Mayor awards honorary citizen of Budapest titles
Titles were awarded to musician Laszlo Des, historian Janos Gyurgyak, actress Dorottya Udvaros, and author Pal Zavada among others.
The late architect Balint Nagy, a Kossuth and Ybl Miklos laureate, and the late human rights activist Jeno Setet, who was awarded the Raoul Wallenberg Prize in his lifetime, were honoured posthumously.
Karacsony called the recipients “the good face of Budapest” and representatives of the city’s diversity.
He said Budapest had preserved “the remnants” of Hungary’s “civic ethos”. Civic ethos, he added, was about “the search for truth and solutions” rather than “looking for scapegoats”, and he highlighted the value of solidarity “in times of peace and certainly in times of crisis”.
The mayor added that Budapest residents would not be able to endure “this long, shivering winter” any other way than showing each other solidarity.
“This city’s greatness lies in its diversity and our conviction that we who believe in humanity, fairness, civil courage and solidarity, have a better story to tell,” Karacsony said.