Hungary FM: Our Fuel Is Peace, Love, and the Will to Act + Video

Foreign Affairs and Trade Peter Minister Peter Szijjarto paid a visit to a silk painter from Pesterzsebet who recently received the Pesterzsebet Award for Culture. The friendly meeting in the home of the artist touched on recognition, public life, and the lessons of the pre-2010 era.

“Good afternoon, my respects! May we come in?” the minister began, as he personally greeted the award-winning artist. The hosts welcomed him, apologetic for the humbleness of their home, but Szijjarto quickly eased the mood. “Oh, there's no reason to be so modest!” he said with a smile. 

Peter Szijjarto, Hungary's Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade (Photo: MTI/Lajos Soos)

During his visit to Pesterzsebet, a district of Budapest, the minister congratulated the artist on receiving the Pesterzsebet Award for Culture last year.

The conversation also turned to the district’s ongoing political battles.

This district is very challenging; we’ve been fighting here for a long time,

one participant noted, pointing out that four years ago a Fidesz victory locally was missed by just three percentage points. According to Szijjarto, mobilization will play a key role in the period ahead. “We have to work. We have to put in the effort,” those present agreed.

Szijjarto emphasized that in the end, elections are not decided by “profiles,” but by people. “At the end of the day, it’s not profiles that vote, but people. They are the ones we must convince about what’s at stake,” he said. He added that many take today’s conditions for granted, even though that was not always the case. “Some no longer even remember the world before 2010. And so they assume what we have now is a given—but it isn’t.”

The discussion also touched on the situation of younger generations. The artist’s husband suggested that teachers and influencers of impressionable age groups today face a different kind of societal pressure. The minister responded that this is precisely why it is important for everyone to understand “how much we stand to lose.”

At the close of the meeting, the hosts assured the minister of their support. “We pray for you, we’re rooting for you,” the artist said, to which Szijjarto replied, “We will do everything we can.”

In a message accompanying a video of the visit, the minister summed up the spirit of the meeting with the following words: “Our fuel is peace, love, and the will to act.”

Cover photo: Peter Szijjarto, Hungary's Foreign Affairs and Trade Minister (Photo: MTI)