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
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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
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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-
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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
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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. We will never forget the Hungarian people this great manifestation of their love of freedom. Th erefore, it is an exceptional pleasure that we live together with the Hungarian people in the European House in peace and freedom. József Antall played a crucial role in making it possible.
Helmut Kohl
INTRODUCTION
JÓZSEF ANTALL AND THE WORLD
GGézaéza JJeszenszkyeszenszky1
József Antall was much more than the key fi gure in the peaceful transition from dictatorship to democracy in Hungary in 1989, the winner of the free election in 1990, and Prime Minister until his untimely death. As one of the obituaries remarked, he was “the unsung hero of the transition” in Central Europe, whose vision, grasp of world aff airs and performance were much appreciated by the political leaders of the early 1990s,2 but he was not given due recognition by the world press. Th e present essay does not aim at giving full credit to his con- tribution to Hungarian and international history, it is only a summary of his ideas and achievements, concentrating on foreign policy. For the younger generation of Hungarians, and also for foreigners inter- ested in Hungary, the Prime Minister of the fi rst non-communist government represents, fi fteen years after his departure, a kind of legendary fi gure, the well- intentioned, decent, but old-fashioned and not too successful fi rst leader fol- lowing the ‘regime change’. But today even his former political opponents give belated recognition and praise for his personality and politics. In Hungary, like in all the formerly Soviet-dominated countries, the diffi culties of the transition have given rise to a kind of nostalgia for the comfortable aspects of commu- nism: safe jobs, nominally free education and health-care, and the low price of basic necessities. Th at does not make the memory of the fi rst non-communist government and its leader more popular with the general public. Nevertheless there is enough information available on the personality and accomplishments of Antall for any interested person to make a balanced judgment. Th e present selection of his major speeches and most important interviews should facilitate that. Antall’s ancestors were soldiers fi ghting the Ottoman invaders, and vine- growing farmers living in the heart of Transdanubia, under Somló Hill, where some of the best wines of Hungary are produced. His father, József Antall Sr, was born in a small village, Oroszi, studied law, and became a civil servant in
1 Géza Jeszenszky (b. 1941) is a historian, Professor at the Corvinus University of Budapest. A found- ing member of the Hungarian Democratic Forum in 1988, Minister of Foreign Aff airs in 1990–1994, Ambassador to the United States in 1988–2002. 2 A testimony of that, extracts from obituaries and messages of condolences, can be found at the end of this essay. 1155
the Ministry of Home Aff airs. He had strong democratic and humanistic con- victions, detested both the Communists and the extreme right. Since the early 1930s he was a member of the Smallholders’ Party, then an opposition party.3 From 1939 to March, 1944, as government commissioner, he was responsible for war refugees, and, with the tacit approval of Prime Minister Teleki4 and his successors, helped about a hundred thousand Poles to settle in Hungary or to escape to Western Europe and continue the fi ght against Nazi Germany. He also protected allied POWs who escaped from German captivity, and thou- sands of Jews, mainly from Poland, providing them with false documents. Fol- lowing the German occupation of Hungary (March 1944) he was arrested by the Gestapo, and was saved from execution only by his Polish friends who, even under torture, did not reveal the depth of his activities. After the war he received high decorations from the Allies, the Poles named a street after him, and Yad Vashem recognised him post mortem as Righteous among the Gentiles. In 1946 Antall Sr became Minister for Reconstruction in the coalition govern- ment headed by the Smallholders. He and his colleagues hoped to turn Hun- gary a viable democracy, but the Soviet Union, represented by the Head of the Allied Control Commission, Marshal Voroshilov, relying on the Red Army in occupation of Hungary, was instrumental in the Communist Party taking over the country by 1948. (Th e same process led to similar results in all the Central and South-East European countries.) Antall withdrew from public life, and lived until 1973 on a modest pension. His wife was the daughter of another self-made man, who was the private secretary of the Minister for Culture and Education, Count Apponyi,5 became a Member of Parliament in the 1920s, and one of the suburbs of Pest owes a great deal to his initiatives. Young Antall thus was much infl uenced by his family background, including the summers
3 Independent Smallholders’ and Civic Party: its roots go back to 1908, when I. Nagyatádi Szabó, a farmer, founded the fi rst party to represent mainly the interests of the peasants, then forming the majority of the population. In 1930 it was reborn under the present name, demanded land reform, genuine democracy and steering clear of any political extremism. Having been in opposition until 1944, it became a member of the Provisional Government set up in December 1944. Received 57 per cent of the vote at the free elections in 1945, but was not permitted by the Soviet authorities to form a government without the Communists. By 1949 the Communist leader, Rákosi, helped by the occupying Soviet army, gradually eliminated it. 4 Pál Teleki, Count (1879–1941), geographer, university professor, coming politician, from a distin- guished Transylvanian family. Prime Minister in 1920–1921 and 1939–1941. Detested Nazism, tried to keep Hungary out of World War II, and when that looked impossible committed suicide. 5 Albert Apponyi, Count (1846–1933), great landowner, was a prominent politician before the war. Was appointed Head of the Hungarian peace delegation in 1920, and was the representative of Hun- gary at the League of Nations until his death in 1933. 1166
he spent among village kids and wise winemakers in the Somló region. He was sent to the Grammar School of the Piarist Fathers, where the teachers were very demanding. In the intellectually most receptive years Antall grew up under dramatic historical conditions: witnessed the German occupation of his country and the arrest of his father, then watched the battle between German and Soviet forces literally from the top of the 457 metrr high Somló, returned to a Budapest totally devastated by the siege, and fi nally saw the great victory of his father’s party and political ideas, only to be crushed in three years. An- tall Jr shared his father’s political sympathies, became a convinced Anglophile (at the age of 16 wrote an insightful essay on “Th e United States in World Politics”), and a fearless opponent of the Communist regime. He studied his- tory, literature, law, art, became an archivist, later a schoolteacher (an extremely popular one with the students), and took an active part in the revolution of 1956. Following its suppression he was arrested several times, but no charges could be proved against him, and got away with being banned from the teach- ing profession. Having spent several years as an assistant in a lending library, in the mid-1960s he managed to join the modest Semmelweis Memorial House. In a few years he developed it into a veritable and internationally renowned institution on the history of medicine, eventually becoming its director. It was also a place where his many friends could gather to discuss informally the po- litical situation at home and abroad. Having been taught such a severe les- son in 1956, nobody in Hungary could continue to believe in overthrowing ‘the system’, the irrational and inhuman copy of the Soviet Union, directly, but many individuals and private circles, groups of friends were just waiting for the opportunity to wind down ‘socialism’ (the offi cial term for communism), as soon as a chance for that would present itself. In a communist country people could not study abroad, even travel to ‘the West’ was restricted in many ways and required special permission, but by reading and listening to the heavily jammed western radios one could become quite familiar with the outside world. Two hundred thousand Hungarians es- caped to the West in 1956, they and earlier emigrants coming back as ‘tour- ists’ also contributed much feedback about life ‘in the free world’. Th us the main political impressions that infl uenced Antall Jr’s thinking – apart from the diffi cult history of Hungary, including the hardships faced by the Hungarian minorities in the countries to which they were attached after 1920, and the ter- rible practice of communism in the eastern half of Europe – were the written and verbal accounts on the post-war success story of Western Europe, NATO 1177
containing the further spread of Soviet infl uence. He also knew Hungary’s neighbourhood from personal childhood impressions, as well as from read- ings. All that explains how young Antall could know and understand western politics and thinking so well, despite that until the mid-1970s he was not al- lowed to travel abroad. So Antall as a politician was not the amateur he was often presumed to be, especially by the western media. 6