Hungarian FM: Hungarians are still people of freedom

Hungarians are a “people of freedom” and can turn into “freedom fighters” if necessary, Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó said in Győr, in northwestern Hungary, marking the 175th anniversary of the 1848-49 revolution and freedom fight on Wednesday.

Accepting the title of honourary citizen of the city, Szijjártó said Hungary had emerged from all crises of the past 13 years stronger than before. The country delivered a “Hungarian response” to every ordeal, neither seeking “guidelines” nor trying to “meet expectations”, but “looking only to national interests”, he added.

Hungary “climbed out of a hole” when the economy reached a low point because of the global financial crisis thanks to national cooperation, and has since built one of the fastest-developing economies in Europe, he said.

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Szijjártó said Hungary had been “overrun by migrant hordes who showed no respect for people living here” eight years earlier, while many in Europe wanted to strip the country of its right to decide “with whom we want to live”.