Romanian Press Slams Hungarian President Over Visit to Transylvania

Some Romanians are apoplectic over Hungary's president and PM showing solidarity with ethnic Hungarians.

Sepsiszentgyörgy, 2023. május 28. Novák Katalin köztársasági elnök, Kató Béla református püspök (középen, b-j), Dénes Elõd (b) és Bucsi Zsolt Tamás (j) lelkész, valamint a református vártemplom konfirmandusainak társaságában Sepsiszentgyörgyön 2023. május 28. MTI/Veres Nándor Fotó: Veres Nándor

"In Romania Katalin Novak is behaving as if Transylvania is part of Hungary," Liviu Man, editor-in-chief of the Cluj-Napoca daily Gazeta de Cluj, told the Evenimentul Zilei portal. While the Hungarian president was on a trip to Transylvania with her family in early January, she visited the Gorge of Varghis (Vargyas) nature preserve in Szeklerland and went to root for the Miercurea Ciuc (Csikszereda) Sports Club at an ice hockey match against Corona from Brasov. When the journalist from Cluj was asked about the visit, said it was a demonstration of the Hungarian motherland's solidarity with Hungarians in Romania.

Mr Man also criticized Katalin Novak for coming whenever she pleases, while disregarding all diplomatic protocols by claiming to be on a private visit. The editor-in-chief also expressed dismay at the lack of action by the Romanian government and civil society in this regard. 

The newspaper also interviewed a retired intelligence colonel. Tudor Pacuraru said that the problem is not the visits per se, but that both the Hungarian head of state and prime minister use each of their trips to express provocative, nationalist-chauvinistic and even vengeful gestures.

In April of last year, around fifty Romanian protesters greeted Hungary's President Katalin Novak with whistles and nationalistic chants in Carei (Nagykaroly). The head of state had arrived in the northwest Romanian town, still inhabited predominantly by ethnic Hungarians [historically part of the Hungarian Kingdom - ed.], to attend the inauguration of the statue of Ferenc Kolcsey [writer of the poem that became Hungary's national anthem - ed.]. The demonstrators held up placards with the slogans "This is Romania, this is our country!" and "One thing is eternal: Transylvania is Romanian land!". When Katalin Novak arrived at the mayor's office in Carei, the demonstrators chanted "Romania, Romania!" and "Long live and prosper Moldavia, Transylvania and Wallachia!" to disrupt the event.

Cover photo: Hungarian President Katalin Novak in the company of Reformed Bishop Bela Kato (center), Pastors Elod Denes (left) and Zsolt Tamas Bucsi (right), and confirmands of the Reformed Fortified Church in Sfantu Gheorghe (Sepsiszentgyorgy), Romania on May 28, 2023 (Photo: MTI/Nandor Veres)