Reality is on our side – says Secretary of State Zoltán Kovács

Zoltán Kovács, Secretary of State for International Communication and Relations, gave an interview to pro-government daily Magyar Nemzet, and right at the beginning, he called for the filling in of the latest national consultation sheet.

This is a questionnaire which is mainly about the "Brussels sanctions" that Viktor Orban voted for. The government says these sanctions are causing inflation – but a recent survey shows that the majority of Hungarians do not believe this. Almost 700,000 people filled in the survey as of last Thursday, a number that may have risen slightly since then.

"Citizens can say that they agree with what is happening in the European Union regarding energy sanctions, but they can also indicate that they agree with the government's point of view," said Zoltán Kovács.

"The important lesson of the past twelve years is that consultations have helped to ensure that nationally committed policies are also pragmatic. We always say that reality is on our side," he said.

He also spoke of the left in Hungary as "the bag carriers of the European left", who "sing the same tune as their comrades in the EP".

In response to the questioner, he also gave his views on the activities of US Ambassador David Pressman, who has been described by newspapers close to the government as an " overzealous fake diplomat". Zoltán Kovács said:

"as a government official, I will be more polite about the ambassador a state sends and how he or she behaves in the host country. We have always asked ambassadors accredited to our country to do their job on the basis of mutual respect. An ambassador's job is not to deal with the domestic politics of the host country, but to represent his or her own country".

Why is it important?

The economic sanctions imposed on Russia are the latest bogeyman of the Hungarian administration's communication. Viktor Orbán has actually said that Hungary has never supported them and never voted for them. But the sanctions require the agreement of all member states in Brussels before they can enter into force. According to Fidesz politicians, he did vote for them, but "not like that".