Hungarian FM: only countries with strong national identities can be successful

Only countries that have strong national identities and are capable of preserving their cultural, religious and historical heritage can be successful “in these challenging times”, Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó said on Wednesday.

Countries must regard their national interests as their compass when making decisions, the foreign ministry cited Szijjártó as saying in his address opening a cultural diplomacy conference. “We don’t accept the ‘dare to be small’ approach,” he said.

Only the countries that stand up for themselves under all circumstances can be successful, but this requires a stable foundation which, in Hungary’s case, is guaranteed by a thousand-year-old statehood, a Christian heritage and cultural, religious and historical traditions, the minister said.

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“Everything in the world today goes against this,” Szijjártó said, arguing that the “international liberal mainstream treats everything and everyone that thinks about national values, traditions and historical-cultural heritages as an enemy”. Szijjártó underscored the importance of showing the unique values and resources of Hungarian culture to the world.

“We belong to the West, our culture is a part of Western culture, but at the same time we are seen as brothers in the East,” Szijjártó said. Hungarian cultural heritage has many ties to the East, he said, adding that the theory of the Finno-Ugric connection meant that “we aren’t seen as strangers in the north, either”.