"As far as I know, you hate politically correct forms of speech."

"That is correct."

"Then shouldn't you have been on Jobbik's list of candidates for the European Parliamentary elections, instead of being with Lehet Más a Politika (LMP - Politics Can Be Different)?"

"I refuse to hate anyone simply for being different, and I don't like conspiracy theories. It is a fact, however, that Jobbik became what it is now because for a very long time political correctness was forced upon the country. It's absurd that you feel embarrassed during an interview and are unsure about what to say, whether it should be Roma or Gypsy. Of course, politicians have to respect these rules, but you can't expect the same thing from ordinary people in the street. One must talk honestly, in the style of those who are annoyed because they feel things are going in the wrong direction, while - because of European Union norms and other standards - they are expected to accept things that are, if you use your common sense, unacceptable."

"You mean things like regulating the cucumber's curvature, or the slogan of "different is beautiful"?"

"For example, yes. They should not have made the latter into a political order. It's quite natural that if you want to feel at home in the world, you get to know people who resemble you in some way. Those who are different can never be completely assimilated. Every culture has some way of dealing with "outsiders". But it is only possible to admire difference where there is little tension. In a country where the whole Roma issue, and Judeophobia was swept under the carpet for forty-fifty years, it is not to be expected that there should be no tension just because they tell you what is PC."

"Is that why you have had enough of the Free Democrats?"

"Among other things. They played a significant role in the process of frustrations and fears becoming inexpressible. On the other hand, the Free Democrats have become the playthings of a small brigade. They are now a formation with no roots, they are inexistent in the countryside. The intellectual content which justified the existence of the party is now non-existent. They have even taken away the credibility of a branch of liberalism, the existence of which I think is really important. Everyone has known for the last ten years that economic liberalism - which glorifies the market - is nonsense, but they have also managed to deprive liberalism related to human rights of its authenticity , and that is why the Free Democrats must disappear from the world of politics."

"By being on the list of candidates of LMP, you have also driven a nail into the party's coffin."

"An old acquaintance of mine - who is a member of SZDSZ - was really mad at me for this, but I also received lots of positive feedback, even though many people advised me to refrain from taking part in political matches. Still, I felt I simply had to do it."

"As a citizen of Pécs, the scandals that have come to light in connection with the cultural capital probably didn't increase your trust in the left. Will anything change, do you think, after the victory of Zsolt Páva (new mayor of Pécs, member of Fidesz)?"

"I have no idea how much energy Zsolt Páva has and whether he will be able to realise his plans, but I've met him a few times and I trust him a lot more than any of the socialist leaders of recent years. Of course, the final outcome will be what we feared would happen long ago, when László Toller (former Socialist mayor of Pécs, he was injured in a serious car accident in 2006 and has been in a coma since) got involved with the project which had originally been excellent. The already existing programmes in Pécs will have a little more money to spend, and they will be decorated with the ribbon of the cultural capital. The chance of a new era beginning in Pécs as a result of the European Capital of Culture, of the Ministry of Culture moving to Pécs and thereby decreasing the centralized bureaucracy of Budapest, disappeared long ago. Anyone who is slightly patriotic must stop and think - you can, and should, start shouting when something is wrong. I did, too. But after a time, when you can no longer do anything to help, and anything you do causes more harm than good, then it's worth calling it a day."

"What about politics? You may be needed by LMP next year, too. According to the latest news, Gábor Fodor is thinking of starting a new liberal party."

"At the general elections, I will only participate as someone who sympathises with LMP, definitely not as a politician. Ever since 1998, the band and I have been careful not to get involved in programmes organised by the parties."

"Last Saturday, however, you played at a family day organised by Hír TV-Magyar Nemzet-Lánchíd Rádió. Fidesz will most probably win the elections.  Is that why you took part, as a good lobbyist?"

"If this is the image that has developed, then it wasn't a good decision. The truth is that a few friends of mine who work for Hír TV called me and said it would be great if we played there. Naturally, it was a dilemma for me, as I will probably never become a supporter of Fidesz. The fact that we said yes had more to do with the chance of playing together with the Csík Band. It has been difficult to organise a joint concert of the two bands lately, so in this way, we could at least perform the songs - together - that they also play regularly."

"I had the impression that those who liked Kispál's music didn't have much in common with those who love folk music, not even in their ideology."

"When we first invited the Csík Band to play with us, some people really didn't understand what the violin was doing on stage. This is no longer the case, and the Csík Band are now more popular than most pop groups. If there's one thing that I'm proud of, it's that I played a role in putting an end to the debate between the populist/nationalist and urbanist/internationalist artists in the world of pop music. When I used to go to the Téka camps (camps where traditional Hungarian folk music and folk dances were taught), I was always reprimanded afterwards. Nevertheless, I always went and talked a lot with the organisers."

