18 June 2013, Tamási
My respectful regards to all of you, to Mr. Lajos Mocsai and the members of the national team who are present, to our Members of Parliament and the leaders and representatives of the local government. And above all, let me of course say a special hello to every citizen of Tamási.
It is good to see you again, and thank you for once again giving me the opportunity to be here with you. I would like to thank you, although we see each other rarely, usually when inaugurating sports arenas, but nevertheless please allow me to thank you for all the support we have received and continue to receive from you day after day. I am fully aware, that I personally have also received and continue to receive a lot of support from you. We wouldn't otherwise be capable of performing the work of running the country if there weren't so many people, as here too in Tamási, who support our work. I would especially like to thank the people of Tamási for the support they have provided to my fellow Member of Parliament Ferenc Hilt, because without his support it would be impossible to summon up a parliamentary majority, meaning a parliamentary majority in the absence of MPs, to back any policy at all. I would like to ask you to continue to be so kind as to support our fellow Member of Parliament in future. Thank you also to the Mayor for his cooperation and support. A Government can solve many things, but it is far from capable of solving everything. If we do not have good local leaders, then there are no plans; if there are no plans there are no ideas; if there are no ideas, there are none who are willing to act, and if nobody is willing to act, then nothing gets done. And then we can only explain to each other what we cannot do and why, instead of how we can in fact get to grips with even the most difficult challenges. This requires good local leaders and good mayors. Thank you very much, Mr. Mayor, for your work so far.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
It is always a pleasure to visit a place where, thanks to the efforts of a community, building have sprung up out of nothing. And in this case, not just any building, but a sports arena, and a sports arena is in itself the stage of human effort. And if we want to, then we, Hungarians, can certainly put up a fight. Sometimes as a kind of Hercules of necessity, sometimes with explosive enthusiasm, but if we must, we always stand up for ourselves. However, dear people of Tamási, like everything else, knowing how to struggle is something that must be learned. It may be learned in sports arenas such as the one we are inaugurating today. Yes, it is here that future generations learn the foundations of healthy competition and struggle, which is a fundamental value of European and Hungarian culture, and which is also a requirement for personal, family and national survival and advancement.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
The Hungarians' relationship with sport has become extremely contradictory in recent decades. While Hungarian athletes almost always perform excellently in international competition, only 38% of young people in Hungary exercise regularly. According to surveys, Hungary is one of the four countries of the 27-member European Union that do the least sports. What used to go without saying for almost all children a few decades ago must now be actively taught to our children. When I was a boy, the main problem for parents was when their children would finally come home from the pitch or the playground, whereas now, as parents, one of our most difficult issues is how to get our children to go out of the house.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
In the two decades since the fall of communism, areas that are suitable for sports have slowly disappeared. Businesses and shopping centres have occupied the places of playing fields and pitches. And while we have become used to achieving results in professional sports, we complacently think that the results will continue without effort. But the world has slowly but surely passed us by and left us behind, and it is often only thanks to the patriotic commitment and personal will to win of athletes that international sports results hardly mirror the real state of sporting life in Hungary.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
For this reason, after the 2010 elections we decided to transform the economy, transform education, transform law enforcement, and we must similarly transform the system of sport. This is why we have developed the system that many have already mentioned today, the so-called TAO system, with which we have successfully placed the future of the most popular sports such as handball, football, basketball and ice hockey onto new foundations.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
We are inaugurating yet another sports arena here today that proves the viability of this system. The system provided funding of HUF 350 million to Tamási for this project. When we introduced the system, the construction of 27 institutions was decided upon and a good many of these have already been inaugurated. And in 2014 a further 28 projects for handball will be opened in eight different locations such as Füred, Szentgotthárd, Dunaújváros, Érd or Siófok. Facilities for water polo will be opened in eight cities, including Cegléd, Göd, Pécs, Szentes and Szolnok, while a further four ice hockey stadiums will also be inaugurated in the upcoming period. HUF 35.5 billion were spent on such development projects during the 2011-2012 funding period and the budget for the upcoming period will be HUF 43 billion. Such numbers are hard to fathom for normal people and what needs to be known about them is that they have lots of