By: V4 Agency
What happened in Brussels in terms of vaccine procurements followed the same pattern than in the case of migration. An unexpected situation arose, and by the time they realised that they could be in for trouble, they already were, PM Viktor Orban told Hungary’s public radio. “We knew that if there’s no EU soultion, we will have to find one,” he added.
Speaking about vaccine procurements, Mr Orban said Hungary is performing very well, ahead of western European countries, with more than 90 per cent of the over-65 age group having been inoculated.
The disease has put a heavy strain on many, but the point is not to lose lives and the lives of the elderly was at risk for a long time, Viktor Orban said, adding that “it weighed heavily on me that we were racing against time so that we could save as many people as possible”.
However, what happened in Brussels followed the same pattern as in the case of migration, PM Orban said. An unexpected situation arose, and by the time they realised that they could be in for trouble, they already were. There was one country that had its heart in the right place and that was us, Hungarians. We knew that if the EU fails to find a solution, then we need to come up with one. Over the course of time, other countries also followed our example and now the same thing happened with the vaccines, Hungary’s prime minister said.
As there may be flaws in Brussels’ procurement policy, an alternative plan, a different playbook was needed, he stressed, adding that Hungary came under attack for this in the same way as in the case of migration.
Time has proved us right as we have vaccinated twice as many people as other western European countries. We made the right choice because our own lives and fate are our responsibility, Mr Orban said, noting that Bavaria has recently also decided to order Russian jabs.
Speaking about the third wave in the coronavirus epidemic, Viktor Orban noted that it has brought along an atmosphere of war. The highly transmissible mutant variant came from Britain, and it is much stronger than the virus we got to know during the first wave. “It has different firepower,” PM Orban said. He stressed that whereas the lockdown was enough during the first wave, it is no longer sufficient and the British strain must be destroyed with vaccination.
Our generation has never seen anything like this, even the change of regime took place in a civilized manner and not in war-like conditions. We have lost lives, we need ventilators and medicine. There is a wartime atmosphere, the prime minister opined.
Mr Orban underlined that people tend to get tired of wars after a while and begin to appreciate the word ‘peace’. Peace will come when we succeed in defeating the virus with vaccines, he said, adding that a key pre-requisite is for people to register and take the jab in the largest possible numbers. The government will launch a new campaign to encourage people to do that.
We will soon have 3 million vaccinated people and reach 4 million by early May, PM Orban said, adding that health authorities will be able to inoculate 7 out of 8 million Hungarian citizens by the beginning of June.
With regard to reopening, PM Orban said the Operative Board decided on Friday morning that secondary school students will only return to face-to-face education on 10 May and, just like last year, they will only have to complete the written part of their school-leaving exams.
Liberal politics is oppressive in today’s Europe
The sacking of Hungarian goalkeeping coach Zsolt Petry by the German Hertha BSC football club has stirred quite a public outrage in Hungary of late.
We are on a slippery slope here, the Hungarian premier said, adding that he did not want to criticise Germany, as it’s enough of a trouble for us that Germany keeps criticising us.
He opined that a general conclusion to be drawn was that liberal politics is oppressive in nature in today’s Europe: those who do not fall in line are oppressed and punished.
In this case, they took away someone’s job because he disagreed. It’s a Hungarian man and Hungary is fighting today to be a serious, strong and successful country. No Hungarian is alone. Zsolt Petry is not alone either, we are all with him, PM Orban declared.
Hertha BSC, a club in Germany’s top tier Bundesliga, has fired its goalkeeping coach because of his opinion….
Besides politics, the case also has ramifications for football as a sport, Mr Orban said, voicing his belief that there is much to do in that area. For a country with Hungary’s size and history, team sports offer the opportunity of historic victories. Therefore, the situation around the national team matters. The case may lead to breaking up the unity of the team, as well as between the team and its fans. That unity must be restored, a task that will depend on the team manager and the captain.