President Novak: Hungary stands by freedom, family, Christian tradition

In the interview, appearing in the paper’s weekend edition, Novak rejected any suggestion that Hungary was anti-Semitic, pointing to the people from various political parties and other groups who came together in solidarity at the Dohany Street synagogue in Budapest to support Israel after it was attacked by Hamas.

Hungary has a “zero-tolerance” policy for anti-Semitism, she said.

Addressing the Western media’s depiction of Hungary and Hungarians as anti-democratic, Novak put down such misunderstandings to the fact that most journalists don’t speak Hungarian, and that Hungary’s position doesn’t always fit the mainstream, liberal narrative.

Novak said in the interview that she was defined by being a mother, a wife, a Hungarian and a Christian, adding that she wanted to serve as an example of a conservative woman leader.

She stressed the importance of addressing the demographic crisis and said her task as a conservative head of state was to do everything possible to make it easier for families who wanted children to have them. That means allowing women to choose both motherhood and a career, she added.

Novak acknowledged Australia for taking in Hungarian refugees decades earlier and giving them a “second home”.