It is Possible to Work Together

Kazimierz Popławski sits down with Zsolt Simon, Vice-Chair of the party Most-Híd to discuss the Hungarian minority, nationalism and politics in Slovakia.

The political party Most-Híd in Slovakia was created in 2009. Its main goal is to create a Slovakia that is multi-ethnic and multi-cultural. The name of the party is made up of the word “bridge” in both Slovakian and Hungarian.

KAZIMIERZ POPŁAWSKI: In the last elections, the party Most-Híd obtained similar results to the previous elections in 2010. The party, however, is now in the opposition. Was the last election a success or a failure for the party?

ZSOLT SIMON: I can say that our results were a success. It’s important to note that the campaign, which was short, intensive and very aggressive (mostly thanks to the “Gorilla” affair – author’s note). Negative actions were directed against the right-wing as a whole, and this includes our party. Though, the measure of our success can be compared with the other right-wing parties, which had lost up to ten percentage points of support.

Also, I would not read the loss in the government as something negative. In my opinion, the society wanted stabilisation of power, that is why they voted for the most powerful party on the political scene (Social Democratic Party – SMER – author’s note), to create the next government. We must respect this choice. The results of course can ensure a stable government, but also places a great responsibility on the ruling party.

To read the full article please visit: https://www.neweasterneurope.eu/node/349