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| MEDIA HEADLINES (10.08.07) |
| (2007-08-10) |
| Last updated: 2007-08-13 15:19 EET |
“Basescu’s Romanian-Hungarian language gives a waking call to parties' – prints the daily GANDUL, after the political class has reacted to the President’s suggestion regarding the teaching of Romanian as a foreign language in schools within the Hungarian community living in this country.
Having a direct interest in this topic, the Democratic Union of Ethnic Hungarians in Romania, part of the ruling coalition, was obviously amused and through its vice-president Kelemen Hunor expressed its delight that “President Traian Basescu found mineral water on the spot.” Because, he said, this idea, already included in the current education law, has already been applied successfully. Liberal education minister, Cristian Adomnitei, seamed surprised but he preferred not to comment. Engaged in desperate vote-hunting, the Conservative Party has launched a stream of electoral accusations, claiming their patriotism was deeply offended.
On the other hand, the pro-President Democratic Party defended its former leader, Traian Basescu, explaining that a Romanian citizen who cannot speak their official language is at a loss when looking for a job in areas different than their native place.
The almost 1.6 million ethnic Hungarians in Romania, 6 percent of the total population have gained unrestrained access to education in their mother tongue from kindergarten to University. Their political elite is perfectly bilingual. Many ethnic Hungarian political leaders are in excellent command of Romanian. However, the Romanian language sounds like a very exotic language to the ethnic Hungarians living in the so-called Szeckler’s Land, located in the counties of Covasna and Harghita, central Romania, the only counties with a Hungarian majority population.
Romanian is a neo-Latin idiom, from the family of Indo-European languages, completely different from the Fino-Ugric Hungarian. The people in these two counties have isolated in a sort of linguistic enclave, as they don’t need to speak Romanian during their daily activities. So it is not by chance that the president has forwarded his proposal right here, where, as the daily Romania Libera writes, "for the ethnic Hungarian in the street, living in isolated communities, life has become a permanent hurdles race.” At the same time, the newspapers points out to the major political stake - president Basescu is unscrupulously inflaming the ethnic Szecklers electorate against the Democratic Union of Ethnic Hungarians in Romania, right ahead of the Euro-parliamentary elections.” The polls warns that the Union runs the risk of not reaching the five percent threshold. All the more so as the Hungarian radicals have been trying to forge a new party.”
What is obvious is that the president can influence the political games within the community. It is true that at the may referendum, most ethnic Hungarians voted against the president's impeachment, contrary to the indications set forth by the Democratic Union of Ethnic Hungarians. His notoriety in the area is debatable though. Because, as Evenimentul reads, on Thursday Basescu was not recognised by the rangers of the Sfanta Ana nature reserve in Harghita county, who stopped him and made him pay the entrance ticket.
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