Another week, another discussion about Hungarian minorities in CEE. This time, however, I’m talking about the Hungarian minority in Romania, and how it helped secure the election for the centrist, pro-European, and pro-Ukraine president, Nicusor Dan, on the 18th of May, 2025 (yesterday, as of writing).
When you look at the map of the voting patterns in the Romanian elections, one of the regions with the highest percentage of votes for Dan is in Transylvania. Like Zakarpattia in Ukraine, Transylvania was a part of Hungary, a source of political contention in the minds of Hungarian nationalists aggrieved by Triannon, and home to many Hungarian speakers.
Dan’s rival, George Simion, a Russophile, far-right, anti-EU former football hooligan, and a man who cannot decide if the world is round, was praised by Viktor Orban, who hoped to have another member of his anti-EU but in the EU club, alongside Slovakia under Fico. His little group needed another member since Poland lost the governance of PiS, and Slovakia doesn’t quite carry the same weight.
This decision to support Simion backfired. While many of the diaspora may share components of Orban’s greater Hungary pipedream, or be prone to Hungarian propaganda about Gayropa or EU warmongers, etc, due to the consumption of state-sanctioned propaganda, they fundamentally saw Simion as a threat.
Simion has a very contentious track record with the Hungarians in Romania. He insulted their political party with ties to Hungary, Democratic Alliance of Hungarians (RMDSZ),, wants to restrict their language rights (because, of course to him, only Romanian should be spoken!), and has had a host of other incidents with the Hungarians in Romania and in Hungary itself, some Fidesz members had very strong words against him. What is also worse for Orban, is that he’s alienated his own base back home by praising such a nationalistic Romanian.
The Hungarian minority was never going to vote for a man who is fundamentally against their interests, despite some ideological similarities. Here in lies a fundamental truth about central and Eastern European far-right nationalists: While they may share some convictions, their interests ultimately clash.
They may share a disdain for the EU (because, despite depending on it, it limits their power, it promotes things like…tolerance, LGBT rights, democracy, and cooperation. They may share secret views against the “globalists” (read, jews), more overtly insult and condemn non-white and muslim migrants, Ukrainians, and anyone they don’t like, and praise russia, despite the fact that Russia is their long-standing historical oppressor. But, they often all want bits of each other’s countries, and hate their minorities, which inhabit their own country.
Orban wants only Hungarian, Simion only Romanian spoken and taught. They get upset when each other restricts the languages, way more than Ukraine ever has. Orban would dream of having the lands it once ruled in Romania, Ukraine, Slovakia, and Austria. Unsurprisingly, the nationalists in these countries don’t want that and would like some other land. Their goals are fundamentally opposed.
The far-right alliance can only go so far. Essentially. Additionally, these guys, Simion, Fico, etc., unlike, say, Putin, who actually tried to appear normal for a long time, or even Orban who was originally a democrat, knew how to play the game. They’re barging in and not getting the results. PiS was defeated in Poland after going too far with legal changes. Because, thankfully, fascists and ultra nationalists are usually quite stupid.
This does not mean liberals, or CEE citizens who aspire to the European Project, can rest easy. These views deserve scrutiny, mockery, and need activism to fight it. Poland’s second round of elections is upcoming. There’s a chance for a right-wing president to continue blocking Tusk’s liberal reforms.
What does this mean, then? Well, Eastern Europe is complex, minority populations have power that must be taken seriously, and elections can go in many different directions. That is a warning as well as something to take heart from.
Leave a Reply