According to his diary written for history, Gyula Fekete used these words in June 1996 to describe the possibilities of the Hungarian society, which was severely damaged in its national consciousness, and a month later his plan was ready: "A hundred names. A selection of one hundred names from names that have been preserved cleanly, honorably, and decently even in the public life of the past years and decades, full of twists and turns.
There is no need to prove their national commitment, it would be proven more authentically than anything else by the integrity and cleanliness preserved independently of parties and governments.
Purity authenticated by professional, public initiative, creative activity, persistent service of the truth with sacrifice.
150 NGOs sent 2,500 names. The hundred that received the most votes took the name Council of Hundreds. We had more than three hundred meetings, published 25 books, nearly two million clicks on our website and 80 photos of our esteemed, now permanent members.
The Council of Centuries considers it important to publish the following about the state of Hungarian society today:
There will be elections again in 2022. We know that, according to election experts, it will be decided two weeks before the vote, to whom the voters vote their confidence. However, we are not a ruling party or party alliance, but aware of our responsibility for the fate of a nation, the united Hungarian nation, and we feel that it is time to speak again. We have been trying to repay public trust with national service for 25 years. We know that this nation respects all people of good will, wherever they live in the world. Accepting their religion, nationality, and cultural habits, we help those living in difficult situations to the best of our ability, but we do not kneel under the influence of financial powers or the mass hysteria created by the media. We were not colonizers. Our National Anthem, which whips our mistakes: "has this nation already sinned the past and the future", and the line written by our great poet in the anteroom of death, "we are sinners, just like other nations..." - always warned about the importance of self-examination. We pay attention to the situation in the wider world and in our broader country, Europe. We see that the great powers have never tried to repair the wounds inflicted on us. (…)
On behalf of the founders of the Council of Hundreds Gyula Fekete, Sándor Csoóri, Ferenc Mádl, István Nemeskürty, Imre Sinkovits, Gyula Grosits and our other excellent dead, we the living thank you for this. The support of the family and our children was important to us even in difficult times, and in these years, when the national government gave them outstanding help even in the world - we thank you for that. Viktor Orbán and his governments, bank president György Matolcsy, restored the country's balance after serious political, moral and economic deterioration. These are facts.
It is with regret that we see Budapest's lack of economy today, and the consequences of leadership incompetence. We can already see that supporters of the so-called open society have announced the withdrawal of what we believe to be effective government measures. At the same time, aware of our responsibility towards the nation as a whole, we emphasize that no one should oppose the principle of a work-based society to a knowledge-based society, even temporarily.
József Eötvös, Albert Szentgyörgyi, Zoltán Kodály, and our greatest living scientists represent with the full weight of their oeuvre that science is one and indivisible, just like the world of arts. What can make a nation sympathetic is primarily its culture. The healing of the wounds of Hungarian culture, the revitalization and development of the nation-building will that intends to fix the roots of self-administration in civil society must be supported with effective measures. The basis of everything is the school, which deserves much more government attention and support than it does today. Our Olympic successes also prove that we are among the world's greatest sporting nations.
The demand is right: let's turn Hungary from a sporting nation into a sporting nation. There are thousands of teachers missing in Hungary today, including many physical education teachers. It would be necessary to explore the causes and move forward. After discussing the above, the members of the Council of Hundreds state: a nation can never be in opposition.
We partially understand the politicization of grievances, the disillusionment of some former politicians on the national side. Those who now see the solution to the problems of Hungarians in the formation of such and such party alliances, and who envision that intellectuals critical of the government will win the majority of voters who do not remember the government's achievements of the past decade, the "European citizen" or "Western European wages" are wrong. "operating with passwords and irresponsible promises, they help them gain power. A national program has never been born out of denials. We recommend to all our fellow citizens: instead of shrinking back, try to lend a helping hand to the professionals working in healthcare, education, agriculture, our financial world, and domestic and international law.
We need meaningful dialogues instead of today's crude public discourse and self-serving debates. We also ask the young people who are now familiar with politics: to use their experience gained at home and in other countries to alleviate domestic problems.
We, the Council of Hundreds, can only support a government committed to the unified Hungarian nation. We do this knowing the results and the mistakes, knowing that we are responsible for any missed handshakes. Neither those who rushed to Constantinople, nor those who rushed to Vienna, Berlin, and Moscow have a good name in the memory of Hungarians. It will be no different with the columns of the New York Times. Those who truly desire the rise of the nation can already improve many things by taking on certain tasks, with their advice and criticism. "Pro salute Patriae - for the good of the Fatherland!"
