Béla Bugár, head of ethnic Hungarian party Most-Híd in Slovakia, said the Hungarian government’s decision to hold a session of parliament’s national unity committee in Slovakia on Wednesday was a “recurring mistake,” adding that his party would not be represented at the meeting.
Most-Híd subsequently put out a statement saying the meeting was “divisive” and did not serve the interests of ethnic Hungarians in Slovakia. The party also called the Hungarian government’s move a “diplomatic misstep.”
József Berényi, head of MKP, another party representing ethnic Hungarians in Slovakia, criticized Slovak Speaker of Parliament Pavol Paska, who called the meeting “unprecedented” and the committee “a tool for Hungary’s nationalist policies.”
According to Berényi, the tone of Paska’s words hark back to times when former Hungarian president László Sólyom was denied entry to Slovakia.
He added that “it seems Robert Fico and his party are trying to create tension between Hungary and Slovakia in an attempt to divert attention from the government’s imminent stringency measures.”
During the recent general elections in Slovakia, the Hungarian government was widely seen as favoring the MKP over Most-Híd, while only Most-Híd ended up crossing the 5% threshold needed for representation in Parliament. [most-hid.sk/index.hu]
