Hungary’s nationalist PM calls for reunification of 15-mil Magyars

by Tamas S. Kiss Monday, May 3rd, 2010

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Hungary’s new Prime Minister Viktor Orban has always voiced that he will be the premier for an estimated 15 million Hungarians worldwide. This has raised eyebrows in neighboring countries and the European Union (of which Hungary has been a member of since May 1, 2004) as they fear the conservative PM may renew old historical Hungarian territorial claims – because most of the 5 million Magyars living outside the borders of modern day Hungary were forced to do so against their will in neighboring countries. The fact that the European Union (EU) may not agree, is irrelevant on the issue of Hungarian reunification as Orban has in the past voiced that “there is life outside the EU.”

In 2004 Orban had called on the Hungarian population to unite 15 million Hungarians worldwide. But his initiative failed after the nation was misled by corrupt socialist Prime Minister Ferenc Gyurcsany, who opposed a referendum on giving Dual citizenship to all Magyars.

Much to Orban’s dismay Gyurcsany conned millions of Hungarians viewing his live pre-referendum address on national television, where he pompously announced, “I’m so fed up about the whole issue (referendum) that I’m not even going to vote.” The very next day he went and voted against the idea, while millions of monkey-see-monkey-do Hungarians stayed at home causing that referendum to exit with the lowest turnout (38%) in modern Hungarian history. Despite 51% of voters were in favor of Dual citizenship, low voter turnout had jeopardized the cause.

The Socialist trick had worked and the Gyurcsany government secured its politically wobbling position for another four years at the elections of 2006. However dodgy-ness caught up with the undermining Socialist cadres and this year in April their social-liberal rule was toppled after they were thrashed by the centre-right party Fidesz Civic Party, who won with a two-thirds majority. This mandate permits Fidesz to execute its plans including its former pledge to grant every ethnic Hungarian and their descendents dual citizenship.

For the record, as punishment for its involvement in World War One, European leaders met in Paris and drew up what they called the 1920 Treaty of Trianon. The decided to randomly pull a line of borders and carved up what was known as Greater Hungary (see picture) into smaller units, creating new independent states like Slovakia , Serbia, Croatia and Slovenia – giving away a giant chunk to Romania. This way Greater Hungary lost two-thirds of its pre-war territory and one-third of its remaining population. Although Hungarians in general agree today that the Trianon agreement was very unjust (other perpetrators weren’t punished as severely as Hungary, which was paralyzed economically and geographically as most of its former bustling cities landed up outside of its diminished territory), the majority have acknowledged their fate and in a strong turnout euphoric referendum voted a whopping 80% in favor of joining the EU giving up all earlier historical territorial claims.

World Hungarian population
(source: Internet, including statistical estimates*)

9,968,000 Hungary
1,563,000 United States
1,434,500 Romania
…520,500 Slovakia
…315,000 Canada
…300,000 Serbia
…175,000 Argentina*
…157,000 Ukraine
…120,000 Germany
…86,000 Brazil*
……80,000 United Kingdom*
……55,000 Australia*
……41,000 Austria
……40,000 Chile*
……17,000 Croatia*
……15,000 Czech Republic
……10,000 South Africa*
……..7,000 New Zealand*
……..6,000 Slovenia
……..4,000 Russia*
……..3,000 Ireland*
……..2,000 Macedonia*
……..1,000 Philippines
………..900 Bosnia and Herzegovina