Gulyas at CPAC: Hungary a ‘hope of conservatives in free world’

In his address, Gulyas said Hungarians will never forget where they come from and where their roots are. This means, Gulyas said that “the core values of conservatism: individual freedom, the rule of law, fiscal responsibility, free markets, a Christian heritage and human dignity must be respected”.

He said “the world’s leading mainstream media platforms dedicate much more significant coverage to Hungary than to even ten times bigger countries”. Gulyas said the liberal media put Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán on the same page with Donald Trump, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Jair Bolsonaro or Benjamin Netanyahu.

“Of course, there are huge differences between countries and leaders, but really why Hungary, a country with our size is such important as the biggest players of world politics? Why are our opponents trying to destroy and exclude us from the political arena with the same anger as the conservative president of Brazil or the former president of the world’s strongest power, the United States of America?”.

“The answer is simple: Hungary has become the hope of conservatives in the free world. It is the proof that the conservative experiment can be successful,” Gulyas said, adding that “reliable” and “truthful information” about Hungary could pose a serious risk for leftist and progressive liberals “because others would start to follow our example”.

Gulyas said despite of all the accusations, Hungary is a successful country. It has over one million more people holding a job than ten years ago and is performing one of Europe’s highest rates of economic growth. Wages have increased at a much faster pace than ever in the previous years and the volume of Hungary’s exports is breaking records every year, Gulyas said, adding that the country is an attractive destination for foreign investors.

He said Hungary spent 5 percent of its GDP on family assistance, “three times as much as in 2010”.

“Our opponents think …  those who believe people are born either men or women are enemies of freedom. They think anyone who believes marriage can only be established between a man and a woman is an enemy of the rule of law. They think those who believe a state exists as long as it is ready to defend its borders do not respect fundamental rights,” Gulyas said.

“They think those who believe migration without integration is a danger to society annul human dignity,” he said.

“They think those who believe in the importance of conservative media alongside mainstream-liberal ones, are against the freedom of press … That is why we say progressive liberalism, although once in the 19th century did a lot for freedom, nowadays have become the greatest enemy of freedom. Today, progressive liberalism means political correctness, restricting freedom of speech and religious freedom, and its main characteristics are intolerance and disregard towards the free will of the electorate,” Gulyas said.

According to Gulyas, Hungary’s conservatives “have demonstrated more than anyone else, their clear commitment to freedom and democracy. Today, in the free world everyone talks about the importance of freedom, democracy and the rule of law in terms of having lived their whole lives in freedom, democracy and the rule of law. Meanwhile Hungary is one of the few exceptions, whose conservative leaders were committed to freedom, democracy and the rule of law even during the communist dictatorship,” Gulyas said.

Closing his speech, Gulyas invited participants to attend CPAC’s next conference to be held in Budapest next May.