Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Péter Szijjártó has stated that no one – not even former US President Bill Clinton – should feel he can insult Hungarians.
The Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade reacted to remarks by Mr. Clinton, in which he said that Poles and Hungarians can thank the United States and the Cold War for their freedom, but have now had enough of democracy, and want “authoritarian dictatorship”.
According to an article published on Monday by online news portal Index, in a campaign speech the former US President said that Poland and Hungary “have now decided this democracy is too much trouble: they want Putin-like leadership”.
On Tuesday, in a statement to Hungarian news agency MTI, Mr. Szijjártó stated that the freedom of Hungary was achieved by the people of Hungary; tens of thousands of Hungarians sacrificed their lives for freedom.
He wrote that it is unacceptable for someone to belittle the fight for freedom of the people of Hungary in this manner.
He emphasised that Mr. Clinton must surely know that the people of Hungary have decided on Hungary’s future in democratic parliamentary elections.
“Mr. Clinton may not like the decision of the people of Hungary, but this cannot be sufficient reason for the former President to insult them like this”, Mr. Szijjártó stated.