State secretary calls for strengthening ‘real Christian democratic parties’

Katalin Novák, the state secretary for family and youth affairs, in an interview to the online edition of the daily Magyar Hírlap, called for the strengthening of “real Christian democratic parties interested in bettering the future of Europe”.

Commenting on Wednesday’s Europe Uncensored conference, Novák, who is also the deputy leader of Hungary’s ruling Fidesz, noted that Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic and Slovenian Prime Minister Janez Jansa were also joined at the event by Francois-Xavier Bellamy, the head of France’s Republicans in the European Parliament.

She said Bellamy lived by “true right-wing” values and “understands exactly the historical differences between the continent’s eastern and western halves”. Bellamy, she said, was also interested in having a right wing in Europe that was strong and capable of action.

As regards the relationship between Fidesz and its European political grouping, the European People’s Party, Novák noted that she and Gergely Gulyás, the prime minister’s chief of staff, held talks with leading politicians of Germany’s ruling CDU and CSU parties in Berlin last week.

“So the dialogue is ongoing,” she said, adding, however, that there were still disagreements between the two sides, namely on questions such as the extent to which they should get involved in each other’s internal affairs.

“We have a shared future but not all of its elements are the same,” Novák said. “We want to uphold these differences: the freedom to make our own decisions and our sovereignty which every nation is entitled to.”