Hungary’s foreign policy should focus on stronger European integration and well-functioning Central European cooperation, former Foreign Minister Janos Martonyi, of the main opposition Fidesz party, told daily Nepszabadsag on Wednesday.
Ethnic Hungarians living beyond the borders must always remain a determining element of Hungary’s foreign policy, said Martonyi, quoted by the paper as a potential foreign minister candidate in the next government. Martonyi, however, told Nepszabadsag that posts have not yet been allocated by Fidesz.
He said if Hungary wants to help ethnic Hungarian communities beyond the borders, then “politics must be given a human dimension.” This means that autonomy must be placed in the focus, he added.
“We are dependent on Russia for geo-political and energy reasons, so we want to maintain reliable links, the preparation of which has already started in Saint Petersburg,” Martonyi said. In general, there is no reason to be cautious of Russian capital but “we want to keep the management of Mol and OTP in Budapest. This is not against Russian capital,” he added.
Commenting on his recent Washington visit, Martonyi said he experienced no concerns about “the investment climate” in Hungary. He said corruption represented a great problem but he did not think it was a fortunate move that ambassadors of Hungary’s largest investor countries recently published an open letter expressing their concerns about the lack of transparency. “I would recommend using legal channels in such cases,” he said.
Martonyi said he agreed with concerns regarding the rapidly growing popularity of the radical nationalist Jobbik party. Fidesz is currently somewhere in the middle, fighting both against the left and the radical right, but the latter seems to be the fiercer fight, he added.
Commenting on Hungary’s relations with its neighbours, Martonyi expressed criticism of the Slovak language law, but quoted Serbia as a positive example of a neighbouring country where cultural autonomy is granted.
