János Horváth belonged to the brave generation which even between two pagans – during the brown-shirt and communist dictatorships – faithfully stood by his political conviction, a set of independent, smallholder, civic and patriotic beliefs, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán wrote in a message sent to the mourning family after the death of János Horváth, former oldest Member of Parliament.

In the message which was forwarded to the Hungarian news agency MTI on Thursday, on the day of the funeral of the former Member of Parliament, the Prime Minister highlighted that “there are lives which represent a model to be followed for all of us”. János Horváth as “an uncompromising man” believed nothing ever was impossible which he proved, among others, by having defeated, in the colours of the Smallholders’ Party, the candidate of the communists, János Kádár in the 1945 municipal elections in Angyalföld, an area widely known to be a workers’ district.

“We are grateful that after his return home he chose our political community as with his arrival we found not only an excellent expert, but also a model and a colleague who contributed to the strengthening of civic Hungary with his wise advice and the conception of the growth programme,” Mr Orbán wrote.

“I was deeply grieved to learn that our comrade-in-arms and master, the former oldest Member of Parliament, János Horváth had left us. Please allow me to take this opportunity to offer my condolences, and to wish you much strength for the difficult period ahead,” the Prime Minister’s message concludes.

(Cabinet Office of the Prime Minister/MTI)