"This summer, we saw you singing medieval hymns in the church in Palkonya. In Latin. We were quite surprised."

"I can't say I imbibed it from infancy. The only word I know in Latin is appendicitis. Also, I have problems with pronunciation. In any case, it seems that my friend Gyuri Heidl, who composed the music of the hymns, has found a "market niche". Very little sacred music is written nowadays, despite the fact that its forums exist. I'm glad that there is an interest in the production, for it shows a lack of imagination that we use István, a király (Stephen, the King, a rock opera written by Levente Szörényi and János Bródy) for everything, be it a demonstration or a celebration... I have never been one of those liberals who think everyone should be liberal. It was only the ardent fans of the two camps (those in favour of Gyurcsány or Orbán) who believed that those who liked our music were left-leaning, and those who preferred folk music were right-leaning. I had this argument with Ákos Kovács..."

"When you told your audience in Transylvania that you would leave "currying favour with inhabitants of the annexed territories" to others."

"Many of my friends held me to account because of what had been published in the press. Let's just say it was a quiet time of the year, with little happening. Since then, I take all that is written by the press with a pinch of salt."

"Speaking of Ákos (the singer Ákos Kovács): he told our paper that Fidesz still regards culture as something suspicious that comes from the the city centre. Is that how you see it?"

"That's interesting, for that is how I see the Socialist Party. It's as if they thought that culture was some kind of trinket which makes our clothes more colourful. Come to think of it, it was unfortunate of Viktor Orbán to say just an hour after Tamás Cseh's funeral that the singer had been his soldier."

"This was what Tamás Cseh had said himself."

"I know, but still. It is not at all elegant to gain political capital from this on the day of the singer's funeral. Actually, we can understand what culture is through the example of Tamás Cseh. For what did he do, exactly? He helped several generations to express their relation to love, friendship and their homeland. He gave us the words for all these things. Not like television, which kills our imagination, but by making us feel "oh, that's exactly it, I should have thought of that line myself". Culture is not a ribbon to decorate with, it's what helps the members of a community to express their relation to the world. That's what's so good about folk songs, you start singing them, then all of a sudden - you don't even know why - you find yourself crying. Or laughing. It's a different question that there are many amateurs and in Western culture art has become part of occupational therapy, for it's better if people create modern art, peacefully, than if the unemployed start breaking shop windows in their spare time."

"Wasn't the government programme named PANKKK (Programme for the Culture of Contemporary Hungarian Music), which aimed at supporting contemporary music, and which you approved of, the first step towards this?"

"No. All the money that has been spent on it is no more than the budget of a medium-budget, unwatchable Hungarian film."

"You played the leading role in a film like that."

"OK then, let's say a Hungarian film that very few people actually pay money to see. Of course, if it weren't for the radio channel MR2-Petőfi, many performers would still be virtually unknown, from Bori Péterfy to 30Y and the Csík Band. But PANKKK was needed in order for the songs that can now be heard on the radio to have been written and recorded. Incidentally, it was primarily criticised by the "pro-market" liberal press, despite the fact that the market cannot decide who is good if certain talents cannot even reach the market. If someone does something voluntarily, without receiving a single penny in return, simply because they believe in what they do, then maybe that person should be aided in reaching the market. Young pop musicians are like that."

"In your case, it was worth it for you to found a music publishing company, for there is funding and there is music material to publish."

"Well, it's not really profitable, for publishing records is doomed. Soon we're going to listen to music in the same way as we watch television. We'll subscribe to a package for a monthly fee and download what we want. Songs, not records. But it is a fact that PANKKK was a breakthrough. Earlier, when applying for a competition of the National Cultural Foundation (Nemzeti Kulturális Alap), if you did not write into the application that the music was a ballet, or a concert for the opening of a dolphinarium, in other words, if it wasn't covered in some kind of incomprehensible sauce, behind which the examiners could presume something artistic, you didn't get any money. Hungarian pop music has become more exciting since the programme was launched, although original authentic music is still quite rare, by this I mean music that is not a weaker copy of something else, and which is interesting even for a foreigner."

"Is the music of Kispál and the Badger like that?"

"No. I recently sat down and listened to all our records and found that quite a significant proportion of them did not come up to scratch. Ten years from now, some of them will be impossible to listen to."

"Then why don't you quit? Is it just to make a living?"

"Even a musician who plays at weddings is not only in it for the money. He can feel the magic of the stage. I can still feel it, too, both with Kispál and Kiscsillag. Of course, I might wake up one day feeling burnt out, with no more ideas. But that morning has yet to come."