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Orbán: Central Europe’s survival dependent on cooperation
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The survival of central Europe’s peoples is dependent on their friendship and alliance with each other, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán told a ceremony marking the 20th anniversary of the inauguration of the Mária Valéria Bridge connecting Hungary and Slovakia in Esztergom, in northern Hungary, on Monday.
In his speech, Orban said that as two countries which had both “learned serious lessons about the aggression of the invaders of the previous century”, it was easy for Hungary and Slovakia to see “that we’re not enemies but companions in misfortune”.
“Smart neighbours don’t go to war with each other and aren’t hostile towards each other,” he added.
Orbán said two nations that respect each other’s culture would always benefit from cooperation. “It’s possible to be a proud European and Slovak and a proud European and Hungarian,” he said. It is possible to achieve economic growth that everyone benefits from, to create jobs for everyone “without giving up our way of life, who we are, our past and our values”, the prime minister said, adding that neither Hungary nor Slovakia could be successful without the other.
He said the anniversary of the Maria Valeria Bridge’s inauguration needed to be about more than remarking how the bridge connects two countries and its people. “Today we need to say more than that and say it differently,” Orbán said. “New winds are blowing today and we now see the world differently.”
But back when the bridge was inaugurated, central Europeans were rightfully optimistic, he said. “We believed the years of real struggles and the hard part were behind us,” he added.
“But that mood has evaporated and we had to realise that we cannot have our future be dependent on the goodwill of outside players,” Orbán said. “We have to fight for our own achievements each and every day.”
Orbán speaks the truth.