Hungarian FM to MEP: “What Percentage of the European People Voted for You, So That You Could Lecture the Hungarian People?”

In the following video, which was recorded on April 26, Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártő responds to questions after speaking to the European Parliament’s LIBE Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs about the recent general election in Hungary. For Mr. Péter Szijjártő’s earlier remarks, see this post.

Many thanks to CrossWare for the translation, and to Vlad Tepes for the subtitling:

Video transcript:

0:00   Based on what you said, I have to draw that conclusion that in the Parliament of the
0:04   European Union, if someone reviles Hungary, that is all right;
0:08   if someone reviles the decision of the Hungarian people, that is all right;
0:12   if the Hungarian government is defamed, that is all right;
0:16   but if someone dares to talk back, that is NOT all right! That is, for me…
0:20   I think everyone who respects
0:24   democracies would refuse to accept this.
0:28   You are here…
0:32   — Just one second here! I think it is the case,
0:36   after your contribution, one of the members also
0:40   used rather emotional, inappropriate language;
0:44   that is the case, but I would like to ask —
0:48   but from your five minutes I will take 30 seconds away.
0:52   In the remaining five minutes, I would like to ask you
0:56   to try and use the sort of language
1:00   that is respectful of the Parliament;
1:04   I would like to ask that.
1:08   I am… just…
1:12   asking please — what is happening here today
1:16   is the examination of the Sargentini report.
1:20   She introduced the report nicely, and I would not like it if in the end
1:24   we end up having a huge argument here, so please concentrate
1:28   on the specific questions, and please do
1:32   that using the appropriate language. Thank you very much.
1:36   Respected Mr. President, I thought freedom of speech
1:40   and freedom of opinion applied to me also in this building,
1:44   but if this is not the case, I can live with
1:48   knowing that, too. However, I maintain my opinion — respected Mr. President — that
1:52   in this debate, Hungary was repeatedly
1:56   slandered, and I cannot accept that if someone
2:00   reacts to that, they immediately get deprecated
2:04   instead of being argued with using the facts.
2:08   Let me answer the questions raised by the representative ladies and gentlemen.
2:12   The Dutch Liberal representative woman was saying that
2:16   we only temporarily represent the Hungarian people. I would like to point out that we just won
2:20   our third consecutive term at the election,
2:24   with no less than a two-thirds super-majority!
2:28   You ask us how we represent the Hungarian people, and what kind of authorization we have.
2:32   I could also ask you what percentage of the European people
2:36   voted for you, so that you could lecture the Hungarian people
2:40   in the name of Europe. The Austrian representative
2:44   drew up an accusation against Hungary regarding
2:48   anti-Semitism. I would like to inform you, respected Mr. Representative,
2:52   that Hungary actually has a controversy with George Soros.
2:56   We disagree with — among other things — his
3:00   position on migration policies. George Soros
3:04   obviously wished that this government would not win the election.
3:08   I do not think this was a secret; he himself did not keep it a secret, either,
3:12   and it was not too hard to figure it out. But when we argue with George Soros,
3:16   we do not care about George Soros’ religion. I was not the one who brought it up —
3:20   the religion of George Soros — in this debate. The German Green party MP,
3:24   who as far as I can tell is no longer sitting here,
3:28   phrased the following accusation against us,
3:32   more precisely against Jobbik — which is not my task to defend — but I would like
3:36   bring your attention, that the opposition campaign was about nothing else except how
3:40   the Hungarian Socialist Party [MSZP, old Communists], the Democratic Coalition [DK, ex-socialists],
3:44   and the Hungarian Green Party [LMP — Liberals]
3:48   could somehow cooperate with Jobbik [neo-Nazi party] to govern together,
3:52   pushing aside differences in values, running together against the government.
3:56   After all of this, he is accusing me that my party is cooperating with Jobbik?!
4:00   The socialists and the green parties bargained with Jobbik
4:04   in the campaign for its cooperation. Respected Mr. President,
4:08   I would like to inform you regarding all of what Madame Representative
4:12   wrote in her report, this morning we sent the itemized rebuttal of it
4:16   to all representatives. For EVERY SINGLE accusation
4:20   we provided a detailed refutation. Mr. President, you asked me
4:24   about the NGOs, so please let me answer you
4:28   here and now. I think it is a legitimate expectation
4:32   of the Hungarian people that all of those organizations’
4:36   operating resources be transparent, those which
4:40   want to influence the will of the people.
4:44   This is a perfectly legitimate expectation of political parties, for example.
4:48   But it is also a legitimate expectation of
4:52   those NGOs that openly take a political role,
4:56   and which are financed from abroad, and want to influence
5:00   the opinion of the Hungarian people. I ask: why do they have to be secretive?
5:04   What kind of funds do they operate with? Why do they have to keep it a secret,
5:08   the source from which they receive their financial funding? And, Mr. President, I must refute
5:12   the idea that the Hungarian government in the prepared
5:16   or partially completed regulation would make the operation of NGOs impossible.
5:20   That is simply NOT TRUE! Respected Mr. President, we only asked that the NGOs
5:24   make it PUBLIC if they receive funding from abroad.
5:28   I do not think that for any NGO it would make
5:32   its operation impossible if on the Internet, on their homepage,
5:36   they have to display where their funding comes from!
5:40   And we insist on this, and will continue to do so in the future, too. Finally,
5:44   I would like to say that, concerning the questions about academic freedom,
5:48   in Hungary more than 20 foreign universities are operating.
5:52   Except for the CEU (Soros’ Central European University), nobody else is complaining about the new regulation.
5:56   Interestingly, you do not want to hear the other voices, only one
6:00   complaining university… There are three American universities operating in Hungary.
6:04   The agreement with one of them about our future cooperation
6:08   was signed by me personally in Maryland.
6:12   So if one American university signs the agreement, the other one complains,
6:16   I would like to ask why you only hear one of them?
6:20   Respectfully, ladies and gentlemen, I would like to repeat that I am grateful
6:24   personally to Mr. President as well that he made it possible
6:28   that in front of the European Parliament, which we hold in high regard,
6:32   we could speak, but I would like to emphasize further
6:36   that we do not accept and will not tolerate that
6:40   lies and slander are spread here about Hungary, so our itemized, detailed
6:44   rebuttals for every single accusation have been made available to you.
6:48   Thank you very much, Mr. President; I am honored that I could be here today. Thank you.
 

