Referring to the war in Ukraine, the Prime Minister took the view that the Left “have lost their minds,” and “would barge sleepwalker-style” into a cruel, drawn-out and bloody war. In his view, the Hungarian Left want to send Hungarian soldiers and Hungarian arms to the frontline.
“We will not allow that. We will not allow the Left to drag Hungary into this war. We will not allow the Left to turn Hungary into a military target, to turn Hungarians in Hungary and in the Carpathian Basin into targets,” said Mr Orbán who delivered his ceremonial speech on a stage erected in front of the Parliament Building to the attendees of the Peace March.
He said the Hungarian people know full well “who usually pockets the profits of a war of this kind,” but we are strong enough, and we resist the plans of the Left and the war troublemakers behind them.
He also said the President of the Republic had become a woman for the first time at the best moment. He quoted elected head of state Katalin Novák’s statement that women want to win peace, not war. If we want to end the war, if we want Hungary to be left out of the war, we must listen to women, he said, adding that women see not a fight between East and West, but Ukrainian and Russian mothers, orphaned children, sons and fathers shot down, and destitution instead of the compelling force of the sanctions. Mothers know only too well that it takes twenty years to raise a child, but twenty seconds is enough to destroy a life, he observed.
He pointed out that Hungary must be left out of the war, not a single Hungarian can find themselves “between the Ukrainian anvil and the Russian hammer,” and therefore, we will send neither soldiers nor arms to the battlefields.
He stressed that we must represent our own interests ourselves calmly and bravely, and our best interest is “not to be a pawn in someone else’s war”. He said Hungary lies at the border of worlds, over here wars are waged not for us and not in our best interests, and whoever wins we are sure to stand to lose. Central Europe is but a chessboard for the great powers of the world, and Hungary is a mere pawn on it. If their goals so desire they are happy to sacrifice us, he added.
There are countries that seek to achieve their goals with wars, but we know that the best war is a war we manage to avoid. Russia follows Russia’s interests and Ukraine follows Ukraine’s interests, and likewise, the United States and Brussels will not think with a Hungarian head and feel with a Hungarian heart, he stated.
He recalled that in Ukraine where a war has broken out hundreds of thousands of Hungarians live, and soldiers and police officers are now required “to guarantee the security of our Eastern borders, too, with arms” in addition to the Southern borders.
The country is currently operating the largest humanitarian aid programme of all time, and meanwhile “the energy crisis now devastating Western Europe is thumping on our door”. It has taken us two years to finally defeat a pandemic not seen for a hundred years. “And if that was not enough, we also have here the Hungarian Left. We have entered an era of threats. This is no time to make mistakes, there is no room for hasty decisions, we cannot afford a single bad decision,” he stated.
He also stressed the threat of the war is not decreasing, but increasing, in fact, increasing the stakes of the elections “sky high”.
“A pro-peace Right or a pro-war Left? Construction or destruction? Forward or backward? We say we must preserve Hungary’s peace and security. Those who want to vote for peace and security will vote for Fidesz,” he said.
He stated that Hungary is helping refugees, but continues to say no to migration. In his view, we must feel with a Christian heart and must think with a Hungarian head. “Now, everyone can see the difference. Between the frightened women fleeing the fights in our neighbourhood with hastily packed bags and children, and migrants coming from thousands of kilometres away, laying siege to our border,” he said.
Mr Orbán reminded his audience filling the square and neighbouring streets that “we last met 143 days ago, on 23 October,” and “at the time, we gathered together in order to send out a message to the Left desirous of securing a place behind the steering wheel again that Buda is not lost, and as far as I can see, the chances are that neither is Pest”.
He said “we sent out the message that we will not allow our country to be dragged back into the left-wing nightmare from which we rescued it 12 years ago,” and “we will not allow Hungary to be bankrupted again”. Hungary must go forward, not backward, and “we here on the Right are not silly losers who become scared of the ever so influential media behind the Left, Brussels bureaucrats or the oh-so-rich George Soroses,” he said, adding that “we sent out the message that we will fight”.
He took the view that they had fought well, and “our strength and our chances are growing by the day”. He said he cannot recall “when the constellation was last as favourable 19 days before the elections as it is now”.
The Prime Minister-President of Fidesz said they had demonstrated their strength and this had brought about results: “our opponents are in a state of utmost helplessness, dithering on the brink of falling apart”. “Their candidate for prime minister believed to be nothing less than a comet is now nothing more than a cooled-down piece of stone that fell to Earth”. He observed that the country is sighing as one “how lucky that Hungary’s steering wheel is not in these people’s hands”.
