This problem – if I am not mistaken, both in America and Western Europe – is the domination of public life by progressive liberals.
Let us start by saying that you politicians who love your country face a problem that we Hungarians have already tackled successfully. Here, my friends, only the best remain standing – or, in short, the ultimate condition for victory is that we must become the best. This is also true on the political battlefield. We learned from General Patton that battle brings out all that is best and removes all that is base. Instead of my long speech, of course, all this could be done briefly and simply. I will tell you how Hungary became a bastion of conservative and Christian values in Europe. As the supporters of Fradi chant: “More, more, more, there’s still more goals to score!” I will tell you how fervent university students succeeded in dismantling a dictatorship, then in breaking the hegemony over opinions enjoyed by the returning communists and liberals, and how they managed to end the dominance of progressives in public life. I will tell you now how we defeated them for the first, second, third, fourth and fifth time – and how we will defeat them again. How can I contribute to today’s gathering? Perhaps if I tell you how we won: how we first defeated the communist regime then how we defeated the liberals and then, most recently, how we defeated the international liberal left when they combined their forces against Hungary in the election. On behalf of every Hungarian, I thank our American friends and those from other countries for honoring us and coming here to Budapest. And today we are hosting this great event, for which I would like to thank the organizers – but most of all you, who are honoring us with your presence.
If you have seen the series “Chernobyl”, you may have an idea of what I am talking about. All we had were the grey-suited communist functionaries and their political Newspeak, a stifling atmosphere and hopelessness. I clearly remember well how we envied you back then: we envied your culture of democratic debate the freedom in which you arranged public affairs in America we envied your President Reagan for his charisma, his drive, his wit and his policies – and, of course, we rooted for him.
In the 1980s we read about what was happening in the United States from samizdats illegally distributed in the former Eastern Bloc and now here we are, with Hungary hosting the most important political gathering of the Republican Party, the Grand Old Party. It is always good to be able to talk among friends, and it is especially good to have something with which to back up one’s words and we Hungarians rightly feel that we have something with which to back up our words. The timing is a happy accident: a month ago we scored our fourth election victory in a row, and four days ago I formed my fifth conservative, Christian government and now I am here with you. Please bear this in mind as you listen to my thoughts.
I know that you all deserve a better speech than this, but we all know that one cannot swim or run a world record time in the morning. Dear Klaus, thank you so much for coming and being with us. It is no surprise that he is the most intellectually courageous man in Europe, as he is rich in years but what is a surprise to us all is that he is still the most youthful and the freshest among us. And a special welcome to my friend Václav Klaus. Ladies and Gentlemen, Dear American Friends, and Conservatives fromall over the world, After the opening ceremony, which was blessed by the Chief Rabbi of Hungary, a Catholic bishop, and two pastors, Viktor Orbán was among the first ones to speak. In a tense international context, where Orbán’s Hungary and Biden’s United States do not have the best of relations, the two-day conference bringing together conservatives from both sides of the Atlantic carried great significance. This was a first, as CPAC had never been held in Europe before.
Reading Time: 13 minutes Hungary – On 19–20 May, the American Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC), which is the most important conservative event organised annually in the United States, was held in Budapest, Hungary.