Hungary, represented by Minister of Human Resources Zoltán Balog, was an honorary guest at this year’s Leipzig Lichtfest (Festival of Light), which focused on the country’s key contribution to the political changes of 1989 and the peaceful revolution in Eastern Germany.

Minister Balog received a very warm welcome from an audience of eight to ten thousand people – many of them holding Hungarian flags – who gathered in Augustusplatz at the Lichtfest on Tuesday. In his opening speech he said that for millions in Hungary freedom did not automatically bring justice: for many – especially for the Roma – the political transition resulted in poverty and disadvantage, while others managed to preserve their power from Communist times. He stated that in Hungary millions live in extreme poverty, and joint efforts are needed to improve their situation, and that we should fight for a democracy that embraces equal opportunities, solidarity, human dignity and fair competition.

Mayor of Leipzig Burkhard Jung said that Germans will always be grateful to Hungarians.

Many young people were at the festival, which underlines the importance of their awareness of crucial historical events, and the role that the young can play in preventing future dictatorships in Europe and also in strengthening German-Hungarian relationships.

The minister also attended a panel discussion entitled ‘Freedom in Hungary’, organised by the Konrad Adenauer Foundation (KAS), in which other panellists were Georg Paul Hefty (former columnist of Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung) and Matthias Cornils (media law expert from the Johannes Gutenberg University of Mainz). The minister thought that the discussion about Hungary’s situation was constructive and interesting.

Following the ceremony, the minister stated that Hungary had been acknowledged with great enthusiasm. Even though Hungary has often been subject to criticism among some sections of the German media and political establishment, there were no echoes of this at the festival, he said.  Prior to the festival; however, representatives of the German Left Party (Die Linke) were collecting signatures to demonstrate against the invitation of the minister. Minister Balog mentioned that he did not understand why some of the organisers had not wanted a Hungarian government member to take part in the event, since as a pastor at the end of the eighties he was a regular participant in opposition demonstrations.

(Prime Minister’s Office)