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Time of India
25-05-2025
- Politics
- Time of India
Ethnic Hungarian, Moldovan voters saved Romania's democracy
Romanian President elect Nicusor Dan receives a copy of the Constitutional Court's decision from court President Marian Enache (AP) Last week, just before midnight on Sunday, an important piece of news spread quickly around the world: The hard-right candidate George Simion has been defeated, democracy in Romania is safe, and the liberal, pro-European mayor of Bucharest, Nicusor Dan, will be the next president of Romania. Another-important piece of news followed, which came as a surprise to many Romanian observers but was not as widely reported internationally: Romania's ethnic Hungarians and Moldovan citizens who also hold Romanian passports voted in record numbers for Nicusor Dan, making a decisive contribution to his victory. Conservative estimates say that over 500,000 — perhaps even over 700,000 — of these voters voted for Dan, which would account for a large proportion of his 830,000-vote lead over his opponent. In short, without the votes of these two groups, Dan could have lost the election. Why do the Hungarian and Moldovan votes matter? Ethnic Hungarians in Romania? Moldovans with dual citizenship? For those who do not know Romania well, this might sound like a niche issue to be discussed by election buffs. This probably explains why it received little international attention on the evening of the election. The fact is, however, that both groups play an important role not only in domestic politics in Romania, but also, by extension, in Europe. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Amritsar to Indonesia Batik Airlines Book Now Undo Hungarian PM backed anti-Hungarian candidate Hungarians have been a national minority in Romania since the dissolution of the Austro-Hungarian Empire after World War I, when Transylvania and other regions became part of Romania. There are currently around one million ethnic Hungarians in Romania, which accounts for about 5.5% of the total population. Most of these ethnic Hungarian Romanians support Viktor Orban, the autocratic prime minister of neighboring Hungary. Just a week before the second round of Romania's presidential election, Orban gave his backing to hard-right candidate George Simion, even though Simion has an explicitly anti-Hungarian stance and was in the news several years ago for violent actions that targeted the Hungarian minority. Orban likes to portray himself as the protector of all ethnic Hungarians outside Hungary. Nevertheless, from his perspective, backing Simion in Romania's presidential election was logical and of a higher priority because a Simion victory would have strengthened the "sovereignist" camp — in other words, the autocratic, pro-Russian, anti-EU camp — in Europe. For Romania's ethnic Hungarians, however, following Orban's lead and backing Simion was not an option. It would have meant voting for a politician with deep-seated anti-minority attitudes and, ultimately, against themselves. So, they didn't. Outstanding result for Nicusor Dan This became clear on Sunday evening, when Romania's central electoral commission, the BEC, published the figures for each district (judet). Nicusor Dan received about 53.6% of the total vote, about 830,000 votes more than George Simion. The vote for Dan in all districts with a larger ethnic Hungarian population was massive. Although there are no exact statistics on ethnic voting patterns, experts like the Transylvanian Hungarian sociologist Nandor Magyari estimate that Dan got between 550,000 and 600,000 votes from Romania's Hungarian minority. "In this way, Romanian Hungarians voted for the preservation of liberal democracy and the continuation of Romania's Euro-Atlantic path," Magyari told DW. Some fascinating records were broken in Sunday's election: In the Romanian district of Harghita, where 85% of residents are ethnic Hungarian, an incredible 91% voted for Nicusor Dan, his best result in any Romanian district. Idea of reunification not popular in Moldova Many Moldovans hold dual Moldovan–Romanian citizenship and are entitled to vote in elections in Romania. These voters also voted for Dan in record numbers. The president-elect received about 135,000 votes in Moldova — some 88% of all votes cast there. Most of what is now the Republic of Moldova and the Romanian region known as Moldavia were once both part of the Principality of Moldavia. Three-quarters of the people in the Republic of Moldova are Romanian-speakers, and the country is occasionally referred to as the "second Romanian state." Of the country's 2.45 million inhabitants, 640,000 hold dual Moldovan–Romanian citizenship. Many of this group live in western European countries and it is likely that they voted in large numbers for Nicusor Dan