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Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen! Dear citizens of Mako!
It's fitting that we're gathered here in Makó. After all, the second thing that comes to a Hungarian's mind after onions is Jerusalem. Unfortunately, Jerusalem could not be further from Makó today. Because there is peace, peace and security in Makó, and we sincerely hope and wish that there will be peace, peace and security in Jerusalem, and we wish the same for the Carpathians and Ukraine, which are much closer to us.
Dear citizens of Mako!
According to perhaps the most beautiful proverb, those who make peace are called sons of God. And we wish Europe many such sons. I think we will need them. And besides peace, we wish something else: many nation builders for Hungary and the city of Makó. And that brings us to Imre Makovecz, who is the third person we think of when we walk the streets of Makó, after the onion and Jerusalem.
Dear residents of Makó!
It belongs to the general education of Hungarians to know who designed which famous Hungarian building. Ödön Lechner designed the Museum of Decorative Arts, Imre Steindl designed the Parliament building, Miklós Ybl designed the St. Stephen's Basilica, and the list goes on. And among the greats, Imre Makovecz suddenly appears. But somehow, strangely enough, we don't know or learn that he built his buildings, we just recognise his buildings. One only has to look at them to see that they are unmistakable. His art is not an example of architectural style, as is the case with other architectural greats, but a style in itself. In the case of Imre Makovecz, the style is indeed the man himself. My work has taken me to many places in the world, but I have only seen one such example where the distinctive, unclassifiable style was the architect himself. His name was Gaudí. And what Barcelona was to Gaudí, Makó was to Imre Makovecz.
Dear people of Makó!
I must mention one more name here, namely Mayor Péter Buzás. I hope that he is somewhere among us. God bless you and have a nice day, Mayor! It is not customary in Hungarian public life to speak highly of a politician from the other side. I don't think that's a good thing. If we did that, it might even turn out that we are not on the other side, and it might even turn out that there are no parties, because after all, there are only Hungarians. Péter Buzás was giving contracts to Imre Makovecz at a time when he was getting almost no contracts from anywhere in Hungary. Makó was a rare exception, I speak to my country: though not the only exception... For by the time the gates were reopened to Imre Makovecz with the victory of the National Party, the period of grace during which the Lord God had kept him among us in the flesh had expired. Those who used to make his work impossible now say that there is no point in building the buildings he planned. Let us tell them that Imre Makovecz is still alive today. Here is the proof. We have just completed the Hagymatikum he dreamed up. So, what Imre Makovecz and Péter Buzás planted, the right-wing city administration continues to nurture and cultivate, while the government, with the help of Minister János Lázár and the government's proxy, waters it. And the Lord God has given it growth. Continuity, dear inhabitants of Makó, also applies to the art of Imre Makoveč, which he himself started and which many of his pupils continue here in Makó.
Ladies and gentlemen!
Now we can boast not only the largest, but also the largest Imre Makovecz building in Makó. After the onion, Jerusalem and Makovecz, we come to the fourth reason why Makó is now considered one of the most famous cities in Hungary. It is home to the most beautiful thermal baths in our country and probably in the world. My heartfelt congratulations!
Ladies and gentlemen!
Imre Makovecz loved the people who lived here. He felt the same way as when he travelled in Transylvania in 2000, where his churches were built. He had a famous saying, I remembered it well, that the further you go from Budapest, the closer you feel to your homeland. We understand him, we too are attracted to cities, villages and towns that believe in their own greatness. They know where they come from and where they are going. They believe that the ground beneath them is not empty, nor the sky above them. History has pushed Makó from the centre of the earth to the periphery. The biggest mistake is to accept this marginal status. But we have not accepted it. Because anyone who feels marginalized, believe me, will never be successful. Only those people and those communities who believe that where they live is the centre of the world, and therefore the most important place in the world, will be successful. Dear people of Makó, I believe that this is how we should think of our country. We have experienced what it is like when the world is badly organised and Hungary is on the edge: it has to live at the eastern end of the western world and, under communism, at the western edge of the eastern bloc. We want Makó today to be neither far from Brussels, nor from Beijing, nor from Jerusalem, but to attract as many people as possible from all over the world, because Makó, Imre Makovecz and Hagymatikum deserve to be visited by people from all over the world, from all over the world.
Dear residents of Makó! Ladies and gentlemen!
I would like to thank everyone who participated in the construction of the new part of the spa. Makó is stronger again and we have paid off part of the debt we have to Imre Makovecz. And to you, dear inhabitants of Makó, I wish that you continue to beautify and strengthen your town with this love. On Palm Sunday, it is appropriate to remind ourselves to live and work each day in such a way that the Lord is pleased with us.
God above us all, Hungary above us all! Come on, Hungary, come on, Hungarians!
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