In the opinion of the Prime Minister, in times of danger, good neighborly relations are of the utmost importance.Continue reading
Peter Pellegrini, the presidential candidate of the Voice (Hlas-Social Democracy), the second strongest party in the three-party Slovak government coalition, believes that they can gradually resolve problems with the Hungarian community in Slovakia in a way that “coexistence is problem-free and friendly,” as it was when he was prime minister.
In an interview broadcast on the M1 news channel on Wednesday evening, the Slovak presidential candidate stressed that he is convinced that good relations between the Hungarian and Slovak governments are a good basis for genial coexistence between the two nations. “This has always been the case: when the Slovak Prime Minister had good relations with the Hungarian Prime Minister, the coexistence between the two nations was completely free of tension and certain things were moving forward,” he pointed out. The politician stressed that the Hungarian community “must be taken care of genuinely.”
Peter Pellegrini said that the first round of the elections for the head of state was very close, with Ivan Korcok winning valuable votes. Mr. Pellegrini indicated that he expects the result to be very close in the second round, and thanked Krisztián Forró, the president of the Hungarian Alliance, the Hungarian minority party in Slovakia, who had publicly declared his support.
The Slovak politician explained that he and Forró Krisztián had a friendly and constructive discussion and agreed that all regions of Slovakia should be taken care of.
No one should be punished for the part of Slovakia they were born in, all parts of Slovakia need a good quality of life and infrastructure,”
he said, stressing that this also applies to the southern part of the country, where the Hungarian minority lives. The meeting also discussed the need to address the law on national minorities, as well as the issue of dual citizenship, which should be changed at some point, he said.
Pellegrini also noted that he does not perceive Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s statements and stance as nationalist. He believes that “this is the attitude of a prime minister who represents Hungary’s interests.”
On Hungarian-Slovak cooperation, he said that the North-South projects should be continued. He mentioned the interconnection of energy systems, industrial and trade programs, and border protection as examples. Pellegrini explained that there will always be people who want to “break” the good coexistence between Slovaks and Hungarians. But he is convinced that “if there is good cooperation between governments, there will be no problems between the two countries.”
Via MTI, Featured image: Facebook/Peter Pellegrini