6 April 2018, Székesfehérvár

Ladies and Gentlemen, People of Fehérvár [Székesfehérvár],

It’s good to be back home here, and it’s good to see you again, at the final event in the election campaign. That’s how we officially and usually refer to it, but in truth we have no intention whatever of finishing this election campaign today. On the contrary, we want to launch one last charge. We have to do this because elections are always decided at the very end. There would be no point in having worked flat out in recent weeks if we were to slacken off at the end. Whatever has happened so far in this campaign, regardless of our chances right now, in reality the election will be decided in forty-eight hours, this Sunday. According to my favourite political philosopher, a certain Rocky Balboa, “Ain’t nothin’ over till it’s over”. He’s right, let’s heed his words!

People of Fehérvár,

This is our umpteenth election campaign. I even remember an election in which we were in the majority on Saturday, and we were in the majority again on Monday, but on Sunday itself there weren’t enough of us. That turned out costing Hungary eight years, and in the end we were happy to manage the Herculean task of setting it back on its feet. We learnt this lesson in 2002. The intelligent person learns from the mistakes of others, the slow-witted person from their own, and the hopeless case can’t even learn from those. But we are far from a hopeless case. The proof of this is that now we are coming to the end of our second consecutive term in government. Here we should stop for a moment. One might think that for a governing party an election campaign would be completely unnecessary. After all, what could be truer and more real than governance itself and its results – or, in other words, reality itself? One might believe that those who have taken good care of the country would need no campaign, as the facts would speak for themselves. My thirty years of experience tells me otherwise. My experience tells me that the nation, our citizens in general, the Hungarian people, have an obsessive desire to look to the future: what has already happened is the past, and they scan the horizon to see what’s coming and what they can personally expect from their leaders.

Friends, People of Fehérvár,

We’ve never hidden our true intent, and we won’t do so now. In the future we’ll continue to govern by strongly representing the nation’s desire for freedom and its aspirations for independence, and by courageously representing the identity which makes Hungarians Hungarian. We commit to a political path which will provide the Hungarian people with a prominent place in the community of nations, and mark out our nation’s place among the company of the worthiest. This is what we commit to do.

My Friends,

We’ve gathered together this afternoon to talk about how we will win on Sunday. Because on Sunday we will win! Over the past few years we have won many great battles together. Even speaking with due modesty, this enables us to say: this Sunday we will win again! In the past we have won battles which at first sight – and to many people – seemed unwinnable. They seemed unwinnable because others had failed, time and again. They seemed unwinnable because forces on the other side seemed bigger, richer or more powerful than we Hungarians. And they seemed unwinnable because we had to fight against a headwind which simply blew others off the field. Although most people wouldn’t have bet a penny on us, we were able to rescue an economy plummeting into bankruptcy, and we managed to set it back on its feet. We were able to send home the IMF – an organisation which others would not even address without profuse apologies. Indeed, not only did we send them packing, but we even managed to release ourselves from debt slavery. We imposed taxes on banks and multinational companies, and gave that money to families. We have cut household utility bills, and moved from mass unemployment to building a work-based economy. We have defended pensions, paid pension premiums and ensured double-digit pay rises. And we have also halted the first great wave of mass population movement. We have proved that the age of nations has not passed, and have even initiated a renaissance in nation-oriented thinking, arts and politics. We have proved that Christian culture and its way of life are not things of the past; on the contrary, we can and must carry them with us into the future. These are all battles that we have won. These victories line the path that we have travelled over the past few years.

It is with these victories under our belts that we line up for the fateful battle on Sunday. Because, People of Fehérvár, on Sunday we face a watershed election. There are elections which are not watersheds, and not critical, and there are others which are. In non-critical elections we merely elect representatives, while in watershed elections, we not only vote for representatives, but we also vote for a future. In non-critical elections only the next four-year term is at stake, while in watershed elections decades are at stake. A decision made in a non-critical election can be rectified four years later, but the result of a watershed election cannot be rectified: it is final, it is irreversible, and the most we can do is live with its consequences. The last time we stood at such a crossroads was in 1990, at the end of the communist system: Freedom or oppression? Independence or foreign military occupation? Eventually we sent the Soviets packing, torpedoed and sank communism, reconquered our country; and a free Hungary was born. Today, twenty-eight years later, others want to take our country from us. They want to install in government opposition parties which serve outside interests. They want to give power to opposition politicians in the pay of outsiders who will then dismantle the border fence and accept the mandatory resettlement quotas handed down from Brussels – thereby turning Hungary into an immigrant country, and exposing us to the financial and power interests of their patrons. So on Sunday the fate of Hungary will be irreversibly decided for decades to come. If the dam wall bursts, if the borders are opened, if immigrants set foot in Hungary, there will be no going back. Much as she would like to, not even the German chancellor has the power to turn back the wheels of history.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Why have we gathered here in Székesfehérvár? Not because this is where I went to secondary school. Although I’m grateful to Székesfehérvár, and also to the Teleki Blanka Secondary School and the MÁV Előre football club, in fact we came here to Székesfehérvár in order to give extra power and emphasis to our words. It is here that we have gathered in order to demonstrate the seriousness of our intentions, the strength of our determination and the firmness of our commitment. We wanted to stand here where the ancient church of the Hungarians stood a thousand years ago. We wanted to stand here where the Christian Hungarian kingdom was born, where the founder of our state bore the weight of his mission: where he completed his work and accomplished his goal. We wanted to gather here in the place which saw the beginning of the chapter in the life of the Hungarian people which continues to the present. This is where we truly appreciate what is at stake in the battle on Sunday. When we stand here, in this place, we must endure the gaze of our forebears, and subject ourselves to examination by their standards. Here before us are the orb and cross, inscribed with three dates: 1001, the coronation of King Saint Stephen; 1688, the year in which the city was liberated from Turkish occupation; and 1938, the 900th anniversary of Saint Stephen’s death. Now we must defend and preserve what they created, what they fought for, and what they themselves defended and preserved. And when the time comes, we must pass this on to our children and grandchildren. Hungary is our homeland: we have no other. We must defend it and we must preserve it; because without it we will be homeless orphans, drifters in the wide world.

