"Both the Hungarian movement and the students resisted the government's constant attempts to create discord in their ranks. This is very important in a campaign where you are constantly exposed to pressure and provocations. I would also like to single out the tone of their messages and campaigns. They are positive and energetic, they give people hope and restore faith that change is possible. I think that the clarity of such a speech, along with the message of hope, explains why their campaign reaches so many people."
Political and other processes in the last thirty or so years have made it famous Vojvodina there is little left of multiculturalism, especially interculturality. It is already boring to repeat that only traces remain of the common and intertwined life of different national communities, and that invisible inter-ethnic borders have been established that are difficult to cross. Our interlocutor Peter Vukašinović Klem, one of the key people of the newly founded and, by all accounts, promising minority political organization called "New beginning of Vojvodina Hungarian" (NPVM), says that these borders did not create themselves. He states that, for example, the Union of Vojvodina Hungarians did everything to keep the Hungarian community in Vojvodina in an "artificial coma", far from social and political processes in Serbia.
Klem is actually one of the fine examples of the once proud interculturality of Vojvodina, both Hungarian and Serbian are his mother tongues, and in his family environment, as he says, other languages were also spoken. He is a professor of history, a specialist in military history, and a member of the Presidency of the NPVM (colloquially this organization in Vojvodina is called "Hungarian Restart"), a movement that has extremely good communication and cooperation with the new government of neighboring Hungary, led by Peter Hungarian. The NPVM supported the student list in the next parliamentary elections in Serbia, invited the Vojvodina Hungarians to round up the "troika".
"Our movement was founded less than a week after the great victory of Peter the Magyar and his 'Tisa' movement in the elections in Hungary. The NPVM has progressed very quickly and expanded in Vojvodina. We have two important tasks ahead of us. The first is to contribute to the victory of the Student Movement in the parliamentary elections on October 25. The second is the elections for the Hungarian National Council on November 8, in which we will side with the SVM. It is a serious challenge, especially for a young organization like NPVM. I will remind you that in the last elections, no Hungarian opposition organization managed to collect the necessary number of signatures to participate in the elections. I am sure that this time the SVM will have a worthy opponent", says Peter Vukašinović Klem at the beginning of the interview.
WEATHER: It is clear that SVM, as the largest party of Vojvodina Hungarians, he has very bad relations with the new government in Hungary. How it seems to me, your relations with Budapest are much better?
PETER VUKASINOVIĆ KLEM: We have good relations with the new Hungarian government. Our five-member delegation was the first delegation of the Hungarian diaspora that the new government received for talks. We spoke with the minister and vice-president of "Tisa" Zoltan Tara and the deputy state secretary Istvan Kolajje. We also met with the Vice-President of the Parliament, the President and members of the Foreign Affairs Committee and numerous MPs. The cooperation started very well and we are pleased with how it is developing. We easily find a common language, because we think very similarly about many important issues.
Your movement supported the Student List in the upcoming parliamentary elections. Why do you think that citizens, even those of Hungarian nationality, they should vote for students?
I deeply believe that at this moment the interests of Serbs and Hungarians are completely identical, as are the interests of all other citizens of Serbia. It is important to all of us that the institutions do their job, that the Constitution and laws are respected and that we once again have the rule of law. Today, many institutions serve only as decoration. Almost everything is decided by one center of power, while there is very little space left for real political discussion. The student movement brought hope that change is possible. Unfortunately, this political renaissance was triggered by a terrible tragedy. Students emerged as a new political force that recognized what we need most now. They did not engage in ideological contests. They understood that we must first ensure that the state does what it is supposed to do. We can agree on that even when we differ on many other things.
Do members of the Hungarian national minority accept your messages, how are things on the ground?
Unfortunately, the Hungarian community has been kept aloof from what is happening in the rest of the country for years. Many people are not sufficiently informed, and a significant part of the community has developed disinterest and even apathy over time. A feeling has been created that the political life of Serbia is taking place somewhere far away from us and that it does not really concern us. It didn't come by itself. SVM has long worked to keep the community in an artificial coma. I believe, however, that there has finally been an awakening.
