Democracy needs to be promoted even today, Minister of Human Capacities Zoltán Balog said at a ceremony held on Monday on the occasion of 25th anniversary of the opening of the Hanns Seidel Foundation’s Budapest office.

Mr Balog, President of the Foundation for a Civic Hungary, pointed out that while the cornerstones of the regime change – freedom, democracy, human rights and European integration – must remain unchanged, “we must continue the dialogue regarding the best policies and life we can provide for European nations within these frameworks”.

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According to the Minister, the Bavarian Foundation represents a blend of tradition and innovation that should be a blueprint for Hungarians. He praised the Foundation’s work since the regime change regarding political education, reinforcement of municipalities and training of public safety personnel.

Mr Balog stressed that Central European politicians must continue to voice their specific viewpoints in Europe and they can only do so in a credible manner, if they have political research and education to back them up.

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The Foundation, established in Munich in 1967 has close ties to the Christian Social Union (CSU) and is active in Germany and 60 other countries with the motto “serving democracy, peace and progress”.

President of the Foundation Ursula Männle recalled that the Budapest office was their first one in Central Europe; it opened on 1 March 1990, prior to the first democratic elections after the regime change.

The event was also attended by Germany’s Ambassador to Budapest Lieselore Cyrus, and Swiss Ambassador Jean-Francois Paroz.

(Ministry of Human Capacities)