there, too. The reason for this is that Dan's opponent, George Simion, is in favor of the reunification of Moldova and Romania and the creation of a "Greater Romania" — an idea that is not very popular in Moldova. Simion has been barred from entering Moldova since 2014. What's more, Simion adopts a paternalistic tone towards Moldovans, which does not go down well with most of them. Orban and Romania's Hungarian minority The Democratic Alliance of Hungarians in Romania (UDMR), the party of Romania's Hungarian minority, has been part of almost every ruling coalition in Romania since 1996 and played a decisive role in fostering reconciliation between the two historical archenemies, Romania and Hungary. Orban has, however, in recent years instrumentalized ethnic Hungarians abroad — especially those in Romania — to his own ends. Over 90% of those with dual Romanian–Hungarian citizenship voted for him and his Fidesz party in recent elections. Indeed, up until last week, the UDMR had almost degenerated into a branch of Orban's party. Then came a major change: The UDMR and its chairman, Hunor Kelemen, and the leadership of the Hungarian Churches in Romania all unequivocally opposed Orban's recommendation to vote for Simion. "Orban made a mistake," Transylvanian-Hungarian lawyer and former UDMR politician Peter Eckstein-Kovacs told DW. "He believed that the Hungarians of Transylvania would swallow anything — even his international political nonsense — but he was wrong." Nevertheless, Eckstein-Kovacs does not see a rupture between the UDMR and Fidesz. "It is a crack in the relationship, not a rupture." Sociologist Nandor Magyari also believes that "overall, Hungarians in Romania will continue to be big supporters of Orban." Romania–Moldova ties The Republic of Moldova is, after Ukraine, the country most affected by Russian aggression. The Moldovan region of Transnistria is governed by a separatist, pro-Moscow regime. In addition, Russia has for decades been using energy supplies as a means of exerting pressure on Moldova. In the interests of its own security and for other reasons, Romania has long been helping neighboring Moldova to loosen its economic ties with Russia and to counter Russian influence there. Sometimes, however, the support is sluggish. Unlike his predecessor Klaus Iohannis, President-elect Nicusor Dan is interested in the Republic of Moldova and its welfare. In his victory speech in the early hours of Monday, Dan expressly thanked those in Moldova who had voted for him. Although he forgot to mention the ethnic Hungarians at the time, he did so in a television interview and a telephone call with the UDMR leader the next day.
Euronews
25-05-2025
- Politics
- Euronews
Hungarian opposition leader Péter Magyar walks across Romanian border
Hungarian opposition leader Péter Magyar walked with a small group of supporters across the border to Romania and was met by supporters in the Romanian city of Oradea on Saturday morning. The president of the Tisza Party left Budapest 10 days ago, and departed on his journey in an effort to win support from Hungarian communities in Romania and appeal to voters who traditionally vote conservative, as Prime Minister Viktor Orbán provides financial support to ethnic Hungarians in Romania. "We are not going (to Romania) to escalate tensions or to cause any harm to our Hungarian brothers and sisters living there. We are going there to express our solidarity," Magyar had said before his departure. He had announced the march, called the "one million steps for peace and national unity" initiative, in the wake of Orbán's communion with far-right, anti-Hungarian presidential candidate George Simion ahead of the Romanian presidential elections. "It has become clear that the corrupt, tired and discredited Prime Minister sees Hungarians abroad as a political product. He tried and is trying to lure you to him not out of faith, not out of commitment, not out of love for his countrymen, but merely to win votes," Magyar said in a speech to hundreds of people in Oradea. "And now, in order to retain power, he is trembling, using increasingly crude means, crossing all boundaries, doing whatever he can, regardless of the damage he is doing to the nation," he added. The opposition leader recognised Hungarians "long for a country that loves each of its citizens, a country that does not stigmatise, that does not push into exclusion." He warned that division, incitement and hatred lead to destruction. "Orbán's destruction, hate-mongering and trench-digging are a thing of the past. The final countdown has begun," Magyar concluded. The politician told Euronews that he had experienced positive feedback from supporters, but he was also met by counter-protesters who chanted Orbán's name, and shouted "Traitor!" and "Go home". Magyar ended his speech by addressing the Romanian