JÓZSEF ANTALL Prime Minister of Hungary
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JÓZSEF ANTALL Prime Minister of Hungary SELECTED SPEECHES AND INTERVIEWS (1989–1993) A HISTORIAN IN WORLD POLITICS József Antall Prime Minister of Hungary A HISTORIAN IN WORLD POLITICS Selected Speeches and Interviews Edited by Géza Jeszenszky ANTALL JÓZSEF ALAPÍTVÁNY BUDAPEST 2008 Th is publication receives funding from the Community and Europe- an Commission. Th e European Commission assumes no responsibil- ity for facts or opinions expressed in this publication and any use that may be made of the information contained therein. Sole responsibility lies on the author of the publication and not on the Centre for European Studies. Copyright © Antall József Alapítvány ISBN … Translated by Attila Boros, Balázs Dóczi, Péter Pásztor, Katalin Rácz, Dániel Tóth, Márton Vajda and Tünde Vajda Translation revised by Paul Bődy, Bob Dent and Christopher Sullivan Notes by …, revised by Géza Jeszenszky Cover by … Photos by … Published by the Antall József Alapítvány (József Antall Foundation) Budapest, XI., Bartók Béla út 61. Péter Antall, Director of Research Printed by Gyomai Knerr Nyomda CONTENTS Wilfried Martens: In memoriam . 9 Helmut Kohl’s Foreword to the German edition . 11 INTRODUCTION Géza Jeszenszky: József Antall and the World . 15 Péter Á. Bod: József Antall, Prime Minister of Hungary. 49 PERSONAL 1 Politics: a Vocation and a Profession. 69 HOME AFFAIRS 2 Th e Prospects of Transition . 87 3 As Leader of the Hungarian Democratic Forum . 96 4 On the Eve of the Election . 100 5 On the Road To National Renewal . 111 6 After Taking the Oath of Offi ce . 138 7 On the Role of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences . 142 8 At the Memorial of the Jewish Martyrs of Hungary . 147 9 Th e Place of 1956 in Our National Mythology . 150 10 Th e ‘Pyjamas’ Interview of 28 October 1990 . 155 11 After the Taxi Drivers’ Blockade . 164 12 Th e 143rd Anniversary of 1848 on the Steps of the National Museum . 167 13 Th ree Ideological Trends in the Hungarian Democratic Forum . 172 14 At the End of Soviet Occupation . 194 15 On the 35th Anniversary of the Revolution and Fight for Freedom. 205 16 Halftime . 213 17 An End-of-Year Conversation . 225 18 On Th e Feast Day of the Nation – the Last Public Address . 239 FOREIGN POLICY 19 Th e Proposal to Dissolve the Soviet Military Bloc . 249 20 On the Responsibility of Europe’s Politicians. 257 21 Hexagonale Summit in Dubrovnik . 261 22 On the Podium of the UN General Assembly . 265 23 NATO – a Key to Stability in Europe . 272 24 Ties that bind – the Visegrád Summit. 276 25 Th e Transformation of East-Central Europe . 280 26 Hungary’s Role in a Free Europe . 291 27 Message to the Paris Conference on Anti-Semitism . 297 28 What Europe Means to Us . 299 29 Th e Need for Stabilising the New Democracies . 303 30 Accomplishing Co-operation in Central Europe . 306 31 .Opening the Rhine–Main–Danube Canal. 310 32 At the Madrid Meeting of the International Democrat Union . 313 33 At the IPU Human Rights Symposium. 316 34 Th e Atlantic Idea in Hungarian Political Th ought . 323 35 At the Summit Meeting of the Central European Initiative. 335 36 Hungarian Foreign Policy Guidelines . 341 37 “We want to play the role of the mediator” Interview in Die Welt . 349 38 Th e Th reat of Political Fundamentalism Th e Budapest Sessions of the IDU and the EDU . 357 POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY 39 Th e Legacy of National Liberalism . 367 40 Th e Prospects for Environmental Protection . 376 41 Collegium Budapest –Responses to the Challenges of Today. 381 HUNGARIAN HISTORY 42 Th e Legacy of St Stephen . 391 43 Th e World Meeting of Hungarian Calvinists . 398 44 István Széchenyi and the Hungarian Academy of Sciences . 402 45 Th e Honour of Public Administration: Hungary’s Ministry of Home Aff airs in History . 408 46 Cardinal Mindszenty Returns Home . 421 IN MEMORIAM We celebrated the 75th anniversary of late Prime Minister József Antall’s birth in 2007, evoking the memory of the fi rst freely elected Prime Minister of Hun- gary after the Iron Curtain came down in 1989. His political programme was to establish a well functioning democracy on the basis of reality and human dignity and to create a social market economy integrated into world markets. Antall’s aim was to realise the Euro-Atlantic integration to which he had managed to win the vast majority of Hungarian people over, and to engage the sympathy and help of Europe and the free world. Although he died young, his life’s work is very much alive, and it is our responsibility in an integrated Eu- rope to understand the forward-looking ideas of Antall’s legacy. Th is English publication of József Antall’s speeches and interviews allows a broader European audience and