2004. november 28. 4:22
A passionate campaign started in Hungary, as the Central-European country will hold a referendum on two sensitive issues this weekend. (5th of December) The questions refer to the privatisation of Health Care and to the double-nationality of Hungarians living outside of the Hungarian borders.
28.11.2004.
The initiative of the referendum about stopping the privaitasiton of Health Institutes came from the extreme left Labour Party, which is outside the Hungarian Parliament. In their view, the process of privatisation after the regime change in 1990 created an unjust situation, and they want to avoid its effects on health care. As they say, the majority in Hungary would be unable to pay the treatments in private hospitals which would widen the social gap.
On the other hand, the Hungarian Health Care system faces serious financing problems, and the reform of the policy was delayed several times.
The other issue was raised by the Hungarian World Alliance, the organisation of the two and the half million Hungarians living outside the home-country"s border. The treaties at the end of the first world war cut off two-thirds of Hungary"s territory and made them live under governments in neighbouring countries without consent from the Hungarian inhabitants living there. Now the citizens of the home country have to vote about whether they support a law which would make it easier for Hungarians living in Romania, Slovakia, Ukraine and Serbia get Hungarian citizenship beside their own one.
The political parties are as divided as the public opinion. The opponents of double citizenship, including the Hungarian government are afraid of immigrants. They calculated that it would cost more than 870 million dollars to the social budget if those, who already have a so-called Hungarian ID would come and live in Hungary. They are talking about 800 thousand people.
'The effect on the social budget would be 871 million 395 dollars, if only those would come, who have Hungarian ID” – said Lajos Kórózs, Under-secretary of the Social Ministry.
Their other argument is the difference in wages. According to the opponents, the newcomers would press the Hungarian salaries down. The supporters disagree saying that those, who wanted to live in the Motherland have already arrived.
'Its absurd like frightening people with 23 million of Romanian immigrants' – said Nemeth Zsolt , the opposition leader of the Parliamentary Commission of foreign affairs.
In their view the referendum would be an encouraging message for people living outside Hungary to feel they belong to the same nation.
This month the biggest opposition party"s leader will make a tour in Hungary to encourage people for saying yes to both of the questions at the referendum.
