The European Parliamentary elections will give "voters a chance to clearly express what sort of a future they wish for Europe: A safe one, or one where anyone can change the makeup of the population on a whim," as Hungary's Minister of Foreign Affairs Péter Szijjártó said in his interview on the public radio this morning. The minister faithfully echoed the points Viktor Orbán made at his press conference held yesterday.
The minister claimed that the Hungarian voters called the government to take a stand against migration on the EU level three times: at the last general election, at the (invalid) quota referendum of 2016, and with the corresponding national consultation as well.
"The pro-migration forces are the majority at all levels of the Brussels institutions, we would like that to change," the minister elaborated and went on saying that the earliest that can happen is at the European Parliamentary election this May. After that, the new European Commission will assemble by the fall, and general elections in member states might bring about changes in the European Council as well. Szijjártó said this will give them a chance to "protect the Christian culture of Europe" and to "restore safety."
Will Muslims become the dominant group of society in the future or is it still possible to protect Europe's identity?
Following this question from the state media reporter, Szijjártó said that if someone says "Europe is a Christian continent", then that person will be stigmatised and attacked, but Europe needs to hold on to its Christian culture and legacy.
He also said that Western Europe already saw the emergence of the mixed and parallel societies that constitute incredible safety risks regarding the entirety of Europe, and he rejected the notion that a multicultural society is better than a homogeneous one. "This decision has to be made by the specific society or nation as a whole."
Szijjártó welcomed that Italian Minister of Interior Affairs Matteo Salvini is seeking an alliance with the Polish ruling party PiS in order to reject migration together. As evidenced by the V4 group, the alliance is going well according to Szijjártó - he said that even though the ruling parties of these four countries are members of different European parties, they are refusing immigration together, and said "besides the usual party-line divisions there are new political borders that align with certain issues such as migration."
Szijjártó said Europe's political parties can be divided into two distinct groups: "those who support immigration and those who don't. It's the same in Hungary, two parties are against immigration while all the rest support it, and voters will have to decide about that in May."
This article is a slightly amended translation of the original published by Index in Hungarian.
Cover: Bődey János / Index.