Election 2018 – Orbán: Hungary ‘home of the brave’

“Hungary is the country of the brave that made clear to the whole of Europe on Sunday that they want honest and clear speech and want to call the problem plaguing this continent by its name,” Prime Minister Viktor Orbán told commercial Echo TV early on Monday.

Assessing the victory of his Fidesz-Christian Democrat alliance in Sunday’s general election, Orbán noted that in the lead-up to the vote, he had urged voters to understand that the election could decide Hungary’s fate “for decades to come”.

“I was certain that we were doing it right,” Orbán said. “So, if we are straightforward and speak clearly, if we don’t back down … then this nation — when there is danger — will pull itself together and turn out in great numbers and demonstrate a unified will to the world.”

“The result is such a success that there is a serious weight of responsibility on my shoulders,” the prime minister said.

Orbán said he wanted Hungary to “keep its feet on the ground and be aware of reality, but it must be seen that Europe is suffering from disingenuousness”.

“When the continent is unable to speak openly about the problems plaguing it, its fears or things it considers important about its future”, then it was not the size of a country’s military, GDP or area that counted, but rather “the purity of thought and voice”.

“And this is not about big nations and small nations, but about brave nations and brave people,” Orbán said. “And Hungary is a country of brave people.”

“This is our continent, this is our homeland, our greater homeland,” the prime minister said. “We love it and we want its future to be just as bright as the successful decades behind us,” he said.

“We don’t stand opposed to Europe and the European Union, but rather we want Europe, we want the European Union and we want a successful and strong European Union,” Orbán added. “But for that we first need to speak openly about everything that torments us.”

“Hungarians are very strong when it comes to this, and our language clearly helps, too; our political traditions are also built on the idea that honest politicians are those who dare to think what everyone else is already thinking,” Orbán said. “We’ve politely, respectfully … clearly said what is good and what isn’t,” he added.