Bratislava and Budapest lost the match for Hungarians in Slovakia, says former cultural diplomat Hushegyi
As director of the Slovak Institute in Budapest, Gabriel Hushegyi was a close associate of Rastislav Kácer, who may become the new Minister of Foreign Affairs of Slovakia. Regarding the possible appointment of Kácer, Hushegyi says that if Slovakia continues to have a foreign minister who has a Euro-Atlantic focus and condemns Putin’s aggression in Ukraine, we may have disputes with Hungary.
According to Hushegyi, who is currently a senior employee of the Bratislava Art Fund, many things point to the fact that Slovakia may follow the path of democratic decline followed by Hungary. According to him, the Hungarian representation in Slovakia will regain its importance if it seeks a relationship with national Slovak politics.
Read from our interview:
- according to Hushegyi, what kind of minister was Ivan Korčok and what can Rastislav Káčer be like,
- which may be behind the generous support that comes to Slovakia from Budapest,
- which means that Slovakia lost the imaginary competition for Hungarians in Slovakia,
- what strategic mistakes were committed by the Hungarian parties in Slovakia.
How about we have a minority government?
It took a long time, although until the last moment it was not certain what would happen. The problem was related to a person who could have taken an unexpected step at the last moment and everything would have turned out differently. Even the minority government is a step forward from the domestic political stalemate. However, it is impossible to predict how long it will be possible to maintain. Its disintegration is a matter of weeks, but I can also imagine that it will take months.
I wonder which politically independent experts will undertake to join this government. They faced difficult decisions and no one can guarantee that the Minister of Finance or some other minister will not act against them.
Foreign Minister Ivan Korčok, who had sharp conflicts with the Hungarian government, also submitted his resignation. What do you think Korčok was like as Minister of Foreign Affairs?
I managed Minister Korčok as a state secretary when I served in cultural diplomacy. He was an extremely correct diplomat, with serious professional knowledge and international experience. Thanks to him, the Slovak government has had a clear position from the first moment regarding Putin’s aggression towards Ukraine.
The sharp exchange of views that took place between him and the Hungarian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, respectively constitutional officials, can be attributed to the fact that there are not enough employees dealing with Hungary in the Slovak ministries. Ministries in Slovakia are thus unable to grasp individual conflicts. In Hungary, there are many more people working with presidents, ministries, and the Speaker of the Parliament than in Slovakia.
Does it also mean that Ivan Korčok could not solve these problems well because he did not have the appropriate tools?
It is an earlier understanding, a deeper understanding of the reasons. To understand why Hungarian constitutional officials make such statements. I have experienced this in the past, of course, as a ministerial or state secretary decision, that Slovak delegations were exposed to many unnecessary incidents during bilateral Slovak-Hungarian negotiations. Slovak diplomats left it without a word, but the Hungarian side did not achieve anything if it did not act according to the principles of diplomacy.
I think that this can also be reflected in internal politics. There could have been pressure from the political party that nominated the minister for the position to respond more quickly to the speeches of the Hungarian party. What happened during the speech of the Speaker of the Hungarian Parliament Kövér in Šamorín at the unveiling of the monument to the displaced was not the first time, we could also mention subsidies. From Slovakia’s point of view, a very serious problem arises with the system of support and purchase of real estate. Much larger financial resources should be used for the restoration and care of monuments.
One of the main conflicts was the purchase of real estate and its reconstruction. What could be the real goal of the Orbán government when buying real estate in Slovakia?