people. He applauded them for the outcome of their election, and encouraged them to stay on the European path. The politician emphasised the importance of mutual respect between Romanians and the Hungarian community. The Israel Defence Forces (IDF) has deployed all of its standing army infantry and armoured brigades to Gaza, local media reported on Saturday. It comes as Israel intensifies its major offensive in the strip. Earlier, the military said it struck more than 100 targets in a timespan of 24 hours, claiming they were targeting infrastructure used by Hamas. Gaza's Health Ministry said the bodies of 79 people killed in Israeli strikes were brought to hospitals. This toll that does not include hospitals in the battered north, which remain inaccessible as they are encircled by Israeli troops preventing anyone from leaving or entering the facilities. Nine out of a doctor's 10 children were among those killed on Friday, the Health Ministry confirmed. Alaa Najjar, who is a pediatrician at Nasser Hospital, was on duty when an Israeli airstrike hit her home. She had ran home to find her family's house on fire. Najjar's husband was severely wounded and their only surviving child, an 11-year-old son, was in critical condition. The nine children killed in the strike ranged in age from 7 months to 12 years old. Two of the children remained under the rubble. Local health authorities said 3,747 people have been killed in Gaza since Israel intensified its offensive on 18 March in an effort to pressure Hamas to disarm and release all of the 58 remaining Israeli hostages. Hamas said it will only return the remaining hostages in exchange for more Palestinian prisoners, a lasting ceasefire and an Israeli withdrawal from the territory. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has rejected those terms and has vowed to maintain control over Gaza and facilitate what he refers to as the voluntary emigration of much of its Palestinian population. Israel's pressure on Hamas has included a blockade of Gaza and its more than 2 million residents since early March, raising widespread concerns about the critical risk of famine. This week, the first aid trucks entered the territory. Since easing the aid blockade on Monday, Israel has said that 388 aid trucks have entered Gaza. However, Palestinian aid groups dispute this, stating that only 119 trucks have made it through the Karem Shalom crossing. Gaza's Health Ministry reported that the total death toll, which does not distinguish between fighters and civilians, now stands at 53,901 since 7 October 2023, when Hamas militants attacked southern Israel killing 1,200 people.
Budapest Times
23-05-2025
- Politics
- Budapest Times
FM: Remarks by Ukrainian agent expelled from Hungary are unacceptable
Péter Szijjártó, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade, said in Budapest on Wednesday that the remarks of Roland Tseber, 'the Ukrainian agent expelled from Hungary', where he called the ruling Fidesz party 'cornered rats', are 'unacceptable'. Responding to questions at a press conference after the meeting of the Organisation of Turkic States in Budapest, Minister Szijjártó said the activity of Ukrainian spies and secret services had picked up lately, 'even as Kyiv's anti-Hungarian propaganda is becoming increasingly aggressive.' 'We are responding with the tools at our disposal … we shall protect Hungary's sovereignty and honour,' he said. 'The atrocious post on social media, by a man whom the leader of the Tisza party has called his brother, fits into the line of that string of espionage and secret service activity,' Minister Szijjártó said. 'It's a threat and will have to be taken seriously. I think it is a shame that the Hungarian member of the European People's Party, the Tisza party and its leader are cooperating with a man like that.' Commenting on Hungary's transparency law, Minister Szijjártó said the European Parliament 'should rather be concerned with attempts of grievous external influence into the domestic affairs of Hungary, an EU member state.' 'We are not going to suffer assaults on our sovereignty from foreign-financed people conducting foreign-financed activities, trying to influence Hungarian voters' will and Hungarians' opinion, or — heaven forbid — the result of the elections.' Minister Szijjártó insisted that a similar foreign influence had been detected during the 2022 elections, 'and those behind it then have obviously started working again. They clearly want to discredit Hungarians' opinion on Ukraine's EU membership, and influence Hungarian voters' will at the next elections,' he said. 'We would like to put everyone's mind at ease. We will protect our sovereignty, put the transparency act through, and prevent attempts by foreign-funded agents, organisations and people to influence Hungarians' opinions…' he said.
