Good morning, Ladies and Gentlemen.
First of all I would like to thank you all for coming to this event. Many of you were also at the Peace March in Budapest at the weekend. Thank you very much for being there and for making the weekend so unforgettably beautiful and such a display of strength for us. The most important person who should be here – but for some reason isn’t – is János Fónagy. János Fónagy stood as a parliamentary candidate in 1994, and then again in 1998 in the constituency of Ózd. It was from him that I first heard – when I was in opposition in 1994, and then as Prime Minister in 1998 – that the Hernád Valley cannot be left as it is: that serious action must be taken here, and that the most important thing that could help this region’s development would be the construction of this motorway. So the host of this event, its spiritual father, is in fact János Fónagy – who is still our Member of Parliament here. János said that under no circumstances can one leave politics until this road is built. But the opposite doesn’t follow: this doesn’t mean that one should leave after its completion. He didn’t think that, I don’t think so, and I hope that you don’t either.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
When I was preparing to come here, I was given a doctoral thesis written at the beginning of the 20th century: in 1905. From this I plucked the following thought, and I quote: “The main hub for trade bound for Poland was Kassa. By its very nature this favourably situated city was destined to trade with the North. Here the hills meet the Hungarian Plain, and the valley of the River Hernád extends from the South, linking the Highlands with the area of the Tisza and Bodrog rivers. The best market for exchanging the produce of the different regions gathers here.” This is a study or doctoral dissertation on medieval trade describing conditions here many hundreds of years ago, but the names of both rivers and places are unchanged. This reminds us that the Hernád Valley was part of a flourishing trade corridor, and that through here ran the trade route linking Transylvania with Poland and the Baltic.
It was a very important route, with produce from the larder of the Great Plain and the natural treasures of Felvidék changing hands here. But what is most important – and perhaps not obvious even to the people living here – is that it was possible to build and operate a very important international route without needing to go through the nation’s capital. After (the Treaty of) Trianon we Hungarians find it very difficult to imagine that there is something important that somehow doesn’t go through Budapest. Having prepared myself to come here to you, I realise that we too have to revert to an earlier way of thinking, which takes account of the fact that we’ve entered an era in which we don’t have to plan routes and railways radiating out from Budapest. We have our old, natural, geographically cohesive regions; and if we connect them, life in the Hungarian countryside can be happy, rich and prosperous for the people who live here without having to be linked to our capital – which, incidentally, was planned for a country three times the size of the one we now have.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
So it is clear that this was a prosperous region until it was torn apart by the Great Powers after the First World War. And, if we’ve understood our task correctly, our generation’s mission is to try to stitch back together what outsiders and the Great Powers tore apart. If we don’t do this, then the Hungarian countryside’s natural endowments won’t come to the fore, and Hungary’s rich, independent rural areas won’t be able to exploit their natural qualities. We come up against borders everywhere, however, and this draws our attention to the fact that the Hungarian countryside’s prosperity can only be envisaged if we can also eliminate the country’s fragmentation and link together areas that today belong to different states – areas under the jurisdiction of different states. This means that there can be no rural development in Hungary without realising the concept of Central European unity. If there is Central European cooperation and unity, then there can also be a prosperous Hungarian countryside. What we want, therefore, is not simply a prosperous rural Hungary, but also a strong Central Europe that is a robust and independent power centre, and that is strong enough to defend itself against the type of unnatural interventions bringing consequences under which we still suffer to this day.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
In order to achieve these two goals, we of course need to build roads that connect the different areas of the countryside, giving the rural population access to the cities, connecting Hungarians in the motherland with Hungarians beyond the borders, and linking together Slovaks, Hungarians, Serbs, Poles, Lithuanians and Croats. The road we are now handing over serves all these purposes simultaneously.
Dear Friends, Ladies and Gentlemen,
You will remember that in 2010, when we formed our government back then, we set ourselves three goals in relation to roads. The first goal was to connect every county-ranked city in the county to the network of motorways and dual carriageways. The second goal was that every Hungarian citizen – no matter how small the settlement he or she lives in – should be able to reach a point on that highway network within no more than half an hour from his or her home. This would mean that no one would have the feeling of living at the end of the world, but would be part of the world, could be involved in the life of the country, and within half an hour could be on a circulatory system rapidly transporting him or her to any distant point in the country. And our third goal was to have all the motorways and dual carriageways extending as far as the border and connecting Hungary with its neighbours. We have mobilised huge resources and enormous amounts of money to achieve these goals.
