President Katalin Novák Wants to Stand Up for Families

The room for maneuver of a head of state is quite different from that of a government, but I still think it is important to stand up for families and family values, President Katalin Novák said in an interview with TV2’s Tények program on Monday.

The head of state expressed hope that after the pandemic and war, Hungarian families can experience love these days.

Katalin Novák said she was touched when she met Hungarian families who lived in difficult situations and were “almost invisible,” or when she saw an expectant mother singing at the first Advent service of the Reformed Church in Berehovo (Beregszász, Transcarpathia, Ukraine). In the fact that there are people who have the courage to have children even in a war situation, there is at the same time (…) the hope that a new life brings, she explained.

About her trip to Kiev, which was unexpected for many, mainly for security reasons, Katalin Novák said that she accepted the invitation of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, as it was an event that Hungary could support. It was about the delivery of Ukrainian grain to starving people in African countries.

With her visit, she also wanted to express Hungary’s solidarity with the country under attack. She took the opportunity to talk about the situation of the Hungarian minority and then traveled to Transcarpathia. In foreign policy, she wants to set her own accents but support the government’s decisions.

Regarding her relationship with Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, the president stressed that they have a fair and equal relationship and regularly hold substantive talks with each other.

Asked about the teachers’ strike, she said that

we cannot value highly enough those to whom we entrust the education of our children.

Therefore, regardless of any funding problems, we must make it possible for teachers in Hungary to receive the financial and moral recognition they deserve.

On family policy, Katalin Novák stressed that this goes far beyond government decisions, and she continues to attach great importance to advocating for families.

She wants to give citizens the feeling that there is more that unites Hungarians than what divides them.

This article was originally published on our sister site, Ungarn Heute.

Featured photo via Instagram/Katalin Novák