Today is the 150th anniversary of the meeting of the capital's representative body, headed by the very first mayor of Budapest, Károlly Ráth; and every year on November 17, we celebrate the capital's birthday. "It is important that in its mental state, its atmosphere, but also its attitude, Budapest should be similar to the number one Hungarian city that the former great predecessors once dreamed of," said István Tarlós, the head of the capital between 2010 and 2019.
"Time has actually passed me by, so I don't want to approach this holiday from a topical political point of view at all, the former mayor told Mandiner - I am from Ÿsbuda, for whom Budapest is not a place of residence, but a place of residence. I was also in Budapest when the peace loan had to be signed. I was also in Budapest when the revolution broke out. I attended all my schools here, every important event in my life took place in this city. The thing is, I don't really think I could live anywhere else.
For me, Budapest is not just a political playground, it doesn't just mean investments, land prices, or even institutions, theaters, spaces, but much more than that.
Perhaps this is also why Providence helped me become the mayor of this wonderful city for a decade.
As you mentioned, in terms of public administration, our capital is 150 years old, which is certainly a festive occasion. What is important to me is that it should be similar in its mental state, atmosphere, and attitude to the number one Hungarian city, Budapest, which the former great forefathers once dreamed of.
What do I think this means?
– for example, the much talked about diversity should not mean different shades of pink in real life.
The formation of the outlook on life, the philosophy of life behind the mask of democracy should not be reminiscent of a shift in the direction of the will of a minority dictatorship.
Patriotism or respect for traditions cannot be called "Hungarianism".
Freedom should not be painfully separated from the truth, since there are many interests, but there is only one truth.
Let the Hungarian language be important to us, we should not have to rewrite the interpretive dictionary, I don't want to give an example, but unfortunately more and more concepts are losing their original meaning.
And to ensure safety and order in this city.
Attila József writes about all this: »I did not imagine order to be like this.« He then adds that freedom gives birth to order. Today, however, I don't see the effort to do so, it seems that the example of this is not radiating from the edge of the city", concluded István Tarlós.
Cover photo: MTI/Péter Lakatos
