Elderly people are the bearers and authentic representatives of the social order and values resting on common sense which are capable of guaranteeing the survival of a nation, the active experience of Christian freedom, and the possibility of a happy and full life, the Government Spokesperson said at a Budapest conference entitled “Value Throughout” organised by the Club of Young Families (Ficsak) on the occasion of the International Day for Older Persons.

According to István Hollik, instead of Western ideological trends which attack the institution of the family, the right of children to life and national cohesion and which seek to set men and women against one another, we need a calm and clear order of life handed down to us by older generations, and the government itself stands for this in its policies.

On behalf of the government, the Christian democratic politician thanked elderly people for having preserved Hungary even amidst historical difficulties, and for having shown how to fight and how to work decently, as well as for reminding us from time to time that family comes first.

He stressed that the order taking its roots from Christian culture is the basis which enables us to cope with the challenges of the future as well.

He said the government shapes its family policy on the basis of principles learnt from the elderly, and it was in that spirit that it decided on the family tax benefits and the most recent family protection action plan.

He pointed out that, as a sign of respect and appreciation, the government is doing everything it can to provide the conditions that are necessary for the elderly to live an untroubled and safe life. The government further believes it is its moral duty to ensure that older persons also receive a share of the economy’s good performance; the pension premium and the household utility vouchers, too, serve that purpose, the Government Spokesperson said.

Tünde Fűrész, Director of the Kopp Mária Institute outlined the findings of a survey on elderly people conducted by the government’s support institution which was released on Tuesday. As part of this, they interviewed people without children between the ages of 18 and 26 years and people aged between 65 and 75 years about marriage and children. According to the survey, Hungarian people are pro-marriage and pro-children, and in general they think in terms of multi-generational families. With reference to this, she stressed that every grandmother and grandfather with an active presence in their family is a genuine treasure, and their involvement can positively affect young people’s willingness to have children.

The survey concludes that 44 per cent of young people would like to have more children than their parents did, while 39 per cent of elderly respondents said that they would like more children if they could start their lives again. Details of the research released for the International Day for Older Persons are available at the website koppmariaintezet.hu.

Zoltán Lomnici, head of the Civil Union Forum said the fact that the average age has increased is an enormous advantage, but also an enormous challenge. Outlining demographic data, he said compared with the 1960s, in the EU the percentage of people over the age of 65 years increased by more than 40 per cent by the turn of the millennium.

(MTI)