According to a report published on figyelo.hu on Friday, the Prime Minister said that “the Hungarian people have much to be proud of, and it is time to look on ourselves as winners”.

He pointed out that in 2010, when unemployment stood at 11 per cent, the Hungarian government made a major pledge, with the result that by the end of 2018 this indicator will have fallen to 3.5 per cent. Eight years ago unemployment among young people was almost 30 per cent, he said, while today this figure is under 10 per cent. Over the past year, the Prime Minister said, 90,000 new jobs have been created on the market, the number of those working in public works programmes has decreased by 42,000, and the number of Hungarians working abroad has fallen by 9,000.

Mr. Orbán stressed that creating national self-esteem – which is closely linked to the economy – is one of the Government’s most important goals. The Prime Minister pointed out that national self-esteem forms the basis for overall success in the national economy, but in order to attain it Hungarians must look upon their own lives as success stories.

He observed that for many decades the Hungarians have adopted a defensive attitude – not only in politics, but also in everyday life. If they want Hungary to remain as successful as it has been over the past few years, he pointed out, a paradigm shift will be needed: instead of a culture of losers, a culture of winners must be established.

Hungarians, the Prime Minister said, should shed their identity as the losers of history condemned to a life of misfortune, and should start acting like winners. In an ironic reference to Turkish head of state Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s visit to Budapest, he said that “We are not visiting surviving Hungarian historical sites in Buda, but the Turks are visiting surviving Turkish historical sites there.”

Mr. Orbán went on to say that “we are guided not by self-hatred, but by patriotism”, observing that instead of a culture of self-hatred, a culture of patriotism must be taught in schools and represented in politics, culture and business.

The culture of patriotism, he continued, is nothing but everyday patriotism, and everyday patriotism is based on the fact that Hungary is a source of pride for every Hungarian, because the country is their collective achievement. The Prime Minister stressed that “We are therefore proud of the contribution we have made in the Carpathian Basin across thirty generations to what we can call European culture, European history and European civilisation.”