Region: Slovak MPs seek debate on Hungary

By Michaela Terenzani

From The Slovak Spectator

Slovak MPs have begun heated debate over how to respond to neighboring Hungary's policies regarding the rights of the Hungarian minority in Slovakia to vote in national elections.

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán recently stirred emotions in Slovakia after being quoted in the Hungarian press saying people who acquire Hungarian citizenship based on his country's dual-citizenship law will be granted the right to vote in Hungarian elections.

Slovakia's four ruling parties refuse to support recent calls by opposition MPs to hold a special session of Parliament to deal with what they are calling Orbán's "lust for power" over ethnic Hungarians living in Slovakia.

A group of MPs from the Smer party petitioned for the session to debate a parliamentary declaration that would require Slovakia's government to respond more aggressively to the policies advanced by Orbán.

Meanwhile, the ruling coalition insists it prefers to maintain a moderate approach toward relations with Hungary.

Smer MPs also are demanding the Slovak government bring the issue of voting rights in Hungary for ethnic Hungarians living in Slovakia before European forums.

"If someone's trying to threaten Slovakia, if someone's trying to bring their own problems and their own lust for power to the territory of Slovakia, Slovakia needs to take legitimate actions," Smer leader Robert Fico said.

Coalition leaders maintain their handling of Slovak-Hungarian relations is appropriate. At its April 6 meeting, the Cabinet disagreed with Smer's proposals and asked Prime Minister Iveta Radičová to send a letter with their stance to the Parliament speaker.

All four coalition partners have publicly spoken out against Smer's proposal and declared their MPs will not vote in favor of the extraordinary session initiated by Smer.

Analysts say Smer's call for the special session was intended only for its own political benefit, noting that being perceived in the role of a "defender of national interests" has proved appealing to voters.

Grigorij Mesežnikov from the Institute for Public Affairs said Slovakia cannot influence whether ethnic Hungarians living outside Hungary get voting rights in Hungary, simply because the right to vote is part of citizenship.

"It's not possible to deprive a citizen of a state of his or her voting rights just because he or she lives somewhere else," Mesežnikov said, adding some adjustments could be made in a voting-rights law such as permitting only those who are physically present on election day to vote.

Despite many observers believing the dual-citizenship law, passed by the Orbán-led government at the very start of its term, is designed to create a wave of Hungarian nationalism and divert attention from the sputtering Hungarian economy, some say the law poses no threat to Slovakia's national security.

"As long as citizens are satisfied, we've got nothing to worry about," political analyst Miroslav Kusý said. "Ethnic Hungarians living in Slovakia are better off than the Hungarians living in Hungary, and it is not in their interest to harm the country they live in."

However, the political consequences of having a large group of ethnic Hungarians living in Slovakia voting in Hungarian elections could become a problem, as it could nourish the nationalism of the Slovak majority to be directed against the Hungarian minority, Mesežnikov said.

"If a real election campaign of Hungarian parties starts in Slovakia, the reaction of the [Slovak National Party, SNS] or Smer will be very hard," Mesežnikov said, adding that Hungarian political parties campaigning in south Slovakia could offer a welcome excuse for the SNS and Smer to inflame nationalist tendencies among Slovaks.

Michaela Terenzani can be reached at news@praguepost.com