young generations to become acquainted with the thoughts of this outstanding player in the political changes of the Central- European region. József Antall’s generation witnessed the painful conclusions of the partially democratic or outright totalitarian regimes which were in place between the world wars (including Franco, Mussolini, Hitler, Stalin, Tiso, Antonescu). Th ey recognised that the time had come for a humanistic political era which would exclude all kinds of inhumanity, injustice and features of dictatorship which diff ered so widely from democracy. Th is can be imagined principally as a conservative social policy concept based on Christian Democracy which is able to recognise its own faults and the frailties of human nature, promotes organic development of the world, and calls for change without radical turns. Antall considered it essential to return to Christian traditions at a fundamental level which he believed to be the basis of Western Europe: “It is simply about that in Europe even the atheists are Christians. Europe’s Christianity means culture, ethics and approach.” He often referred to the fact that after the Second World War it was the Christian Democrat politicians who began to build a unifi ed Europe, and the founding fathers (Christian Democrats Robert Schumann, Konrad Adenauer, Alcide de Gasperi together with Jean Monnet, Paul Henry Spaak, Walter Hallstein, Valéry Giscard d’Estaing, René Pléven) belonged to that circle. József Antall overcame much adversity during his sadly shortened time in government; his political accomplishments were outstanding in the develop- 9 ment of Hungary and the neighbouring area. He recognised the challenges of his time and he was able to fi nd substantive answers to promote the integration of Central Europe. Th at is why his thoughts are current and exemplary even today, and should be widely known in Europe and around the world. Wilfried Martens President of the European People’s Party and the Centre for European Studies FOREWORD TO THE GERMAN EDITION Since the accession of Hungary and nine other Central, Eastern and South- ern European countries to the European Union on 1 May 2004, I often think about my friend, József Antall, the fi rst freely elected prime minister of Hun- gary since the Second World War. During his term of offi ce, between 1990 and 1993, József Antall not only ensured that Hungary took crucial steps to estab- lish democracy and market economy, but he also governed the country towards the European Union with courage and foresight. While his being the Prime Minister, Hungary became member of the Council of Europe in November of 1990, a year later joined the European Community by the Europe Agreement, and fi nally entered the European Free Trade Area (EFTA) in 1993. By doing so, the fi rst signifi cant measures were carried out that preceded the accession of 2004. Regrettably, József Antall could not see that. Th e fact that Hungary is now one of the 25 member states of the European Union is – among others, but in the fi rst place – his merit. We, Germans, also appreciate that József Antall unconditionally supported the unifi cation of Germany from the beginning. We will not forget his sig- nifi cant personal contribution to the re-establishment of the united Germany. We keep his memory in our mind as the passionate fi ghter of democracy and freedom, a great patriot and a professed European. For all he did and strived for, we owe him acknowledgement and shall save him in our memory. Th e collection of József Antall’s speeches exquisitely records the passionate infl uence he exercised on the transformation of Hungary in the 1980s and at the beginning of the 1990s, and his unambiguous plea for a united Europe. It is my pleasure that the collection of his speeches will be accessible to German and English readers in translation. We, Germans, have been living in partnership and friendship with the Hungarians for a century. Our relations may be traced back to the time of King Stephen the Saint. Th is friendship was reinforced in the period when the Iron Curtain ceased to exist. We, Germans, will never forget that the Hungar- ians were the fi rst to help us break the Wall and the barbed wire fence that divided our nation for decades. I also remember the “Pan-European Picnic” in Sopron in August of 1989. Many of our compatriots who wished to leave at that time still existing GDR took advantage of this event to escape to freedom. In the fi rst place, we cannot forget the brave measure taken by the Hungarian 1111 Government in the dramatic days of September of 1989. With the support of the opposition, to which the Hungarian Democratic Forum belonged with the leadership of József Antall, the Hungarian Government opened the border for the Germans who fl ed from the still existing GDR.