Hungarian affairs in Brussels hot topic at Martos Free University closing forum

At the biggest summer event for Slovak Hungarians, the representatives in Europe of Fidesz and the Party of the Hungarian Community (MKP) were in agreement that Hungarians of the Carpathian Basin must make use of their strong representation in Brussels, and what has hitherto been an under-representation of Hungarian affairs should be turned round.

Such strength will expand the possibilities of interest-representation, though hopes should not be overly inflated either since the coming period is expected to be “bumpy and difficult”, they said.

Assessing the outcome of the European elections, Szajer noted that the Fidesz list had been drawn from the entire nation to include members of the ethnic Hungarian community. Accordingly, never before has the Hungarian community of the Carpathian Basin been so heavily represented in Brussels, he added.

Csaky said that the MKP had chosen a strategy not to ask for the top places on the national list since had they done so then, given the relations within Slovakia, there would have been a danger that no one would have got into the European Parliament from the party’s own list. Bela Bugar who led the Most-Hid mixed Slovak-Hungarian party’s list would have said that there’s no reason to vote for the MKP list since the Hungarian party would still be represented in Brussels, whereas later Bugar would have said that MKP failed to get voted into the EP by Slovak Hungarians.

“It is now clear that MKP’s strategy worked,” he said, adding that Slovak Hungarians had given the party a strong mandate especially since it had beaten Most-Hid.