Hungarian party gets into Romanian Parliament

Commenting on the Romanian elections, conservative columnists welcome the good performance of the Hungarian alliance and ponder the implications for Hungarian minority representation in Transylvania.

The joint party list of the Democratic Alliance of Hungarians in Romania (RMDSZ) and the Hungarian Civic Party (MPP) received well over 6 per cent of the votes in the Romanian legislative elections (up from 5.2 per cent in 2012 when the RMDSZ ran on its own ).

Former Magyar Hírlap editor-in-chief István Stefka interprets the results as a great success for the Hungarian minority in Transylvania. The conservative pundit contends that the new spirit of cooperation rather than competition between the more moderate RMDSZ and the more radical MPP mobilized Hungarian voters. As a result the representation of the Hungarian minority in Romania will be stronger than before.

In Magyar Idők, Zsolt Attila Borbély offers a less optimistic perspective on the future of Hungarian minority claim-making in Romania. Borbély, a founding member of the pro-autonomy Hungarian People’s Party of Transylvania led by former MPP President László Tőkés, fears that the election will strengthen the more moderate mainstream RMDSZ. According to Borbély, the RMDSZ leadership is more interested in maintaining good relations with Romanian parties than in demanding broader autonomy for Hungarians in Transylvania.

Tags: RMDSZ, Romania, Transylvania