According to Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, in the years ahead policy on Hungarian communities beyond the borders must reinforce the “main trunk” of those communities: the lower and middle levels of society, which are most vulnerable to assimilation. However, those who form the “forest canopy” – the highly-qualified intellectual elite – “are doing fine”.
The Prime Minister was speaking in an interview published on Thursday in the Transylvanian Hungarian daily Krónika, and in other local papers belonging to the same media group in Székely Land.
In the interview Mr. Orbán declared that, with regard to policy on Hungarian communities beyond the borders, he is aiming at “the middle and below”; he explained that, in his experience, members of the highly-qualified intellectual classes with solid family backgrounds are already succeeding in finding their own path as Hungarians in the Carpathian Basin. “Particular attention should be paid to lower and mid-level groups, however”, he stated, adding that “They can be helped by a policy which emphasises that being Hungarian is not only uplifting, but also worthwhile. The enterprise development programmes operating in the Carpathian Basin serve this goal”.
The Prime Minister declared:
“The great achievement of the coming years will be that Hungarians will feel that they have greater development, employment, income and education opportunities than before, simply because they are Hungarian. So it will be worth remaining part of the Hungarian people for everyone – even for a Hungarian living in the last house in the most distant village. It is the trunk of the Hungarian people that we must now reinforce – the forest canopy is doing fine.”
According to the Prime Minister, fluctuations in Romanian-Hungarian relations are a result of whether Romania has a well-intentioned leadership that shows Hungary respect, or a hostile one:
“In such a difficult period, all we Hungarians can do is not respond in kind to provocation and harshness. Recently I personally have also had to put up with a lot from certain Romanian political leaders, and so has our homeland, but we have never reciprocated such attacks. In the medium-term this approach will begin to bear fruit. We are now in an era of building trust […] I feel that we can put together a cooperation package that concentrates primarily on the economy, and which could serve the interests of Romania, Romanian Hungarians and the mother country alike.”
Mr. Orbán said that in his view the whole Hungarian community in the Carpathian Basin stands on the threshold of a great era: “What follows will not just be protection against the stripping away of rights, but reinforcement of those rights; not poverty, but predictable, smooth and tangible growth […] From now on we will not be satisfied simply with others giving us work, but instead Hungarians will be giving jobs to other Hungarians in competitive European factories and businesses”. The Prime Minister said that the growth trajectory being achieved by Hungarians is also making it desirable to cooperate with them, adding that he would like the Romanians to also share in this success.
According to the Prime Minister, Ukraine must decide whether it wants to be a European country. “If so, then they must understand that the rights granted to minorities cannot be taken back”, he declared, noting that Hungary had stood up for Ukraine’s territorial integrity and was the loudest proponent for it forging closer ties with the EU and for its citizens being granted visa-free travel rights. In return he asked that anti-minority and anti-Hungarian proposals should not be placed on the agenda.
“We believed them when they said that this would not happen, but as soon as Ukraine managed to win trade concessions and visa-free travel, they adopted a law like this. We can only see this as a blow below the belt, and this is something that Hungarian politics cannot ignore”, Mr. Orbán declared, adding that two other Bills embodying a similar spirit are now also before Ukraine’s parliament. “If Europe does not raise its voice now against the removal of minority rights via the Education Act”, he said, “then we cannot expect a good outcome in relation to the other pieces of legislation either”.
With regard to Transylvanian Hungarian aspirations for autonomy, he declared that “The Hungarians have neither the means nor the opportunity to give up this goal”, adding that “it would be worth clarifying the matter through debate; for instance in Serbia it emerged that giving the Hungarians an exemplary level of autonomy did not weaken Serbia, but strengthened it”.
The Prime Minister encouraged Hungarians living abroad to apply to be included in the electoral registry and to exercise their right to vote in next spring’s Hungarian parliamentary election. “Registering now means nothing less than enrolling for a better, joint Hungarian future”, Mr. Orbán said.