no more disappearing trains, no more dilapidated stations, and no more agitated train drivers. Instead, there will be modern express trains and beautiful stations, beautiful old stations. But let’s not get ahead of ourselves, Ladies and Gentlemen, because the work is not yet complete. We all know that there is a big problem in Lőkösháza, the Southern Great Plain and Békés County. This problem takes the form of national borders drawn more than a hundred years ago – more precisely at the end of Lőkösháza railway station. So 105 years ago we Hungarians were destined to be frozen in time: 105 years ago Hungary – including Békés County – was separated from the region stretching to the foot of the Carpathians, thus depriving it of the natural circulation that filled the world here with life.
Dear Friends,
I say this with due modesty – but also with pride – that we, the Fidesz–Christian Democratic People’s Party, are the only political community in Hungary that has a Great Plain programme. This is understandable, because János Lázár is from Hódmezővásárhely and I am half from Mezőtúr – so it is only natural that we have a Great Plain programme! I can tell you that this year the entire M44 motorway will be completed, connecting Békés County to the Hungarian motorway network. The M47 Békéscsaba–Debrecen motorway is in the planning stage. The M4 is also under construction, from Szolnok to Kisújszállás, all the way to Berettyóújfalu, from where the border can already be reached via four lanes. And then there is this newly completed 30-kilometre section of railway line; and the next railway line – Szeged–Kiskunfélegyháza – is under construction. This means three motorways, and if I include the Budapest–Belgrade motorway – because it crosses the Great Plain – then there will be three motorways and three railway lines. Furthermore, instead of the current 100 km/h, on this line it will be possible to travel at 160 km/h, if all goes well. We understand that on the Romanian side they are also building the section leading to Brașov/Brassó. When everyone has completed what they have undertaken to do, the journey from Budapest to Brașov/Brassó – to the foot of the Carpathians – will be shortened by five hours. This will be very welcome.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Another chapter of the Great Plain Programme concerns jobs. You know how we think: if there are jobs, there is everything; if there will be jobs, there will be everything. Last week Minister Szijjártó announced that we are bringing a 280-billion-forint investment to Békéscsaba with a large international company, which will create 2,500 jobs, supported by 49 billion forints from the Hungarian government. Yesterday I read that the opposition’s economic policy leader said that the Government is giving too much money to businesses. If we had not given this 49 billion forints, there would not be 2,500 jobs in Békéscsaba – not a single one would have been created.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Airbus is already here in Gyula. We will soon be handing over the second large Mercedes factory in Kecskemét – I am talking about the Great Plain Programme. In Szeged there is BYD, a factory employing several thousand people. In Békéscsaba there is Vulcan, and we will hand over a BMW factory in Debrecen on Friday. And we cannot even count how many factories we will be handing over in the coming period. If my calculations are correct, and I believe they are, this means a total of around fifty thousand new jobs here in the Great Plain, including both direct and indirect employment. And if we do our job well, and we are preparing to do so, then over the next fifteen years the so-called Békéscsaba–Debrecen–Nagyszalonta economic region will also be created.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
This is our Great Plain plan. This is the Hungarian way. This is what the Hungarian government is working on. We want Hungarians to finally live in peace and security, with continuous growth and confidence in the future, and we want Békés County to remain peaceful. I wish you well as you use the renovated railway line. I wish you all strength, confidence in the future, and peaceful, prosperous, balanced years, leaving behind any pessimism! May God give you strength, good health, good neighbours, many children, happy families, and work that is useful, meaningful, and productive.
God above us all, Hungary before all else! Go Hungary, go Hungarians!