1956 celebratory event in Krakow – Orbán: new era of prosperity starting in central Europe

Krakow, December 9 (MTI) – A new period of prosperity is starting in central Europe and young people will have to find new ways to nurture Hungarian-Polish friendship, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán told a 1956 celebratory event in Krakow.

“We know how to remain friends in times of suffering, but we are now preparing for very different times,” Orbán told the inauguration ceremony of a memorial plaque paying tribute to protests organised by the Revolutionary Committee of University Students in 1956 and help offered to Hungarians.

Orbán said the friendship between Hungarians and Poles does not mean that the two peoples are not aware of each other’s faults. But they are willing to overlook them and “overrate” each other’s strong points, the prime minister said. Some might call this romanticism, Orbán said, adding, however, that it is important that “the romantic Hungarian-Polish friendship remain a part of our lives”.

Orbán noted Polish President Andzej Duda’s visit to Budapest for the state commemorations of the 1956 anti-Soviet uprising, which he called a “great honour” for Hungarians.

Referring to the blood donations that Poland offered to Hungary after the crushing of the revolution, he said the blood of Hungarians and Poles had mixed together thanks to the Poles. And ever since 1956, Hungarians have considered the Poles not only as friends but also as brothers.