16 November 2013, Szolnok
Welcome to all of you, good afternoon!
Thank you very much for giving me the opportunity to be here with you today. As I stood here and listened to those who spoke before me, I too thought back to the moment, it must have been somewhere around 1988, when I still lived here in Szolnok and when, with four other people in Orosz Street on the Széchényi housing estate, the five of us founded the local group of Fidesz. That was twenty-five years ago. I remember that we had to cheat a little to collect a group of five people and thought seriously, since communism was almost over and the Russians would soon be going home, about how we would go about making Szolnok into a modern, fantastic and beautiful city, since we were going to be living here. And this is roughly what we came up with. The Tiszaliget district had always had a special place in our plans; it is after all a city built on water. There would be a theatre, we would build the missing dams and there would be a sports arena; the city of Szolnok would look like any other medium-sized city in Western Europe. I am glad that after twenty-five years we have taken a new step in that direction. It is also true that other significant things have also occurred here in our city in addition to the construction of the Arena. I was recently present at the inauguration of Stadler's new production hall. I have before me the reports on the fact that you have put the monies that we have provided for the renovation of schools to good use, and it seems that we shall soon be able to renovate further schools. The sports arena has also been renovated, and the list goes one. It is proper that I should congratulate the leaders of the city on these achievements, because these development projects could not have been accomplished without a devoted city leadership.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
I would like to ask you, the people of Szolnok, to hold in great esteem this achievement, that we can stand together here today and inaugurate a sports facility. If you open the papers, listen to the radio or turn on your television you will see and hear that everything is filled with news of the crisis in Europe. There's trouble here, there's trouble there; there isn't enough money for this and that. One country is swimming hopelessly in a sea of public debt, another has called in the troika that will put it under supervision, and while this crisis is indeed torturing our continent, here in Hungary we are inaugurating new public facilities every single week. The Liszt Academy of Music, the Erkel Theatre, and today, it happens to be this new sports and water polo arena here.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
In times such as this, and of course not even we can fully distance ourselves from the crisis, the question always arises: is it right to spend money on sports and culture at such a time, or are these a luxury? There are those who think that in such circumstances these should be placed at the bottom of the list of priorities, but it is our view, and I am glad that the majority of the country supports us in this, that it is precisely in time of crisis that we must come out fighting, to use a sporting expression. And I can truly say: we are off to a great start. As you have just heard, this is the first water polo arena, but we will soon be inaugurating two other new swimming pools. Next year's budget includes several billion forints for aquatic sports facilities. In 2021, we will be hosting the FINA World Aquatics Championships. The decision has been made that there will be a swimming pool in every single one of Hungary's new administrative districts - in a total of one hundred and ninety something locations. There will be not a single Hungarian and not a single Hungarian child who, if teaching in schools is organised well, will not have access to a swimming pool so that they can learn to swim and, if they are talented, will not have the opportunity to become a world class athlete.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
If I ask the question, why have we succeeded in achieving this while other countries have failed, the answer is that we have succeeded in finding a way. We had to bring together four participants to make possible the realisation of development projects such as this one. We needed solidarity, with the participation of both athletes and trainers, the profession if you will, and we needed the private sector. People in Hungary often talk about businessmen in a rather negative sense, but in the modern world, if businessmen don't support sports, science and culture, then it is impossible to achieve development. We had to win over the representatives of the private sector. Here in Szolnok, we succeeded in doing so. We also needed the city's leaders, because without local support and the efforts of local participants, it is impossible to realise development projects. And of course we needed an administration, let's call them the nation's leaders, who declared sport a strategic sector. This is that something, which President [of the Hungarian Water Polo Association] Dénes Kemény referred to a little earlier as the TAO system, meaning the new system whereby a portion of corporate income tax may be donated to sports and culture.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
And so I must thank the members of the local government. I must thank the athletes and sports management. I mention in brackets that if all goes well trainers will this year, in addition to moral recognition, also be receiving a significant increase in financial recognition. And the appreciation of trainers in this respect has improved and will continue to improve. I must thank the representatives of the private sector, including Mr. Zsolt Nyerge, and I must thank the nation's leaders for supporting these concepts. We owe a special debt of gratitude to Dénes Kemény, because had the Associaiton not worked out the professional concept, then despite all the good will and commitment, and despite the local government or the administration coming out fighting, there would have been no professional programme to realise, and so, maestro Dénes, thank you!
Ladies and Gentlemen,
There is, however, something else I must mention. There is a painful contradiction in Hungary. If you take a look at the number of Olympic medals we have won, and especially the number of gold medals, you will see that we are doing way better than the size of the country and its population, or its economic power, would otherwise justify. This is a wonderful thing and it fills us with pride. But if you look at the figures with regard to how much time the Hungarians spend doing recreational sports, then you will be surprised. We Hungarians are fourth from the bottom on the list of 28 European Union member states when it comes to doing sports. This is a sharp contradiction that we must recognise. And it is clear that this contradiction cannot exist for long. If we do not create opportunities for grassroots sports and opportunities for our children to do sports at school, then we will eventually pull competitive sport down to our level. This is why we need everyday physical education in schools, this is why we need pools where swimming is taught and this is why we need financial constructions like the TAO. I would like to share a piece of data with you. From the change in government in 2010 until the early autumn of 2013, the number of registered athletes in Hungary, including both children and adults, has increased from 234,000 to 302,000, which represents an increase of 70,000 over a period of three years, an increase of 30 percent. This is proof of the fact that if everyone does their job then the chasm between Hungarian competitive sports and the affinity for recreational sports shown by the general public will become smaller and may eventually disappear.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
In closing, there is an idea that I would like to draw to everyone's attention. I also apply this thought during the course of my work. It has worked. This thought or idea comes from Dénes Kemény, and it goes like this. If Dénes will allow me, I will quote him: "The edge of the goalpost is always just, because it is always the team who has done the most to achieve success on weekdays, whose ball is deflected into the net."
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Congratulations to the people of Szolnok for doing everything on their weekdays to achieve this victory.
Go Hungary! Go Hungarians!
(Prime Minister’s Office)
