Petőcz Kálmán (szerk.): National Populism and Slovak - Hungarian Relations in Slovakia 2006-2009 (Somorja, 2009)

Introduction

Introduction

integrity and political sovereignty and elimination of discrimination against Slovaks on ethnically mixed territories; finally, against multinational corporations, international institutions and all capitalists from abroad who in conspiracy with ethnic Hungarians and other internal enemies of the state (i.e. political opposition and non-governmental organizations) tried to undermine economy, security and political independence of the young and fragile Slovak Republic. Such a self-created image of the nation’s saviour from the threefold peril served him as a disguise for an uncompromising, sometimes even merciless exploitation of political and economic interests.

After the parliamentary elections of 2006 brought to power the ruling coalition of SMER-SD - SNS - ĽS-HZDS, many analysts gained an impression that Slovakia was again embracing national populism as the key vehicle of political campaigning and rivalry we remember from the 1990s. Is it truly so, or are we dealing with some ‘softer’ and harmless version of national populism that produces smoke rather than fire?

The Slovaks eventually parted with the Czechs and today it seems that their mutual relations have become stabilized and actually better than in the time of federation; however, the two remaining constituents of the nationalpopulist message continue to be strongly present in the country’s political discourse. Multinational corporations and ‘evil’ capitalists from abroad along with the ‘internal enemy’ - i.e. ethnic Hungarians, journalists, political opponents and non-govemmental organizations - continue to undermine the internal integrity and external security of the state. Or so it would appear judging from the excessively tense rhetoric of Slovak government officials.

What are the chances of eliminating the last remaining items of the national-populist arsenal in Slovakia? We believe that one of viable paths to tackling the issue is a much more active approach of the democratic political elite, including civil society activists, to issues of Slovak-Hungarian reconciliation and understanding and the status of the Hungarian minority in Slovakia. These issues come always handy when incumbent administration’s officials need to divert attention of the general public from key issues, such as Slovakia’s future development, handling of public funds, prevalence of corruption, or moral impeccability of public figures. We also believe it makes a world of difference whether ten percent of the population who happen to be members of the Hungarian minority feel at home in Slovakia or whether the government treats them as an alien element, as the Fifth Column that is abused by Hungarian politicians to undermine the state’s sovereignty.

We do not share the view of some members of Slovakia’s democratic intellectual elite that national populists must first be defeated by other wea-10