And finally, Dear People of Fehérvár, now we must answer a single question: what more is there for us to do? First and foremost, we must tell everyone about the danger that threatens our country. Together with the Hungarian people we have fought for the achievements of the past few years. What we have achieved together is to finally have a future, to have something to defend. Look around: the world we live in is not exactly peaceful. Europe is afflicted by a number of conflicts: armies are fighting immediately to the east of us; and there is the threat of a trade war between the European Union and the United States. But the greatest threat of all is posed by the millions of immigrants coming from the South, and Europe’s leaders – in partnership with a billionaire speculator – have no intention of defending the borders, but want to let in the immigrants. This is the truth of the matter. We have built the border fence. We have defended the southern border. In Brussels we have rejected migrant resettlement of any kind. But the danger has not yet passed. They can hardly wait to start again. We have 48 hours within which to tell everyone about this – one more time, with renewed strength. This is not such an easy task: they deny the facts and lie; they avoid the subject and slander us; there is censorship, films are deleted and videos are banned. Therefore we must speak clearly, honestly and to the point. We must speak frankly and unequivocally about the future that is intended for us in Brussels, in the United Nations and in the alchemical workshop of George Soros.

At secondary school here in Fehérvár I learnt something from Karinthy, which I’ll quote: “I mustn’t tell anyone, So I’ll tell everyone”. So tell everyone that they want to resettle the first ten thousand immigrants in Hungary before the end of this year. Tell everyone that they have already made a deal with all and sundry – from Ferenc Gyurcsány to Gábor Vona. Tell everyone that migration is the rust which would slowly but surely consume our country. Tell everyone that we would have to provide for migrants. If resettlement commences, economic growth will be for nothing: there will be nothing from which to support families; and there will be nothing from which to pay pensions. Tell everyone that mass migration threatens the everyday security that we take for granted. Mass migration brings with it the increased threat of terrorism. It is as clear as day: where there is mass migration, women are in danger from violent attacks.

Ladies and Gentlemen, Friends,

Finally I ask everyone to carefully consider those things which are truly important in our lives: our families; our children; our human dignity; our freedom; our culture; our faith; and our country. Now we must defend all this. In the closing stage of the campaign the issues have crystallised, and we see that we have a choice of two futures: one is offered by the candidates of Soros; the other is represented by the candidates of Fidesz and the Christian Democrats. For us Hungary comes first; for them George Soros and the power he offers comes first. Because for power and money they are capable of anything.

Friends, People of Fehérvár,

You know me, and perhaps you’ll believe me when I say that I’m not easily swayed by winds from every direction. But I will get nowhere on my own. And in the important moments of the coming months and years I will need every representative in Parliament. When the country must be protected, when in Brussels we have to reject migrant resettlement, one can only rely on our candidates.

My Friends,

In the remaining 48 hours we must ensure that our more disciplined and more persevering selves prevail. Let us not submit to complacency or overconfidence, and let us not think that victory is already in the bag. Let us not believe the opinion polls: it is not the opinion polls that we need to win, but the election on Sunday evening. We have learnt that victory never falls into our lap: we have always had to work twice as hard for success as anyone else. And this will also be true on Sunday. Everyone who wants to preserve Hungary as a Hungarian country must go out and vote, and must cast both their votes for Fidesz. Only this is safe. Everything else is a gamble, and may sweep our future into danger. The countdown has begun. Forty-eight hours remain for us to take everyone to the polling stations. One person has two votes: millions of Hungarians and many millions of votes. In opposition to this are many millions of dollars. And I believe that the will of millions of Hungarians cannot be defeated by money.

Dear Friends,

In closing, even in the fiercest struggle, I ask everyone to look into their hearts, and see their neighbours as friends and compatriots. “We are of one blood”, said the son of wolves, and he is right. We are bound together by our hearts, our memories and loyalty to our country. We are all Hungarians. Being Hungarian means that we love our homeland and respect one another. As long as we stay true to this, we Hungarians have nothing to fear – not even from the mightiest and richest enemies. We have had enough time to learn that as long as we stand together we will always win.

Raise the flags high! To victory! Go for it Hungary, go for it Hungarians!

(Cabinet Office of the Prime Minister)