Budapest Times
21-05-2025
- Politics
- Budapest Times
PM Orbán holds talks with RMDSZ leader
Prime Minister Viktor Orbán met with Kelemen Hunor, the leader of the Democratic Alliance of Hungarians in Romania (RMDSZ), in his office on Monday. According to MTI , PM Orbán said the Hungarian government welcomed the unity shown by the Transylvanian Hungarian community in preventing an 'anti-Hungarian president' from coming to power in Romania. The prime minister said his government was prepared to cooperate with Nicusor Dan, Romania's president-elect, adding that they will continue to consider RMDSZ's position as the basis for Hungarian-Romanian ties.
Euronews
21-05-2025
- Politics
- Euronews
Hungarian minority plays key role in Dan's Romanian presidential win
High voter turnout, including many young people and women heading to the ballot box, was one of the decisive factors that overturned the first round score and propelled Bucharest Mayor Nicușor Dan across the line to win Sunday's presidential runoff in Romania. The Romanian Hungarian minority also played a strong part, as in both rounds, the counties where they live were overwhelmingly in favour of Dan. That's according to István Székely, the vice president of the Democratic Alliance of Hungarians in Romania (RMDSZ), who said those factors meant a victory for Dan rather than "the extremist and anti-Hungarian George Simion." Székely told Euronews that Dan could launch a centre-right presidential movement, similar to that of Emmanuel Macron in France, but he does not believe that the country's current party structure will allow for immediate change. The leader of the Hungarian minority group noted that both candidates represented radical change. "It's true that they wanted to take the country in opposite directions, but the need for radical change unites them", Székely said. "With the current composition of the parliament, it will be difficult to meet this demand, but at the same time, I think early elections are out of the question for various reasons." But regarding what happened at the polls, Székely admitted that the presidential election did finish according to the RMDSZ's predictions. He said the alternative candidate they supported against George Simion did not win, but voters understood the election's stakes and chose instead to back the pro-Europe Dan. "A victory for George Simion would have been dangerous in any case, given his record and aggressiveness," said analyst and lawyer, Péter Eckstein-Kovács, a well-respected minister and former senator in the Romanian parliament. "This danger was felt by the vast majority of Hungarians in Transylvania. They voted for Nicușor not out of fear, but out of common sense. If there is a dangerous person, let's shoot him," the former RMDSZ politician said when asked if Hungarians in Transylvania had anything to fear. "We will be left with about five million xenophobes in the future. It is not easy to digest." George Simion, the hard-right, nationalist leader of the Alliance for the Union of Romanians (AUR), had election flyers printed with a photo of himself alongside one of Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán with the slogan "The Romanians can count on the Hungarians in their fight for Christianity and sovereignty." While saying he does not interfere in Romania's election, Orbán appeared to support Simion in the runoff, while the Romanian nationalist candidate repeatedly tried to obtain the Hungarian prime minister's endorsement and thus his influence on the Romanian Hungarian voters for the battle in which every ballot counted. As part of his strategy, Simion recalibrated his nationalist political platform in the second round, appealing to the Hungarian community — known for its disciplined approach to voting — and their party. During the campaign for the second round, political sources in Budapest told Euronews that emissaries from Simion's campaign had been in contact with Orbán's government, ahead of the decisive vote last Sunday Just as the runoff campaign began, Orbán referenced Simion in a speech in the Hungarian town of Tihany and then on social media saying that while 'Romania's elections are none of our business ... we assure the Romanian people and their future president: Hungary stands for unity, not division." "We will not support any form of political isolation against Romania or its leaders. Romanians can count on Hungarians in their fight for Christianity and sovereignty,' Orbán emphasised. Yet Orbán's statement drew immediate backlash from UDMR/RMDSZ President Kelemen Hunor, who responded in a Facebook video that 'Simion is not a friend of the Hungarians — and never will be.' 