PORK-BARELLING 'ETHNIC HUNGARIANS'
And
impressing allies
A
(geo)political perspective
Previous
mention has been made on Conductive World of the Hungarian
Government's sponsorship of the PAF's provision of services in
'Ethnic Hungarian' areas beyond Hungary's present borders, that is in
former Hungarian territories now part of surrounding countries.
One
hopes that these Government-sponsored schemes will bring widespread
and sustainable benefits to their direct beneficiaries in
Hungarian-speaking Transcarpathia (Ukraine), Transylvania (Romania)
and Vojevodina (Serbia). Especially that they will prove sustainable.
It
does well, however, to be aware of a possible political dimension
of this activity and its wider financial and political background.
There
are more than a million such Ethnic Hungarians (Hungary itself has a
total population of around ten million). Hungarian Prime Minister
Viktor Orbán has granted
such Ethnic Hungarians the right to register as Hungarian citizens – and to vote in
Hungarian elections, There is a General Election in Hungary in April
of next year. Such extraterritorial votes may just give him back
the two-thirds majority that he needs to change the Constitution yet
further.
The
Hungarian Government's analogous involvements in Eastern Poland and
Kazakhstan are of course founded on different political imperatives.
These countries do not have Hungarian minorities – so they can
offer no potential votes back in Hungary itself. They do, however,
play important roles in the Hungarian Government's wider political
narratives, the EU and 'Eurasia':
All
this this is presumably a further commitment that Semmelweis Medical
University will now inherit, unless a separate, residual authority
is established.
Labels: EU, Eurasia, Hungary, Kazakstan, PAF, Poland, Politics, Romania, Semmelweis, Serbia, Ukraine
1 Comments:
Poland today:
http://www.thedailybeast.com/how-trump-set-poland-on-the-path-to-dictatorship
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