“It is important for Hungary to strengthen Christian values and set an example to a decaying West,” István Simicskó, parliamentary group leader of the co-ruling Christian Democrats, said in connection with contested plans to add a cross to the pedestal of Budapest’s landmark second world war Liberation Monument on Gellért Hill, now being refurbished. Speaking on public television M1 on Friday, Simicskó said “all civilisations are built on a basis of religion and once that foundation is destroyed the structure will collapse”. “Christian symbols must be revered, still, in Western Europe Christianity is waning and churches are being destroyed,” he added. Simicskó said the planned crucifix was “also a symbol of freedom and victory”, adding that Byzantine emperors “used to erect crucifixes after battles won”.
In another interview, to public broadcaster Kossuth Radio, Simicskó called for an early ceasefire and peace talks in the Russia-Ukraine war. He called for talks with Ukraine, Russia, the US and China, and insisted that “this is a proxy war in which players in the background are also important, not just the directly warring parties”. Concerning the recent incursion by Ukrainian troops into Russian territory, Simicskó said “Ukrainians are fighting heroically but the two countries are not in the same weight-class and this [incursion] will not be a problem for the Russian army.”