Hungary Measure Is No-Go

A proposal to give citizenship to ethnic Hungarians in neighboring countries failed at the polls Sunday, pleasing the nation’s prime minister, who said the idea could hurt Hungary’s economy.

An estimated 2.5 million ethnic Hungarians live in neighboring countries, the result of the post-World War I dismantling of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, when Hungary lost two-thirds of its territory and 60% of its population in the Treaty of Trianon.

The fate of ethnic Hungarians, especially in Romania, Slovakia, Serbia-Montenegro and Ukraine, has been a charged issue. Referendum supporters said giving ethnic Hungarians dual citizenship would help heal the trauma of the 1920 treaty.

But Prime Minister Ferenc Gyurcsany’s government of two months said giving passports to so many ethnic Hungarians in countries with lower standards of living would trigger a mass influx and cripple Hungary’s overburdened budget.

Turnout was 37.5%, the National Electoral Office said, but for the measure to pass, it needed the support of 25% of registered voters. Preliminary results showed that much less than 25% of the total electorate voted in favor of the idea.

Gyurcsany said voters chose “responsible patriotism” over passions and populism.

Ethnic Hungarians in Romania, Ukraine and Serbia avidly supported the referendum, noting that Hungary joined the European Union in May and obtaining dual citizenship would give them an added sense of security and greater motivation to stay where they were.

Official figures indicate there are 1.4 million ethnic Hungarians in Romania, 570,000 in Slovakia, 350,000 in Serbia and 140,000 in Ukraine. Much smaller groups live in Croatia, Austria and Slovenia, the rest of Hungary’s neighbors.

The government had said that if 800,000 ethnic Hungarians moved to Hungary, giving them health coverage and education would cost $2.9 billion -- the equivalent of 2.7% of the country’s gross domestic product.