Will the Orbán-Fico alliance crumble over Slovakia’s fresh assault on Hungarian rights?

Viktor Orbán, Hungary’s prime minister, desperately needs allies in the European Union. Yet Robert Fico, his Slovak counterpart, has just pulled a move that could leave hundreds of thousands of Orbán-loving Hungarians in Slovakia—those proud Felvidék folk—utterly stranded. Picture this: after the Second World War, Czechoslovakia’s leaders branded over a million local Hungarians as collectively guilty. They seized their homes, lands, and forests. And get this—even today, those decrepit decrees mean grandchildren and great-grandchildren are losing their plots, forests included. Even if they can’t speak a word of Hungarian anymore.

Table of Contents

• Seizing treasures based on 80-year-old scraps of paper
• Six months in jail for questioning rights violations
• Hungary’s government stays oddly meek
• Leader of Hungarian party in Slovakia fights back
• A path to thaw the freeze?

Seizing treasures based on 80-year-old scraps of paper

Local media reports paint a grim picture: lands and woods worth millions of euros snatched from Hungarians and non-Hungarians alike, all because their ancestors were lumped in as ‘guilty’ by post-war Czechoslovakia. These are the infamous Beneš Decrees, stamped with the name of Edvard Beneš, the future president. Over 80 years on, they still poison the legal codes of the now-separated Czech and Slovak states. Taboo topic? Absolutely—in both Prague and Bratislava, you can’t even whisper about scrapping them. Why? Because it would unleash a flood of claims from millions of former Germans and Hungarians demanding back their ancestors’ homes, properties, and treasures. At least, that’s the nightmare haunting Czech and Slovak politicians.

• Hungarian government to fight for annulment of Benes decrees

The real kicker? Slovakia’s State Land Fund thinks it’s fine to bulldoze ahead with housing estates or motorways by yanking land from descendants of those old Hungarian or German owners—without a penny in compensation—relying on dusty 80-year-old documents. Some weeks back, Progressive Slovakia, the biggest opposition party, spotlighted this absurdity in left-bank Komárno. They demanded the government slam the brakes on these seizures.

• Day of Hungarians deported from Czechoslovakia after WW2 marked in Parliament

Six months in jail for questioning rights violations

Experts slam these ongoing land grabs as blatant human rights breaches—not just ethnic issues. But that didn’t stop Fico’s government from twisting it into a rabid nationalist crusade, framing the Beneš Decrees and seizures as a sacred Slovak destiny.

They rammed through a resolution on it recently. Worse, parliament decreed that challenging post-war Slovak settlements could land you six months behind bars. This catch-all law could jail historians, lawyers, politicians—or even everyday Slovak owners hit by the grabs.

Orbán and Fico celebrating the building of the Mária Valéria bridge connecting Esztergom with Párkány (Sturovo). Photo: FB/Orbán Hungary’s government stays oddly meek

You’d expect Hungary’s usually feisty government to roar in such a crisis. After all, their constitution (Article D) mandates protecting Hungarians beyond the borders. As Válasz Online notes, Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó summoned Austria’s ambassador over blocked Hungarian football fans. But here? Crickets. He merely said he’d chatted with Slovak counterparts, who insisted it’s not aimed at Hungarians. Oh, and the Bem Quay team is ‘looking into it’.

• Austrian hospitality? Hungarian football fans stopped at border without explanation

Orbán himself has stayed silent. Experts reckon he needs Fico’s backing far more than vice versa—so don’t hold your breath for fireworks. Flashback to 2007: when Slovakia reaffirmed the Beneš Decrees, the Gyurcsány government (branded unpatriotic by Orbán) hauled in the Slovak ambassador.

Leader of Hungarian party in Slovakia fights back

Leader of the local Hungarian alliance, Magyar Szövetség, finds himself in a tight spot. He needs Budapest’s support to survive as a non-parliamentary party. But voters demand he blasts the latest parliamentary outrage.

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László Gubík seems ready to deliver. He’s sparred with Slovak cabinet ministers, branded the decision unacceptable multiple times, and yesterday rallied at an opposition protest—firing a shot across Budapest’s bows too:

“True Slovak-Hungarian friendship isn’t just about cosy state-to-state, EU, or economic ties (better than standard). It means taking Felvidék Hungarians’ legal status seriously. We’re not swallowing the smokescreen that everything’s fine. No—we know exactly what’s missing.”

A path to thaw the freeze?

Central Europe expert István Kollai, in his Válasz Online essay, sketches a way out. Escape Slovakia’s nationalist fog, and mutual gestures could heal it. Hungary could declare it won’t chase decades-old seized lands, homes, or assets for heirs. In return, Bratislava halts today’s confiscations.

Who knows? Maybe the day will dawn when Slovaks can apologise without shame for pre-Trianon and 1938-1944 Hungarian wrongs, and Hungarians for Czech/Slovak-era hurts since 1918-19.

In Europe’s heartland, smouldering national grudges lurk. EU membership, economic booms (where they exist), free movement, and more paper over them—for now. But they leave every state here ripe for meddlers to exploit.