“The referendum is the last chance to stop immigration”, the Minister heading the Prime Minister’s Office said in Hódmezővásárhely on Tuesday.

At the street forum organised in the south-east Hungarian city are part of a serious of nationwide events to promote Sunday’s referendum on the compulsory relocation quota, János Lázár stressed that the Government is not currently strong enough to stop the process alone. “Brussels will only bow to the will of its voters”, he added. The politician, who is also the region’s Member of Parliament, encouraged the gathered crowd to try and convince those in doubt that on 2 October they will not be deciding on the Government or on Viktor Orbán, but on their own futures.

“The referendum could decide the fate of the country for many decades to come; if few people participate and there is disunity then we will be unable to stop the immigration. First they will relocate a few hundred people to Hungary, then thousands and then hundreds of thousands”, the Minister said. “If you do not want immigration then you must vote no, and if you want this country to be inhabited by Hungarians then you must vote no, if you want to protect your country, vote no!”? Mr. Lázár declared.

The Minister explained that although there may be fewer people living in Hódmezővásárhely than there were fifteen or twenty years ago, the answer to this problem isn’t to invite people here from Africa or the Middle East, but to help local families have children, set up home, find work and make a living.

In reply to a question, Mr. Lázár said if the Government loses this battle then it will decide on placing immigrants according to what people living in the given settlement think. “If forced to distribute the new arrivals, the Government can only do so ion settlements where there was relatively little resistance or where voters didn’t bother participating in the referendum. This means every local result will have its own significance”, he added.

(Cabinet Office of the Prime Minister/MTI)