He said “in their final desperation” they invited here Donald Tusk from Poland, “they brought here the Pole who is an embarrassment to his own country, who first destroyed his own party in Poland, and then destroyed the European People’s Party in Brussels”.
Mr Orbán also said it is an old habit of the Hungarian people that when the country’s fate takes a turn for the worse, they gather together, discuss things and make a decision together about how to avoid trouble, and which direction to follow. This is how Hungary gathered together today at the main square of the nation, and “we must talk about serious things,” about war and peace, the salvation of the nation and the threats we are facing, he added.
He highlighted: let there be peace, freedom and accord, this is what the youths of 1848 said, and for this we need the same thing again, strength.
The Prime Minister took the view that “a weak people will get no peace, at best, they will be spared; there is no freedom for a weak nation, at best, their reward is a fake type of goulash in the barracks; a weak people is unable to reach any accord, at best, they can resign themselves to their fate”. Peace, freedom and accord are the rewards of strong peoples, welfare, self-confidence, security and a peaceful life are their lot, he stated, adding that “the wind always boosts the sails of the strong,” their ship always reaches port, they are always favoured by good fortune, and always land on their feet.
He stressed that “we want a strong country which though based on the laws of nature cannot be detached from the solar system of peoples, always revolves on its own axis, never yields to the attraction of other planets, and doesn’t allow the interests of alien nations to determine its trajectory”. This requires strength commanding respect, and “we are gathering that strength, we are building that strong Hungary year after year, that’s what we’ve been doing for 12 years,” the Prime Minister stressed.
Mr Orbán said this is why they support families, “this is why we have created a million new jobs, this is why we have levied taxes on multinational corporations, reduced household energy bills, and have sent the IMF packing”. “We have not been diverted from our goals either by floods, migration or pandemics, and we want not to be diverted away from our goals by the war or the Left on 3 April either,” he stressed.
The Prime Minister said “we are 15 million around the world,” and “we live on the horizon of countries more powerful than us”. But this is no reason for being weak-spirited or scared, and not under any circumstances a reason for defeatism because strength is not only a question of muscle, he said, adding that a country must be strong in spirit first of all.
The Magyar name will be great again, Worthy of its old, great honour because the world only respects those who have courage and strength to stand up for themselves, he said.
He highlighted that in 2010 when they took over, the country was at its weakest, “but we swore that we will be unwavering and will have faith in the common will. We all stood up for Hungary,” he stressed, adding that we will never give up.
We will not bow down, we will not lie down, and we will not beat about the bush even if others do not like that. “We don’t wish for everyone to like us because that’s impossible, and we don’t like everyone either,” Mr Orbán said.
He also stated that two hundred thousand more children had been born than would have been born if the Left had remained in power; those who want to work have jobs, we have a national constitution, a million more citizens, and all 15 million Hungarians have a motherland. “One country, the motherland stands as one and the nation stands as one,” he said.
He also stressed that finally the country has a courageous foreign policy which is able to seal the borders to migrants, there will be a strong army and a defence industry to the highest world standards.
Mr Orbán warned his audience that in the present situation Hungary needs a government that cannot be taken by surprise. He highlighted that at this time we must be ready for every eventuality, and so the country needs a government that “is not now venturing out to open water for the first time”.
This is not “an hour for amateurs,” “not a time for dilettantes,” he said, adding that “we’re no beginners, and we’ve seen it all”.
Additionally, we are many, strong and united, and therefore, we will also win the referendum with which we will stop at Hungary’s borders “the gender madness that is sweeping through the Western world,” he stated.
The Prime Minister-President of Fidesz further stressed that they must and will win the elections, and then there will be peace, security and calm in Hungary.
Mr Orbán said Hungary is facing grave dangers, and a great victory is the best remedy against grave dangers.
He added that we have every chance “for a great victory,” provided that in the nineteen days remaining until the elections everyone does the job falling on them.
Mr Orbán asked members of his audience “to do one better” in the finish of the campaign.
“We have a nineteen-day march ahead of us, and at the end of it, on 3 April we will fight the battle. So let’s start, and let’s win the most important battle of our lives. Let’s give them their due, and protect Hungary,” he stressed.
“Let’s raise our flags high, to victory, the Lord above us all, Hungary before everything, come on, Hungary, come on, Hungarians,” Mr Orbán said concluding his celebratory address.