10 thoughts on “Hungarian FM to MEP: “What Percentage of the European People Voted for You, So That You Could Lecture the Hungarian People?”

  1. I think the question posed by the Dutch Liberal MEP that Mr. Péter Szijjártő referred to was a perfect illustration of the skewed thinking of the political establishment. The Dutch MEP questioned the legitimacy of the current Hungarian Government to make long-term decisions (in relation to migration) because it was ‘temporary’ i.e. in the sense that it could be voted out at the next general election. The Dutch MEP appeared not to have realised that the same applies to her since she also is subject to elections. Isn’t this just typical of the liberal/left?!

    • Absolutely! You’ve hit the nail on the head. All governments are temporary, but much of the time they make decisions whose results will outlast them. It’s a heavy responsibility, and I think that at the moment the Hungarian government bears it better than most.

  2. The truth again! How to make an enemy very quickly: tell the truth.

    If you’re HEARING the truth but don’t want to hear it, don’t give counter-arguments, just defame the truth-bearer or remain silent.

  3. Hungary, like a proud soldier, tries to stand up. Forty-plus years of Soviet enslavement has created a most unexpected circumstance. For while the West enjoyed freedom and the fruits of Keynesian fiat (a fiat philosophy, itself), little Hungary was spared the pathogen that is the cultural Marxist disease.

    Something tells me that time never wholly realigns the stars in the sky. Janos Hunyadi–once upon a time–flapped his butterfly wings. For this our bells ring at noon.

    I submit that Hungary remains the embodiment of Janos Hunyadi, and that the constellations in our sky have changed little from the 1440’s.

    A cowardly, sick West. A weak church. Ottomans hoping to slither up the Balkan bottle neck only to find a stubborn Magyar cork.

    Metaphysics being what it is, I would not be surprised if forces that would otherwise care less about Hungary will try to bend her, now, simply because she resists. Herein she places those forces on notice that she will not bend.

    Will the flapping wings of the Magyar butterfly create a hurricane elsewhere? Will she be a catalyst to the EU collapse? To a failing fiat contagion which we know is nigh?

    I would say it is a stretch to think this only until you hear the bells at noon.

    • ..”A cowardly, sick West “…
      I would add another objective to fill-full your description ; “Parasitic West”..
      After all so call “West” ,is dwelling and parasiting on Central and East part of Europe more than 1000 years..
      They don’t like to see our effort and ambitions to succeed ,or us to be a Sovereign and Master of own destiny..
      Historical and political Status Quo order and grip on this part of Europe and people ,is what they would like to maintain for another 1000 years..sickening..

  4. Hungary, like a proud soldier, tries to stand up. Forty-plus years of Soviet enslavement has created a most unexpected circumstance. For while the West enjoyed freedom and the fruits of Keynesian fiat (a fiat philosophy, itself), little Hungary was spared the pathogen that is the cultural Marxist disease.

    Something tells me that time never wholly realigns the stars in the sky. Janos Hunyadi–once upon a time–flapped his butterfly wings. For this our bells ring at noon.

    I submit that Hungary remains the embodiment of Janos Hunyadi, and that the constellations in our sky have changed little from the 1440’s.

    A cowardly, sick West. A weak church. Ottomans hoping to slither up the Balkan bottle neck only to find a stubborn Magyar cork.

    Metaphysics being what it is, I would not be surprised if forces that would otherwise care less about Hungary will try to bend her, now, simply because she resists. Herein she places those forces on notice that she will not bend.

    Will the flapping wings of the Magyar butterfly create a hurricane elsewhere? Will she be a catalyst to the EU collapse? To a failing fiat contagion which we know is nigh?

    I would say it is a stretch to think this only until you hear the bells at noon.

  5. The EU is a bully, working best when it can flex its muscles and intimidate smaller opponents. Like all bullies, it cries and blusters when someone stands up to it. They’re the schoolyard bully, bribing confederates with their parents (German) money to protect them from any real fighting.

    They’ve managed to sidetrack Brexit. Who believes that the current British government will ever assert British interests or any backbone? Indeed, the party in power opposed Brexit and now appears eager to sabotage it altogether.

    The Hungarians have chosen a superb moment in history to assert their national interests. The EU is not able to assure itself of the military muscle to enforce its diktats, as NATO under Trump cannot be depended upon to act as an internal police force. The Hungarians have tightened their belts and assured that they are not financially dependent on globalist bankers and financiers. The worst the EU gnomes can bring to bear is accusations of racism and bigotry. In a diverse society, these charges have more power, but in a largely homogeneous country like Hungary, they are not taken so seriously, particularly if they are blessed with leaders owning backbones.

Comments are closed.