I will now give you a brief account of where we stand. All of what I’m about to say is said with due modesty. The numbers alone would seem like boasting, so please imagine an appropriately modest subordinate clause after each sentence. So, since May 2010, thirty-three sections of motorway and dual carriageway have been opened, totalling six hundred kilometres of road. Currently there are three – now only three – cities of county rank that are not directly connected to the network of motorways and dual carriageways. In 2010 there were nine such cities in Hungary. And those that are not yet on the network – Zalaegerszeg, Kaposvár and Békéscsaba – will soon be on it, because road construction work is also in full swing in the vicinity of all three of those cities. This means that 87 per cent of Hungarians will be able to gain access to one of the roads on the network within 30 minutes from their home. In 2010 that figure was 60 per cent. So now we’re at 87 per cent, and over the next two or three years that figure will be 100 per cent, and we’ll have delivered on our commitment in full. We have nothing to be ashamed of either in relation to roads extending to the borders. Before 2010, only three motorways extended as far as the nation’s borders, while today that number is nine; and by 2025 we will have eleven such roads, with virtually all our motorways and dual carriageways reaching the borders of Hungary today.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
This investment will shorten your journey between Kassa/Košice and Miskolc by half an hour. The value of the project – and here you can get an insight into the Government’s difficulties – was stated by the previous speaker to be 180 billion, but it says here that it was 200 billion forints. The difference is explained by the fact that they always calculate the net value, and I always calculate the gross value: they calculate what flows to them, and I calculate what flows out of the Treasury – and there’s a difference between the two. The actual cost is a problem in every investment. But the essence is that Finance Minister Mihály Varga allocated HUF 200 billion to build this road; but he says that of course he has also taken some of it back – so that is also true.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
I’ve also collected another set of numbers. Between 2014 and 2020, through various calls for applications, 700 billion forints went to your county, to the area within the boundaries of Borsod-Abaúj-Zemplén County. So that was 700 billion forints in seven years. I have already said to some of you here that if God helps us and our voters stay with us and we can win the next parliamentary election in 2022, and I hope we can, then this 700 billion forints will be dwarfed by the developments planned for your county. Our plans are complete, we have the ideas, and we have the money; all that we need is a good, sturdy and dynamic government that delivers on its commitments.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Life will be easier on both sides of the border, life will be better in and around Kassa/Košice, it will be easier to get to Eperjes/Prešov or Encs, it will be easier for capital, goods and tourists to come here, and jobs will be created. Do not be impatient. I clearly remember when we built the section of dual carriageway linking Mezőkövesd to the country’s bloodstream, that six months later my friend András Tállai came to me and said that it wasn’t true that motorways bring investors. Two years after that I spoke to him again, and he said: “It’s true after all!” So it takes time. Let’s not be impatient: this road will also bring economic development opportunities for the settlements along its route; but businesses, entrepreneurs and capital also need time to get used to the idea that new opportunities have opened up here.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
We must now briefly discuss a larger natural unit: Central Europe. Nobody knows what will happen in the world. We can all see that there’s a rather turbulent situation almost everywhere, and the world is undergoing great changes. Our size and location don’t allow us to have a meaningful influence on the game being played by the largest nations. What we can do, however, is influence our own lives. So, regardless of which way the world is moving in, the only sure thing that makes sense and is of benefit to us is if we build Central Europe and strengthen Central Europe. We need to build roads like the ones we’ve been building; we need to build pipelines like the ones we’ve been building; we’re planning to build a high-speed rail network linking the capitals of four countries; and we’re planning to link energy networks and the various pipeline systems. In this sense borders will be a political fact, and over time not even that; but in terms of everyday life, that can proceed as smoothly as if the region had never been dismembered. And I am convinced that this is in the interests not only of us Hungarians, but also of the Slovaks, the Poles, the Czechs, the Croats, the Serbs and everyone.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Today we have taken an important step towards both goals: the development of rural Hungary and the strengthening of Central Europe.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
I have to say the most important thing at the end, however: roads do not grow out of the ground by themselves. Someone has to plan them, someone has to manage the work, and someone has to do the work; so let’s thank the planners, the engineers and the workers for having created this road and having made it available to us. They are here with us. Workers aren’t known for their love of the stage, but if you’re here, please come up here – please, on stage, stand here, let them see you. All these people are here to thank you. Thank you very much for your attention.
Go Hungary, go Hungarians!