zeros at the end and that it is extremely rare in the life of a country for such huge sums of money to become available so that our children can do sports. In other words, Ladies and Gentlemen, had we been unable to develop this financing system, which is an unprecedented financial solution in all of Europe, then Hungarian competitive sports would hardly be able to climb out of the pit it is currently in. And in addition, within the upcoming days the Government will also decide on the signing of agreements with 16 further professional sports associations, which will include developing facilities and the training of young athletes in table tennis, athletics, wrestling, rowing, judo, kayak and canoe, cycling sports, ice skating, boxing, pentathlon, volleyball, shooting, tennis, gymnastics, swimming and fencing. These sports will now also be involved and development can now begin.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
We have heard a little earlier that school children will also be able to use these faculties until four in the afternoon, and in fact it will be they who will use them the most. And so please allow me to say a few words about the introduction of everyday physical education. International studies have shown that children who do sports regularly at a young age not only become healthier adults but are also more intelligent. There is a proven link between physical activity and mental performance. And so if we neglect our children's exercise, if we do not introduce everyday physical education, if we neglect their character building through sport, then children will not only become less healthy, but also less intelligent than they could otherwise be or we ourselves are. And accordingly, the responsibility we feel towards our children requires us to create all possible opportunities for our children to have a greater chance at achieving future success through everyday physical education.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
The Hungarian Constitution includes a sentence that is especially dear to my heart. This sentence from the constitution goes like this; I can only quote it roughly: we believe that our children and grandchildren will make Hungary great once again. Provided we let them, Ladies and Gentlemen! Provided that we, parents, also do our utmost to ensure that they will be able to make our homeland great. The success of children is in great part the responsibility of their parents. It is this responsibility that we are fulfilling when we inaugurate this sports facility.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
I haven't come here to talk about politics, rather to spend time with you, but nevertheless, please allow me two further comments.
People of Tamási,
The politics that we are pursuing here in Hungary is based on a few very simple truths, on a few very simple facts of life. On things like the fact that it is better to live on one's own money rather than to be at the mercy of others, that it is better to live in a country that can be proud that it is standing on its own two feet instead of begging from others, that it is better to make a living from work than from benefits, or that criminals belong in prison and honest folk must be able to live their lives in safety. Or – and this is why I have brought this up – on the fundamental truth that the most important things in our lives are our children. And for this reason, we must do everything we can for them. And so when we inaugurate this arena, in addition to our constitutional responsibility toward our children, we are also fulfilling our fundamental, moral responsibility.
And finally, another thought. Naturally, I haven't come here to praise our own horse, although there is much good to be said about it, but this is not one of the topics for today. Although there is a certain political trend that says that self praise is too important to entrust to others. I am not quite sure about that. But whatever the case, I would like to draw your attention to the fact that Hungary is creating these investment projects – including swimming pools, skating rinks, stadiums – in a period during which the whole world, and certainly the European part of it, is experiencing various crises. I'm sure you are well aware of the international state of affairs. I am sure that you can also see that the European countries are in a state of commotion, that they are struggling with all sorts of problems, and that many countries have no idea how to lead themselves out of the current crisis situation. And in addition, we Hungarians also inherited a huge burden. Our backs had to take over a heavy load in 2010: the inheritance of the previous policies. I can safely tell you, dear people of Tamási, that nine out of ten countries would have fallen flat on their backs under such a huge burden, but we, together, could not be pulled down by it and in fact here we are three years later talking not only about the fact that we have found a way out of the crisis, although it is a difficult path, but also about our common plans for the future. We're talking about sports arenas, educating our children, development projects, ice hockey stadiums and swimming pools. About all kinds of things that European economic systems can usually only allow themselves to talk about in times of prosperity.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
That this has happened is thanks to the efforts of the Hungarian people. Of those Hungarian people who wake up early, do their work, pay their taxes and care about the community. It is they, who – together with us – have led Hungary out of the crisis. Thank you!
Congratulations to everyone whose handiwork is praised by this development project.
(Prime Minister’s Office)