I expect that support for students will transcend national and religious divisions. We all need an orderly state where laws are respected and institutions do their job. That is exactly why we supported the Student List and are working day and night to ensure that as many Vojvodina Hungarians as possible circle the number three in the elections.
Can it be expected that citizens of Serbia who have dual citizenship will, and they live in Hungary or somewhere else, take part in the upcoming elections in Serbia? How old are they anyway?, according to your knowledge, interested in local political events?
I do not have reliable data on the basis of which I could estimate at least approximately how many people from abroad will vote in these elections. That's why I can only speak about my impression. First of all, it is important to distinguish when people left Serbia and where they live today. I think those who have moved away in the last five or six years are more likely to vote than those who left earlier or much earlier.
Also, how connected they are to life here is important. Hungarians from Vojvodina who move to Hungary often quickly fit into the environment there, in a sense assimilate. Ties with Serbia weakened over time, and with them interest in local political events. Even if they occasionally follow them, that doesn't mean they would vote. However, judging by the people I know, the students managed to reach those who had not shown much interest in politics in Serbia for years. This gives me a reason to expect that those who have moved away from the opportunities here will get involved this time. That is why I expect the turnout of voters from abroad on October 25 to be significantly higher than in other elections in the last twenty years. The referendum atmosphere and the feeling that historic elections are ahead of us reach far beyond the borders of our country.
And what is the impact of the change of government in Hungary on the Hungarian community in Vojvodina? Is the fight against corruption led by Peter Magyar's government, and which reaches as far as Serbia, influenced the change in political preferences?
For a large part of Vojvodina Hungarians Orban's the fall was almost a personal defeat. Fidesz won more than 90 percent of the votes from Vojvodina. That result is difficult to separate from the media space in which our community has lived for years. SVM dominates the Hungarian-language media here, while Fidesz controlled the media in Hungary, both state and private. However, after the historic victory of the Hungarians over Orbán, the previous unanimity began to collapse. With the reform of the national media in Hungary, people got the opportunity to hear information that had not reached them before. The corruption affairs of Orban's business elite are becoming public. All this gradually affects the attitudes of Vojvodina's Hungarians, but change is slow and difficult. The fight against corruption has begun and is progressing, but it will take time to shed light on what happened during the past sixteen years.
Are there any changes in Vojvodina media in the Hungarian language??
In the media under the control of SVM, there is almost no word about the fight against corruption and the procedures that are being conducted. Their editorial policy remained the same. Sometimes I have the impression that neither the editors of those media nor the leading people of SVM - have not yet fully understood the extent of the change that took place on April 12. It's as if for them it's all just a nightmare from which they'll wake up soon, and things will go back to the way they were. Back in March, before falling from power, Orban sent the last financial "injection" to Vojvodina, which also included money for the media. This gave the media under the control of SVM more time, which may be one of the reasons why they did not change their editorial policy.
From the next budget year, I expect serious changes in the financing of those media from Hungary. If they will no longer be able to count on the money that has been arriving until now, they will have to reconsider their current way of working. For our community, the most important thing is that media reform takes place here as well. This is one of the main goals of NPVM. People should have the opportunity to get quality and comprehensive information, as well as to get a more complete picture of Orban and his government, and to make their own judgment. Until that happens, I am afraid that Viktor Orbán's cult of personality will continue in our country.
What are they like?, when things are summed up, according to you, the consequences of joint actions of the SNS a, Orban's government and SVM and on the Hungarians in Vojvodina? Despite the significant funds that arrived from Budapest through the foundation "Prosperity", and we are talking about hundreds of millions of euros, the number of citizens of Hungarian nationality has decreased significantly in a relatively short time.
The SVM's political honeymoon lasted almost a decade and a half. Protection came from both Belgrade and Budapest, which ensured a very privileged position. Such support also carries responsibility for the results of the policy that you led as a party. To be fair, there have been positive developments. The very idea of supporting Hungarian entrepreneurship through "Prosperitate" was not bad. Investments through that foundation and other funds had a clearly declared goal: for the Hungarian community to survive, strengthen and progress in its thousand-year hearth. Unfortunately, despite the huge amount of money, that goal is nowhere near being achieved. We don't have a precise estimate of how much investment slowed emigration, but we do know that people continued to migrate en masse to Hungary and the West.
