Magyar announces 12-point referendum of his own

Hungary's most significant opposition party held its commemoration of the 1848 revolution in the same location where it all started for the Tisza exactly a year ago, on Budapest's Andrássy Avenue, near the Opera House.

"The message of the March Youth (Márciusi Ifjak) is more relevant today than ever", Péter Magyar began his speech, referring to the revolutionaries from 1848. Their 12-point list of demands also concerns the present and the future of Hungarians, according to the chairman of the Tisza Party.

“This is our time. We are the ones who are now laying the bricks for the edifice of our homeland. The uprising of March 15 was the first brick in the construction of a free, independent, and civic Hungary.”

Magyar said that this time last year a completely new era had begun in Hungary. "It was then that we decided that we were not willing to be afraid in our own country. A year ago, the desire for freedom expressed by Petőfi, Jókai and Irinyi once again became close, almost tangible," he said.

The country of the March Youth may be 1,100 years old, but it is full of strength, life and the will to live, just like spring. "It once again wants to stand upright, and be smart and healthy, so that it can have a future in the community of nations." Magyar continued to draw on the parallel by saying that "The March Youth live in us. Their struggle, their sacrifice is beating right here, in all of our hearts".

He said that no matter where someone lives, the important thing is that they are willing to do something for their homeland. "Instead of wanting to live off it, they should want to develop it, instead of wanting to isolate it, they should want to broaden it. This is what the alliance of the March Youth was about, and this is the alliance of the Hungarian people today."

We believe that Hungary's place is in a strong Europe, where its neighbours respect it, value it and regard it as an ally",

said Péter Magyar. He said that for the Tisza party, the most important values are people's happiness, fulfillment and health. “Homeland and progress, that is what we believe in.”

“It was your money they stole”

The leader of Hungary’s biggest opposition party then turned to criticising the Orbán government. He said that while the authorities keep preaching about the importance of families and children, they defend paedophiles and keep reducing the money spent on child protection. They keep telling lies about knowledge, while they are running education into the ground and closing down schools.

The chairman of the Tisza Party then spoke at length about the wealthy and the members of "the dynasty", a reference to the business circles with close connections to the government. 'They go off to bask in 35 degrees, while hundreds of people freeze to death at home because they have no heating...The Orbán dynasty got rich off of you, it was your money they stole".

Speaking of PM Viktor Orbán, he said: "His father, his brother, his son-in-law, his friends, his neighbour, his lawyer, even his dentist and his coach have become billionaires. Enough! Enough of the plunder, enough of the pomposity, enough of the lies. Enough!" – he said.

Magyar also said that anyone who deceives their own country belongs on the garbage dump of history.

What the Tisza Party would do

The chairman of the Tisza Party then started to list the main points of their programme. He said:

• We will immediately join the European Public Prosecutor's Office.
• We will proclaim zero tolerance against all forms of corruption.
• We will establish an independent anti-corruption prosecutor's office and set up a special investigation team within the tax authority.
• We will double the penalties for all corruption-related offences and will exclude the possibility of parole for such crimes.
• We will restore the independence of the judiciary.
• We will introduce the full confiscation of assets for all offences involving even one forint of public funds.
• We will open asset investigations into the assets of all politicians and their close family members for the past 20 years and make their tax returns public for the past five years.

A call to Hungarian minorities in surrounding countries

"Tisza is calling all Hungarians in the Carpathian Basin and all over the world to join forces", continued Péter Magyar, especially addressing members of the Hungarian minority in Transylvania and northern Serbia. He said that people living beyond the borders can also count on the Tisza, but that right now, it is the motherland that is in trouble. “Tyranny must not separate one Hungarian from another. Help the motherland, just as you have always done," he said.

He then announced Tisza's upcoming referendum called the Voice of the Nation, and called on all Hungarians to participate in it. These are the questions that will be asked:

1. Do you agree with the introduction of a card for pensioners with fringe benefits worth a maximum of 200,000 forints a year, which can be spent on food and healthcare?
2. Do you agree with reducing the VAT rate on medicines to 0%?
3. Do you agree that the state should not be allowed to spend budget resources on private health care?
4. Do you agree that the recovered national assets should be spent on education, health and developing rural regions?
5. Do you agree that the VAT rate on healthy food items should not exceed 5 percent?
6. Do you agree that VAT should be reduced to a flat rate of 9 percent?
7. Do you agree that the Kata taxation system should be re-introduced in its previous form?
8. Do you agree that there should be an extra tax imposed on assets over HUF 5 billion?
9. Do you agree that Hungary should remain a member of the European Union and NATO?
10. Do you agree that a prime minister should be allowed to serve up to two terms in office, with a maximum of 8 years?
11. Do you agree that local governments should be given back their powers, their institutions and their resources in the fields of education, health and social affairs?
12. Do you agree that the salary of the Prime Minister should be a maximum of 2.5 million forints and that the salary of Members of Parliament should be halved?

Magyar believes that these 12 questions are ones that truly affect all Hungarians and will set the direction for the next Hungarian government. He also added that there will be an extra question: do you support Ukraine becoming a member of the EU.

The questions of the referendum may be answered between 24 March and 11 April. Péter Magyar appealed to everyone to answer these questions regardless of party affiliation or preconceptions. "Let there be many of us, let us truly make the voice of the nation heard," he said.