Minister of Human Capacities and Chairman of the Advisory Board of the Alliance for a Civic Hungary Foundation Zoltán Balog praised the thousand-year relationship between the two peoples and its common points at a Hungarian-Bavarian conference held in Budapest under the title Current Challenges Facing Europe.
Mr. Balog reminded those present that this relationship began with the marriage between Saint Stephen I of Hungary (Saint Stephen) and Gisela of Bavaria (in 995 AD); the marriage was a strategic decision and it proved to be a good one, because as a result Hungary was committed to the West in the long term. This included religion, culture and customs, but also the transfer of administration-related knowledge.
According to certain statistics, marriages that are motivated by a common interest last longer than those that are the result of heated emotions, the Minister noted.
“This alliance has determined our relationship” during the past thousand years, on which “the evil ideologies of the 20th century also left their mark”, even if Bavaria did manage to avoid communist rule, Mr. Balog added. However, as he pointed out, Bavaria also welcomed many Hungarians who fled the country in 1956.
With reference to the Andrássy Gyula German Language University of Budapest, which hosted the event and was its co-organiser together with the Alliance for a Civic Hungary Foundation, the North Balaton Civic Club and the Hanns Seidel Foundation, Mr. Balog said that the institution, which was founded by the first Orbán government, works in the present to serve the requirements of the future while bearing in mind the history of Central Europe.
In her speech, former Minister of State and President of the Hanns Seidel Foundation, which has been operating in Hungary for the past 26 years, Ursula Männle spoke about the fact that “democracy requires democrats” and this is why the Foundation organises political training courses in Hungary; during the course of its operations in Hungary it has so far organised 1600 events with the participation of some 130 thousand people. The Foundation plans to give cooperation with the Andrássy University an important role in its future operations, she added.