The head of the Chancellery Marek Kuchcinski took part in the promotion of a book by the head of the political cabinet of Hungarian Prime Minister Balázs Orbán. "The Multiplication Table. A Thing on Hungarian Strategic Thinking," according to the author, is a manoeuvre between a scholarly book and a political pamphlet. The minister stressed that Polish-Hungarian friendship is unbreakable and, given our geopolitical position, absolutely necessary.

Marek Kuchcinski argued that Hungarian strategic thinking is similar to Polish in many areas, especially when it comes to the European perspective. We may differ when it comes to the eastern perspective as to tactics or methods, while it seems that we are unquestionably united by the desire to ensure the security of our citizens and stability not only in Central Europe. And if we look back, Poles and Hungarians have had a great deal in common since the early Middle Ages. We can even see ourselves as forerunners of the foundations of the European Union.

- I would like to emphasize that the Law and Justice party and the Polish right wing have done a fantastic job in recent years. If there is a work on Polish strategic thinking, Hungary should be the first to translate and publish it with us," Balázs Orbán said. - We fully support Poland's vision for the development of the Visegrad Group and the Trilateral Initiative. After all, without Poland on board, we are just a small, closed basin of the Carpathian Mountains. Historical patterns also come into play here. Even in the Middle Ages there were examples when the Hungarian political elite established diplomatic contacts through Poland," the minister noted.

Regarding support for Ukraine, Orbán stressed that Hungary bases its position on rational reasons. - We support such sanctions all the time, so that they do more harm to the entity that is subject to them, and not to those entities that impose these sanctions, he stressed.

The book's promotion was preceded by a meeting between former Speaker of the Sejm and former Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee Marek Kuchcinski and the author of the book. The politicians discussed, among other things, the need for cooperation on the information level - many of the problems of the modern world stem from disinformation - the strengthening of relations in the Visegrad Group area or the situation of Poland and Hungary within the European Union. Marek Kuchcinski stressed that within the framework of the Carpathian Europe initiative, Polish-Hungarian cooperation is being strengthened not only on the political, economic, environmental, but also on the cultural level. Plans include, for example, an anthology of Central European literature and a translation of poems by Géza Gyóni, a Hungarian poet who fought in the Przemyśl Fortress during World War I. During the siege of Przemyśl, he wrote poems encouraging the defenders of the city, published under the title "Lengyel mezőkön, tábortűz melet," or "By the Fire in the Fields of Poland."

The meeting and book promotion took place at the Waclaw Felczak Institute for Polish-Hungarian Cooperation.

Photo MO