People in protests following the leaked “Őszöd speech” in 2006 were “not only beaten and left in blood”, the then-government also “deceived voters and ruled against them”, coupled with economic measures, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán said.
Marking the 15th anniversary of the leaking of the speech by then-Prime Minister Ferenc Gyurcsány which was followed by protests in Budapest, Orbán said „it had been a terrifying moment of Hungarian politics”. Gyurcsány had “created that situation, he delivered the speech, lied to the people and came to power through lies…” yet “he has remained the leader of the Left until this day”, Orbán said in an interview with public broadcaster Kossuth Rádió.
“The past still living with us and keeps trying to return,” Orbán said. He insisted that the Socialist-Liberal government had stripped the elderly of their thirteen month’s pension and stopped supporting families, while they “doubled, tripled” the price of household gas and electricity. The incumbent government, however, “returned all” with a re-established family assistance system, reintroduced housing subsidies and wage hikes, the prime minister said. “Once pensioners get back their 13th month pensions, we can say that we have left behind the whole Őszöd speech,” he added.