Last week, Hunor Kelemen, leader of Transylvania’s ethnic Hungarian RMDSZ Party (the Democratic Alliance of Hungarians in Romania) met with the leaders of Hungary’s opposition Socialist (MSZP) and Párbeszéd (Dialogue) parties in Cluj Napoca (Kolozsvár). Speaking to Transylvanian news site maszol.ro after the meeting, Kelemen claimed that it ‘made no sense’ for opposition parties to campaign in Transylvania, since ethnic Hungarians already know who they will be voting for in Hungary’s upcoming parliamentary elections.
RMDSZ leader Hunor Kelemen (Center) with MSZP leader Gyula Molnár (right) and MSZP-Párbeszéd PM Candidate Gergely Karácsony (Photo: Gergely Karácsony Facebook Page)
In talks with Socialist leader Gyula Molnár and Socialist-Párbeszéd PM candidate Gergely Karácsony, the pro-Fidesz Transylvanian leader discussed Romanian-Hungarian relations and the aspirations of the Hungarian community.
Expounding his party’s position, Kelemen claimed that the policy of Hungary’s ruling Fidesz-Christian Democrat (KDNP) alliance towards Hungarian communities abroad was “good and should be continued.”
Addressing his meeting with Molnár and Karácsony, Kelemen said
They have asked me what they should do during the campaign in Transylvania. I told them sincerely that nothing. Campaigning is a waste of time and energy for them as Hungarians in Transylvanian clearly know whom they will vote for.
In discussing why he agreed to meet with the two leaders, Kelemen claimed that RMDSZ would happily meet with anyone who wished to speak with them and was curious of his party’s opinions. He added that this was true of all Hungarian political parties, with the exception of the formerly far-right Jobbik party, and the left-wing opposition Democratic Coalition (DK).
DK, led by former Prime Minister Ferenc Gyurcsány, has incited considerable animosity among Hungarian communities outside of Hungary; this is due in large part to Gyurcsány’s recent statements arguing that non-resident citizens (which would obviously include all those Hungarians living in minority communities in the Carpathian basin) should not be allowed to vote in parliamentary elections, since they supposedly “do not bear the consequences of their votes.”
Via MTI, Hungary Matters, and maszol.ro
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