Hungary’s right-wing leader Viktor Orbán plans to give a speech on the sidelines of Wednesday’s Euro 2024 game against hosts Germany in Stuttgart, but the head of the state government says it is better for the speech to be about soccer.
“I hope he will focus on the theme of football and friendship in his speech,” Baden-Württemberg Prime Minister Winfried Kretschmann said on Tuesday. As a member of the Green Party, Kretschmann is on the opposite side of the political spectrum from his Hungarian guest.
Kretschmann said the speech must be appropriate to the occasion – Europe’s premier football tournament.
“We want to meet people from all over Europe and football creates cohesion”, said the Green politician.
Orbán will attend both Hungary’s match against Germany, on Wednesday, which starts at 6pm (4pm GMT), and his national team’s match against Scotland, on 23 June. he will be received by Stuttgart Mayor Frank Nopper on Wednesday afternoon before the game.
Those responsible for match security consider Hungary’s two games against Germany and Scotland to be high-risk matches.
Germany will host the European Championships, which started on June 14th and ends on July 14th.
Three preliminary round matches and one quarter-final are scheduled to take place in Stuttgart.