'George Simion is not a sovereignist; he is a charlatan. Each cell (in his body) represents the principle that Hungarians don't have a place in Romania,' Hunor said. Orbán then spoke with Hunor by phone, reiterating that Hungary does not interfere in Romania's election and that ultimately the Hungarian party's position prevails in this debate: 'the Hungarian government deems that Romania's Hungarian Democratic Party's position to be decisive, the interest of the Transylvanian Hungarians is indicative." "We have always cooperated with all Romanian leaders, of all times, for the progress of the Transylvanian Hungarians' life and existence," Orbán said. On Tuesday, Eckstein-Kovács told Euronews that "Orbán shot himself in the foot with his pro-Simion comments in Tihany," "He did so after the RMDSZ, the civil sector, and church leaders had all urged support for Nicușor. He believed that Transylvanians loved him so much that they were unthinkingly following his recommendations and growing the anti-EU far-right party group. Well, it didn't work," Eckstein-Kovács added. "The Transylvanians voted against Simion in their own well-perceived interest. But very much so. The Orbán effect has been shattered," he said. Orbán has since congratulated Dan on his victory in the Romanian presidential elections, saying in a post on X he looked forward to "working together on strengthening the cooperation between Hungary and Romania, to the benefit of our peoples." Historian Stefano Bottoni believes the RMDSZ found it challenging to walk the tightrope and satisfy both Budapest and Bucharest after Orbán seemed to pledge support for Simion. Bottoni described the Hungarian prime minister's move not so much an international violation but rather a political mistake. "It's a transnational space; everybody interferes in everything. I don't see a serious sovereignty problem here," Bottoni told Euronews. According to Bottoni, Orbán's mistake was in thinking that what works in Hungary will also work in Romania. "The RMDSZ has found itself between two seats: there is Bucharest, where it is part of a government and a long-established member of the political elite, and there is Budapest, where it has very different expectations and it cannot meet both," Bottoni explained. Bottoni stressed that what Orbán offered was an alliance that would have been critical for Romania's Hungarian community. "The fact that the Hungarian prime minister did not see this or did not care is a cause for reflection, because it has been a long time since Viktor Orbán made such a serious political mistake in Hungarian-Hungarian political relations," he said. The fact that two candidates critical of the political system made it to the second round also shows that mainstream parties failed to take advantage of the reprieve offered by the runoff. "It is clear that something has to change," Bottoni added. "The only way for the democratic political system to survive this crisis is to come up with something: whether it's a new coalition, new formations, new ideas, a new style of governance. I think that Romanian democracy has a chance now and it is very important not to miss it, because there may not be a second one." In Romania, the president's office is more than just ceremonial. In addition to approving laws passed by parliament and heading the military, the president is also in charge of foreign policy, representing the country at the European Council. Mexico City Mayor Clara Brugada's personal secretary Ximena Guzmán and adviser José Muñoz were assassinated as they travelled to work on Tuesday morning, the country's authorities have said. The two were shot dead at around 7 am on a busy thoroughfare in the capital's Moderna neighbourhood. An investigation has been launched into their murders, which experts say show the hallmarks of an organised crime hit. It is the worst attack in recent years against public officials in the capital — where political violence is less common than in other parts of the country. Photos from the crime scene show an Audi's windscreen riddled with bullet holes. Mexico security analyst David Saucedo, who questioned why someone as senior as Guzmán did not have a security detail, said the murders were likely carried out to put pressure on Brugada's administration. Mexican President Sheinbaum, of the Morena party to which Brugada also belongs, condemned the killings at her daily morning press conference. 'We will not let this cowardly act go unpunished,' said Omar García Harfuch, the country's security minister who survived an assassination attempt five years ago while he was the city's police chief. Brugada paid tribute to Guzmán and Muñoz shortly after their deaths, before vowing to continue her administration's 'relentless fight against insecurity'. Mexico capital's mayor, who had worked with them both for years, called Guzmán a 'wonderful, tireless' person and described Muñoz as 'one of the most intelligent people' she had ever met. 'We in the city's cabinet are shocked and mourn the loss of two dear comrades,' Brugada said. Homicides in Mexico City in the first quarter of 2025 were slightly up from the same period the previous year. The murders on Tuesday follow the recent killings of political figures elsewhere in the country, including a mayoral candidate in Veracruz state who was gunned down along with three others at a campaign rally earlier this month.
