Áder said that during the ongoing Olympic games, it was palpable many times over that “national feeling is not only uplifting but propels people forward and sweeps them along with it.”

He appealed to Hungarians to be proud of their sportspeople and to feel a sense of belonging together when Hungarians stand atop the podiums.

Later in the day in Sándor Palace, the president handed over the most prestigious state award, the Hungarian Order of St Stephen, to opera singer Éva Marton and poet, linguist and literary translator Ádám Makkai.

János Lázár, head of the government office, said at an event in his home town of Hódmezővásárhely that Hungary has never given up its sovereignty, Christianity or its heritage as an independent state of St Stephen.

Lázár said the European Union is not a political alliance of several hundred years but “an initiative operating in test mode”. “Brussels is by now a bigger border violator than the migrants” since its leaders, “who have zero legitimacy and are unelected”, are trying to create a membership contract on a whim.

“But not a single member state has given up its sovereignty,” he said, adding that the EU is plagued by internal financial crises, the exit of Great Britain and the migration crisis. Mandatory migrant quotas are a way of sweeping the main problem under the carpet, “namely that Europe’s international standing has weakened dramatically and millions of people are knocking at its doors unchecked.”

“If need be, we’ll protect Europe from itself,” he said, adding that Hungary will not leave Europe’s citizens who are dissatisfied with Brussels on their own. Gyula Molnár, leader of the Socialist Party, said in a statement that St Stephen founded a unified state based on European and Christian values, but Hungary’s current government questions these foundations.

The government has turned against “our most important historical traditions”. The leftist Democratic Coalition said there was little in common between today’s Hungary and the Christian country that St Stephen founded. “There is no trace of the teachings of Christianity on the streets flooded with anti-refugee hate billboards”.

As the Oct. 2 migrant quota referendum approaches, Hungary “is drifting further and further away from Europe”. Green LMP said the Hungarian state can only be strengthened by its people.

“The state without the people who form its community is but a skeleton” that is incapable of guaranteeing a future with security, prosperity, sustainability and unity, the party’s leaders said.

Republished with permission of Hungary Matters, MTI’s daily newsletter.

MTI photo: Marjai János