Hungary’s role in the fall of the Berlin Wall makes it one of the “heroes of the moment” of 1989, Prime Minister Gordon Bajnai told Hungarian reporters in Berlin before Monday commemorations marking the 20th anniversary of the collapse of the wall.
The hopes of that era have been fulfilled, as Hungary is a member of the EU, but Europe is living through hard times, just as then, Bajnai said.
Hungary has much to learn from Germany, Bajnai continued, such as not having to repeat the mistakes of the past, noting that although there are extremist elements in Germany also, the democratic centre there is very strong and will not give scope to such elements.
Hungary stood on the right side 20 years ago and played a positive role in epochal European changes, Bajnai observed. Having joined NATO and the EU in the meantime, Hungary may receive from the EU the solidarity it showed to East Germans 20 years ago, to overcome the global financial crisis, but will have to complete its “homework” vital to crisis management on its own.
In Monday’s celebrations, former Prime Minister Miklós Németh joined Poland’s Lech Walesa in knocking down the first domino in a symbolically rebuilt Berlin Wall.
Following a concert, the heads of state and government invited by German Chancellor Angela Merkel, including Bajnai, passed from East Berlin to West Berlin through the Brandenburg Gate.
