No two campaigns are the same, because an election is never about the candidates or prime minister, but rather the nation. And the nation is continually transforming – so every campaign is exciting and different from the last. The state of the country is always clear during a campaign and I am actually surprised that despite the harsh conditions and the intense campaign, Hungary is in good shape and the Hungarian people are capable of understanding even the most complex international connections. They perfectly see that the election is a choice between war and peace, getting involved and staying out; meanwhile, they are helping the Ukrainian people wherever they can. In short, we see the image of a mature nation in front of us.
Your opponent, Péter Márki-Zay, said in Pécs on Wednesday that the youth value blood over oil and that Ukraine is fighting our war. The candidate on the left has not spared his words with alarming statements thus far, but this is a whole new level. What is the purpose of this incitement?
Hungary has a pandemic behind it, a war ahead, as well as a European economy in need of reorganization – it is times like these when a leader must carefully consider what they say. Confusing and dangerous statements put safety and reliability at risk. The left cannot really be accused of clean, straightforward statements this past campaign. I do not believe the Ukrainians are fighting our war. This is absurd to Hungarian ears: two large nations, two Slavic peoples are at war with each other. War is not a comic book that, while you are flipping through in your teenage years, picture yourself on one side or the other. This political approach is life-threatening. We must affirm that this is not our war, but the war impacts us as it is being waged in our neighborhood; not only misfired projectiles can land a stone's throw away from our border, but planned military strikes. For example, if we were to transport weapons to Ukraine, we could expect military strikes at any moment trying to destroy the shipment. We are close to those warring, we know them. We cannot be fooled – we remember how the Ukrainians treated the Hungarians; we know that those Western dreams that frame Ukraine as a model democracy stem from a lack of knowledge of the country. At the same time, Ukraine has come under threat as Russia is waging war against it. There is no doubt that the Russians bear the responsibility of the war on their shoulders, no matter what led up to this decision. In such a situation, those in need must be helped. This is why we are aiding Ukraine – and not because they are waging our war. There are certain western countries that want to arrange the post-war world with a complete divide between East and West. This would be terrible for us Hungarians and for Central Europe as a whole. It is our historical experience that if there is conflict and isolation between the great powers of the world, we get the worst of it.