The Speaker "doesn't feel bad for a moment" that Hungary will be the last to ratify Sweden's NATO accession, since "someone has to be the last".
It was enough for Hungary to be a cheap toy for bored politicians, said the President of the Parliament, commenting on the situation regarding the ratification of Sweden's NATO accession. László Kövér gave an interview to Index regarding the issue.
"We have stated our problems quite clearly before. Hungary takes seriously the fact that NATO, unlike the late Warsaw Pact, is a defense alliance of equal and sovereign states, and it is in our interest to be members of this alliance. But let it be clear to everyone: the member states voluntarily undertake the obligation that if any other ally is attacked, it will automatically be considered as if it is directed against them. That is, they provide military assistance to the attacked party. Does everyone understand how much responsibility this is? We collectively enter a military conflict if someone is attacked," the speaker pointed out, adding: a NATO member sends its own sons to the front line, even sacrificing their lives, to protect their ally, and they expect the same in return.
This requires a level of trust that is stronger than that - emphasized László Kövér.
"Well, now let's see how Sweden has treated Hungary in the past period, just like in the last few months, since their accession was on the agenda, with what arrogance and negligence they treated us. It is not entirely clear to me whether they are aware of what the alliance they want to enter actually means," he added.
According to the Speaker, no one has disputed Sweden's military power. "But now it's about the fact that the Swedes - I would like to note that the Finns as well - have gone so far in smearing Hungary, defaming the democratically elected government and narrowing its scope, which cannot be dismissed as something that didn't happen or as a side effect," he added.
László Kövér also pointed out that after the Hungarian parliament ratified the Finns' accession with good intentions, Finland immediately joined the proceedings against Hungary before the European Court of Justice.
"Simply because we want to protect our children from LGBTQ brainwashing at all costs. Do they honestly think that they want to make a life-and-death contract with us, to whom they refuse to show the slightest respect?" he asked.
According to the Speaker of the House, the Hungarian diplomacy handled the situation arising in connection with the NATO expansion as correctly as possible, supported the expansion, presented the relevant bills to the parliament, and showed an openness to help deal with the situation, which caused uncertainty for some of the representatives. "However, in a democracy, the final word is not given by the government, but by the parliament," he reminded.
"Despite the fact that the entire process of NATO expansion is embarrassingly lacking in serious thought and democratic thoroughness commensurate with the weight of the matter, the parliamentary majority behind the government supports it in principle. I initiated a parliamentary delegation to visit the two countries in order to make it clear that there is a small problem here. An answer to this was received, which was not satisfactory, to say the least. And now it seems that the Swedes don't even appreciate the last gesture," emphasized the speaker, who said that Hungary should not be begging us to clarify the problems.
“If I may use military slang, we are nobody's shills. I feel that there is a serious misunderstanding in the minds of the Swedes," emphasized the Speaker.
"The Hungarian Parliament is independent. And we can decide on our own when to take such a step. We are not influenced by how the Turks manage their own problems. I would like to note very quietly: I remember that the Swedish diplomacy very quickly made great efforts to settle the controversial issues with Turkey. The Swedish Prime Minister also made a pilgrimage to Turkey. I'm sorry that Swedish politicians didn't even try to take advantage of the time created by the delay in Turkish ratification to talk to us," said László Kövér, who expects the Swedes not to give the impression that they ignore us.
"I don't think it's too much of a demand. For us, Hungarian interests come first - perhaps this is natural".
According to László Kövér, there will not be an extraordinary parliamentary session regarding the ratification of Sweden's NATO accession. "I don't feel that anything is urgent for us, in fact, I don't think an extraordinary situation has arisen," he added by way of explanation, then also stated that he himself does not support Sweden's NATO accession. "I would also be happy if our hopeful allies would give me the chance to change my position in good conscience as soon as possible," he added.
"It was simply enough for our country to be a cheap toy for bored politicians, who can't think of anything else, or want to divert attention from something, so they go to Hungary to wipe their muddy shoes. Just to be clear: we would have been over this whole circus a long time ago if Mr. Stoltenberg had spent half as much effort in convincing the Swedish politicians as he invested in sending us a message," said László Kövér.
Cover image: László Kövér, President of the Parliament
Source: MTI/János Vajda
