🟠 Fidesz governance has proven to Budapest that it can dare to dream big.
That what we once believed to be lost forever can be revived; that Budapest, which has borne the scars of war for decades, can once again shine in its former glory — and more than that, that it has a future; that it can once again be proud and successful, and that Hungary can give back to it what the war of murderous dictatorships took away from it.
This could only happen through the alliance of all Hungarians, the people of Budapest, and the national government. This alliance must be preserved. And our representatives commit themselves to doing everything necessary to protect it.
Let us now look at what we believe in, and what we are asking the people of Budapest to place their trust in:
1⃣ We will preserve Budapest’s peace and security, because without peace and security there can be no development. For this reason, our good reputation reaches far across the world — let us be proud of it and preserve our capital as it is.
2⃣ Budapest is the capital of the nation, the heart and soul of the Carpathian Basin. Budapest must be worthy of being the capital of all Hungarians, and it must be ready for us to become Central Europe’s economic, diplomatic, and sporting hub.
3⃣ We will continue Budapest’s historic-scale development. We will build a city where it is good to live, work, and raise a family — a city where decisions are not something to be endured, but shaped for the people.
4⃣ Budapest’s development and functioning must not come to a halt, even if the city has leadership that is incapable of operating it. Budapest is the home and workplace of millions of Hungarians. We will guarantee the functioning of the city even if its leaders are unfit to do so.
5⃣ The future will be written in Budapest, not dictated from Brussels. Budapest will not become a testing ground for ideological experiments. It will not turn into a copy of other cities’ misguided decisions. Budapest will remain a Hungarian city — with its history, culture, and character intact.
This text is not a public policy program, but an identity- and loyalty-building campaign message.
0️⃣ Core framing: what does the text actually do?
It does not describe Budapest, but constructs an emotional narrative:
past trauma →
“savior” government →
grateful city →
demand for loyalty →
exclusion of an external enemy (Brussels)
This is a classic national redemption frame.
1️⃣ “Dare to dream big” – vague success framing
“Fidesz governance has proven to Budapest…”
🔹 Success asserted without evidence
– no data
– no benchmarks
– no comparison
🔹 The phrase “has proven” shuts down debate:
it does not argue → it declares.
👉 Propaganda technique: assertion without evidence
2️⃣ Appropriation of historical trauma
“what the war of murderous dictatorships took away from it”
Multiple manipulations happen at once:
- Budapest’s historical destruction
- is turned into a credit for the current government,
- while no specific responsibility, era, or causal link is named.
👉 Moral credit hijacking
Past suffering = present power’s legitimacy.
3️⃣ “National alliance” = loyalty lock
“This could only happen through the alliance of all Hungarians, the people of Budapest, and the national government.”
This is not cooperation, but exclusion:
- those who criticize → not part of the “alliance”
- those outside → implicitly “not truly Hungarian”
👉 Us vs. them framing, subtly applied.
4️⃣ 1⃣ Peace and security – empty universal value
“without peace and security there can be no development”
This is a tautology:
true, but meaningless.
Its purpose:
- activate positive emotions
- silence criticism (“who would oppose peace?”)
👉 Motherhood statement
(everyone agrees → therefore politically weaponized)
5️⃣ 2⃣ “Budapest is the nation’s capital” – identity appropriation
“Budapest must be worthy of…”
This is not description, but norm-setting:
- those who envision a different future for Budapest → “unworthy”
- pluralism is excluded
👉 Symbolic ownership
The city becomes a question of who it belongs to.
6️⃣ 3⃣ “Historic-scale development” – unmeasurable concept
There is no:
- cost
- impact
- social trade-off
- alternative
Only:
👉 Grandiosity framing
(big words, zero verifiability)
7️⃣ 4⃣ “Incompetent leadership” – delegitimizing voter choice
“even if the city has incompetent leadership”
This is one of the most aggressive claims.
What does it do?
- labels a democratically elected city leadership as incompetent
- while presenting itself as a superior guarantor
👉 Soft power override
Democracy is accepted — only if the outcome is acceptable.
8️⃣ 5⃣ “Not dictated from Brussels” – external enemy construction
“Budapest will not become a testing ground for ideological experiments”
A threat without content:
- no experiment specified
- no actor named
- only emotional reflex remains
👉 External enemy abstraction
9️⃣ Overall picture – what is this really?
This text is:
❌ not an urban development program
❌ not an administrative plan
❌ not a budgetary commitment
✔️ a loyalty declaration over Budapest
Message in short:
“The city only works if we control it —
and we decide what is Hungarian and what is not.”