Greetings to all residents of Hungary and to all Hungarians everywhere!

Fellow Hungarians and Compatriots!

On New Year’s Day getting a new start is the only possible topic of discussion. We know that Christmas, New Year’s and Epiphany are all part of the same set of holidays. And these holidays offer us the joy of renewal.

These are the days in which the world we know begins its renewal. The sun has once again won out over the darkness and the hours of daylight are growing. It may still be the dead of winter but around us, all events point to the approach of spring. Without us, the changes in the cosmos would merely be cyclical. But, human life has goals so our time is not at all cyclical. That is part of the message of Christmas – that eventually the time will come for fulfilment and there will be a time when hope springs forth in all of our hearts.

Hungary is more than ripe for renewal. And since 2010 is an election year – the New Year offers us an opportunity for a new beginning in both politics and public affairs.

We all feel the need for change – and many politicians know exactly what the people want. For that reason, we have been hearing watchwords such as renewal, new directions, new compromises, rebuilding and the like, with increasing frequency.

But, looking at it from the elevated vantage point of the holiday, we get to see a much fuller image of the renewal we desire.

Politics are a part, an essential component, of the new beginning. But, to expect the renewal and the conceived benefit to come from the outside, from politics alone, is to be set up for disappointment. In the early 1990s many believed that the change in regime would automatically raise living standards to the western level – only to be bitterly disillusioned.  An election is a great opportunity – but it is only a first step. The essence is in the promise of change and it is the promise that offers hope. Whether the hopes are fulfilled depends on the how the process continues. And for it to continue, everyone must contribute, wherever they are – on the job, in the family, and in public life alike.

Fellow Countrymen and Women!

In my New Year’s address four years ago – remember, 2006 was also an election year – I said that a responsible person is one with self-respect, one who carefully examines the credibility of promises and the people who make them. And the responsible person thinks about the performance of former administrations, about what they did for the country. The responsible person thinks about those who have never governed – do they have the backing and capacity to turn their watchwords into actions?

I think that by now we have a wealth of experience. We have learned that our election decisions carry weight. They have consequences manifest not only over a four year term of office but far longer.

We have experienced our own power, the power of the voter. Every single nationwide election in recent years – referenda and European Parliament elections alike – have triggered significant political changes.

Therefore, when each and every voter makes his or her decision on whom to authorize to lead the country, he or she must be fully conscious of the responsibility. What we expect of the state is clear: public safety, the guarantee of law and order, the regulation of the economy to secure development and provide jobs, the alleviation of poverty, and the restoration of the country’s international prestige.

However, there are some absolutely necessary changes that no government can make without the active participation of the people, meaning all of us. One of the most urgent is to combat corruption. The country is being strangled by corruption. It is destroying the economy, making fair competition all but impossible, and keeping institutions for operating in an above-board and responsible way. People are justly incensed on learning of payments in the hundreds of millions or billions – but the little snippets of day-to-day corruption, of small kickbacks on commissions and of money given and taken to procure a permit from the authorities, are just as poisonous. It takes two – at least – to do a corrupt deal. No matter how stringent the state might be, the only way corruption can be halted is if most people want to free us of the scourge of corruption. And I know that everyone would breathe a sign of relief to be rid of it, for most people would like to live honestly. What we need is to close the gap between honesty and success in business.

Fellow Hungarians!

At Christmas, the birth of a child is what fills us with hope. But our children need to be born, too. We need to demand family-friendly policies from our state. But for that, we first need families, close-knit families who raise their children in a loving atmosphere. Our school system, the key to the future of our nation, will only be rejuvenated if support to schools and teachers becomes a national cause. All of us need to work to see that schools operate as communities that educate on a foundation of absolute values and virtues, and that prepare children for a sound and satisfactory life with each person able to develop in line with his or her own talents, skills and abilities.

The future of our nation is in our children. The Hungarian state is partly responsible for the Hungarian people but the people themselves hold primary responsibility. The essence of a nation is the common desire, determination and willpower to further our rich heritage and to do so together. That heritage – our Hungarian language, culture, history and awareness of our Hungarian origins – is a common treasure possessed by all Hungarians irrespectively of the countries in which they live and are citizens of. And the foundation for the rejuvenation we need is simply the feeling of community, the love of all Hungarian people.

When the New Year comes around we like to speak at length of peace and solidarity. They are sorely needed, so it is no surprise that religious and secular leaders alike voice and reaffirm the desire for peace that lives in us all. However, thinking very concretely of the conciliation of Hungarian society, we need to see that we cannot separate it from our renewal. The new situation requires the government to change its tone of voice and we also need a new type of opposition. We must create a new foundation if Hungary is to have peace.

This is what we are waiting for.

Fellow Hungarians!

On this day when the yearly cycle begins, my heart is filled with hope as I wish all residents of Hungary and all Hungarians a Happy New Year. May God bless the Hungarians!