Prime Minister Viktor Orbán visited Hódmezővásárhely, in southern Hungary, on the campaign trail on Saturday, where he met the ruling Fidesz party’s mayoral candidate in the company of János Lázár, the minister of construction and transport, the PM’s press chief said. Speaking to local voters, Orbán said Brussels „is dumping bag-loads of money into the war; money that it is taking out of people’s and businesses’ pockets”. „That’s why the European economy is stagnant,” Orbán said. „Peace is needed because peace saves lives and restarts the economy.”
Later on Saturday, the prime minister addressed the inauguration of a new sports hall in Mezőhegyes, in the southeast, where he said the number-one issue in the election campaign was the decision between war and peace, and that nothing had a better chance of building peace than sports. He said the government’s aim was to build the best quality facilities, adding that „if something is Hungarian, that should mean that it’s the best”. He said the new sports hall was an example of this approach. Orbán underlined the need for children to participate in sports, be in communities and learn to fulfil their obligations along with the importance of work and humility. „So this isn’t just a sports hall, but the biggest help parents can receive,” the prime minister said.