Those who choose the West, who choose Europe and the right side of history, who are opting for peace and security, join the crowds of freedom-loving Hungarians! – called on his viewers Péter Márki-Zay when he addressed the nation in a speech via Facebook on Tuesday. Translation by Andrea Horváth Kávai
There is a war raging in Europe. This new situation presents us all with a new choice – declared Péter Márki-Zay in his speech entitled “A speech to the nation” as he addressed Hungarians via Facebook. The opposition’s prime ministerial candidate said that his generation was gifted with the longest time of peace Europe has ever seen.
„This peace was brought by European integration. We didn’t appreciate this peace, because we took it for granted”
– he said, adding that on 25 February, the world around us changed from one day to the next. Márki-Zay said that Vladimir Putin
„overran a free and proud nation. We Hungarians know exactly what it means when an invading army tries to break a nation’s desire for freedom with weapons. We know this because of 1848 and because of 1956. We also know what it’s like to live next door to and under the oppression of the Russian empire. It cost us fourty years, it cost us our freedom, and it cost us our prosperity.”
He said that nobody thought this would be repeated, but Putin’s war and the fate of Ukraine would have an influence on life in Europe, as well as our lives in Hungary in the future.
„We need to rearrange our lives yet again. And now we must do this on our own, nobody can make this decision for us. This is a decision for the people alone, and noone else.”
– Márki-Zay said.
According to him, Hungary must choose a path, and must change direction because the politics of Orbán has failed. The opposition politician said that the politics which followed the model of “Putin, the aggressor” has failed. He also added that
„the illiberal state, the corruption, the enrichment of the privileged ones, the theft of entire industries, the attacks against minorities and NGOs, the abolition of free press, the publicly financed political propaganda have all followed Putin’s model step by step. Viktor Orbán – Hungary’s Putin – has attempted more than ten times in recent years to prevent Europe from taking action against Putin’s aggressive policies. In exchange, Putin gave him business deals which made oligarchs rich, but the price is ultimately paid by the Hungarian people.”
Márki-Zay called on everyone to remember the endless posters the government has flooded the country with in recent years which talked about us stopping Brussels (i.e. the EU and NATO), and how the foundation for the so-called “opening to the East” (which meant doing business with dictators) was established by blatantly denigrating the West. He commented that the “opening to the East” has now clearly become “failure in the East”.
The opposition politician said that
„The words on those posters were the foundation of the politics which resulted in fighting among Hungarians during the last twelve years, and which also contributed to the war currently going on near our borders.”
“The time of seesaw-politics is over” – he said, adding that the West is not just an abstract concept.
„The West is independence, the West is freedom and the West is solidarity. The European Union is the West. NATO is the West. These are the only allies capable of guaranteeing Hungary’s future, as well as its physical and financial security.”
In his opinion, Hungary’s security is best served if Hungarian soldiers protect the country’s borders.
„Hungarian soldiers should stay in Hungary. This is the way to keep this war away from our borders.”
– he declared, refuting the statements of pro-government media and recent government rhetoric that he would approve sending Hungarian soldiers to Ukraine.
He also added that in itself, this is not enough, and it must be clearly stated that Hungary’s safety can only be fully guaranteed by the EU and NATO. In his opinion, instead of working to dismantle European unity, Hungary must once again become a loyal member of the alliance.
According to Péter Márki-Zay, one of the biggest lies for the past 12 years is that Paks 2 has got anything to do with the capping of overhead costs.
“Hungarian energy prices are not influenced by a power plant that is already seven years overdue, and which doesn’t even exist on paper, and against which Fidesz even voted in the European Parliament approving sanctions against it”
– he declared. According to Péter Márki-Zay, the gas storage supplies that were depleted during the winter should be replenished so that no war could threaten the energy security of Hungarians, and then all efforts should be made to switch to renewable energy sources. This is the safe energy policy for Hungary and one that is in line with EU ambitions on the subject – he said.
The opposition’s prime ministerial candidate said that
„The value and stability of the Hungarian people’s money is guaranteed by a strong forint, and in the long term, the introduction of the euro.”
According to Márki-Zay, the only way to guarantee the recovery of the forint and the economy, as well as the financial security of Hungarians is for Hungary to receive the EU funds and subsidies which have been withheld because of Orbán’ corruption.
He added that in his opinion, the EU has had enough of the Hungarian government’s Putin-like corruption and systemic theft, and it is high time for Hungary to join the European Public Prosecutor’s Office, so the criminals could be held accountable, the nation’s stolen wealth recovered, and the EU funds Hungary is entitled to received.
“Physical security, financial security, and energy security – these are the things we must secure on 3 April with a change of government.”
– concluded Péter Márki-Zay.
Don't forget to check back with Telex this Friday, when we will bring you a summary of the main points of Márki-Zay's opponent, Viktor Orbán's weekly interview.