Hungarian 'Provocation' Irks Slovakia
By Jeremy Druker for ISN
Not surprisingly, the Slovak government, in a long-running feud with Budapest over treatment of the large Hungarian minority in Slovakia, expressed outrage. The Slovaks temporarily recalled their ambassador to Hungary and summoned a special session of the State Security Council, with Prime Minister Robert Fico labeling the bill a “serious intrusion” into the country's internal affairs.
Yet Prime Minister-designate Viktor Orban simply dismissed the Slovak response as a “provocation” and incoming foreign minister, Janos Martonyi, spoke of the Slovaks over-reacting. Orban’s comments have been almost comical in the degree to which he seemed completely oblivious to the impact of the proposed new legislation on the election campaign next door.
According to MTI, the Hungarian news agency, Orban characterized the campaign as “sharp” and “nationalist”, but said “It is not our tone [...] we represent a different political culture.” He then told the gathered journalists that his cabinet would refrain from getting involved in the Slovak campaign (as if they hadn’t already).
Orban also rejected calls from the Slovak side for a summit to discuss the dual citizenship plans, saying it would be “senseless” to sit down and talk now before Slovakia elected its new government (even though Smer, Fico’s party, will likely gain a landslide victory).
What exactly did Orban and Fidesz think would happen when they decided to propose, after only a few days in office, a dual citizenship law? Could the plan really not have waited another month until after the 12 June elections in Slovakia?
This is, after all, a Slovak government that has made “nation-building” a core feature of its time in office, from the passage of the ridiculed Patriot Law in March and linking the Slovaks with a long-ago glorious past, to strengthening the use of the Slovak language. That effort has included a controversial law passed last year that mandates fines for not using the Slovak language in official communication.
The irony in Orban’s decision is that, in all likelihood, he has actually harmed the situation of ethnic Hungarians in Slovakia. With Fico and company now standing in defense of the Slovak nation and even labeling this a “security issue,” it is hard not to imagine scores of undecided voters throwing their votes to Smer or the more repugnant Slovak National Party.
That will be to the detriment of some of the opposition parties that have more moderate attitudes toward ethnic Hungarians and even governed the country in coalition with ethnic Hungarians in the past.
As one of Slovakia’s foremost political analysts, Grigorij Meseznikov, recently wrote on Volebnyinfoservis.sk, an election monitoring site: “In sum, the three governing parties don’t offer to Slovak citizens of Hungarian nationality any positive solutions that would respond to their real needs and help them overcome real problems […] the programs of the parties are in the ‘Hungarian’ question either covertly or openly anti-minority.”
And Victor Orban, so keen to defend the interests of Hungarians abroad, just did those nice folks in the Slovak ruling coalition a huge favor.
Yet Prime Minister-designate Viktor Orban simply dismissed the Slovak response as a “provocation” and incoming foreign minister, Janos Martonyi, spoke of the Slovaks over-reacting. Orban’s comments have been almost comical in the degree to which he seemed completely oblivious to the impact of the proposed new legislation on the election campaign next door.
According to MTI, the Hungarian news agency, Orban characterized the campaign as “sharp” and “nationalist”, but said “It is not our tone [...] we represent a different political culture.” He then told the gathered journalists that his cabinet would refrain from getting involved in the Slovak campaign (as if they hadn’t already).
Orban also rejected calls from the Slovak side for a summit to discuss the dual citizenship plans, saying it would be “senseless” to sit down and talk now before Slovakia elected its new government (even though Smer, Fico’s party, will likely gain a landslide victory).
What exactly did Orban and Fidesz think would happen when they decided to propose, after only a few days in office, a dual citizenship law? Could the plan really not have waited another month until after the 12 June elections in Slovakia?
This is, after all, a Slovak government that has made “nation-building” a core feature of its time in office, from the passage of the ridiculed Patriot Law in March and linking the Slovaks with a long-ago glorious past, to strengthening the use of the Slovak language. That effort has included a controversial law passed last year that mandates fines for not using the Slovak language in official communication.
The irony in Orban’s decision is that, in all likelihood, he has actually harmed the situation of ethnic Hungarians in Slovakia. With Fico and company now standing in defense of the Slovak nation and even labeling this a “security issue,” it is hard not to imagine scores of undecided voters throwing their votes to Smer or the more repugnant Slovak National Party.
That will be to the detriment of some of the opposition parties that have more moderate attitudes toward ethnic Hungarians and even governed the country in coalition with ethnic Hungarians in the past.
As one of Slovakia’s foremost political analysts, Grigorij Meseznikov, recently wrote on Volebnyinfoservis.sk, an election monitoring site: “In sum, the three governing parties don’t offer to Slovak citizens of Hungarian nationality any positive solutions that would respond to their real needs and help them overcome real problems […] the programs of the parties are in the ‘Hungarian’ question either covertly or openly anti-minority.”
And Victor Orban, so keen to defend the interests of Hungarians abroad, just did those nice folks in the Slovak ruling coalition a huge favor.