We are world champions in economic crisis management, government believes

Hungary will be able to remain successful even in a broad international crisis environment, Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó told a conference on Saturday.

In his address to the annually-organised Tranzit festival in Tihany, at Lake Balaton, Szijjártó said that in the face of great troubles around the world when circumstances of a recession are prevalent in Europe, Hungary has had a track record of 12 years of successful government strategy and policies. Hungary has successfully enforced its national interests and the country’s maneuvering space has been continually increasing, he added.

Szijjártó said that following the outbreak of the war in Ukraine, a new dimension of life developed in Hungary, Europe and in the world. A wave of migrants followed within days and questions emerged, such as whether Hungary would supply weapons and allow the transport of weapons through its territory or not. There were even some who had not excluded sending Hungarian soldiers to Ukraine and one had to “keep a clear head” even at NATO meetings, he said.

Then came the election campaign, with its focus shifting from social and economic policy issues to war and peace. It revealed a total discord between Hungary’s left wing and right wing as to what vision they would offer to Hungarians for the future, he said. The allied ruling parties achieved a landslide victory and it was the first time in the history of modern democratic Hungary that “a political family” received over three million supporting votes, Szijjártó said.

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He said that in the current era of crises and dangers, the question is whether Hungary can protect itself not only in physical terms but also economically and in terms of values. He said there were six sources of danger, including a danger of physical security, economic danger, energy supply problems, the strengthening of migration resulting from supply difficulties, the poor continental and global responses to the war and political blackmail.