SVM has been listing projects and amounts of invested money for years, especially before elections. But when it comes to accounting for how many Hungarians remain in Vojvodina, there is silence. And the party that presents itself as the protector of our people must answer exactly that question. The success of the national policy cannot be proven by lists of investments, while avoiding the discussion about the demographic decline of the community. SVM and the media under its control owe the people an open conversation about why the declared policy of survival did not achieve its basic goal, why this privileged and powerful party still, four years after the census, has no demographic policy, no response to this disaster.
By the way, between the 2011 and 2022 censuses, the number of Hungarians in Vojvodina decreased by almost 30 percent. It is a demographic disaster. The goal of the investment was for the Hungarian community to survive and strengthen, so the results should be judged by that. Those who for years took credit for every euro invested must also take political responsibility for this balance.
How true is it that within SVM and there is political turbulence and whether it is possible for this party to support the Student List if it is the winner in these elections?
I would not like to guess what is happening inside a party to which I do not belong. But from the outside, increasing insecurity and nervousness can be noticed. This was already seen the night Orbán lost power. I believe that SVM is facing the biggest political challenge since its foundation. He became a hostage of his own alliances. He has become so attached to Orban's Fidesz and to the regime in Serbia that it will be difficult for him to avoid political responsibility for everything he has supported for years.
It seems, however, that they did not learn much from the Hungarian elections. They still unreservedly support SNS and attack the Student List, while cynically boasting that they have many students on their list. Something else is important for the state of the SVM and their influence: I think we all expect a very high turnout on October 25, which according to political logic will not go well with the SVM. I would not be surprised if the number of deputies was halved and they stayed for three mandates. It would be another serious blow to their political position and power.
And when it comes to possible post-election support for the Student List?
I cannot imagine that SVM would leave the SNS and support the Student List, even if the formation of the government depended on his several mandates. This is not about morality, but about the political responsibility that SVM shares with its former ally for everything that happened during the previous ten years. After all, I do not believe that the students would agree to an alliance with any party of the current regime. SVM is an integral part of that regime, and the example of local elections in Kula clearly shows that.
Orban's and Vučić's regimes were not only politically close business connections already resembled each other in many respects in terms of the collapse of the institutional order, authoritarianism, threats to media and other freedoms, as well as a high degree of corruption. What the Student List can learn from Peter Magjar's movement in this pre-election period?
I think that the students have carefully studied the 'Tisa' campaign and are already applying many of its lessons. First, there is an energetic presence throughout the country, with very active communication on the Internet. This combination of field work and social networks allows them to reach people despite the huge advantage that the government has in traditional media. Another important similarity is their ability to preserve unity. Both the Hungarian movement and the students resisted the government's constant attempts to create discord in their ranks. This is very important in a campaign where you are constantly exposed to pressure and provocation. I would also highlight the tone of their messages and campaigns. They are positive and energetic, they give people hope and restore faith that change is possible. In addition to the fight against corruption, they have in common an advocacy for the rule of law and opposition to the concentration of informal power in the hands of political leaders. They want a country where institutions do their job, and people in power stay within the limits of their powers. I think it is this clarity, along with the message of hope, that explains why their campaign reaches so many people.
If there is a change of government in Serbia, how Hungarian experiences could be significant here in this regard as well?
They could be useful, primarily because they show that the work does not end with winning the elections. Peter the Hungarian inherited the state apparatus that Fidesz had shaped for years, and the new government is still struggling with that legacy. Changes in the prosecution and the judiciary took months. The change of government, therefore, does not mean that the institutions will start doing their work the very next morning. A similar challenge could await the new government in Serbia. It takes time for institutions to free themselves from political control and begin to function as the law requires. The Hungarian experience can help to recognize some obstacles in advance and to prepare for them.
However, the parallel should be drawn cautiously. The circumstances in the two countries differ considerably. The most important difference is Hungary's membership in the European Union. European mechanisms, with all the limitations, at least somewhat restrained Orbán's autocratic rule. Serbia did not have the same framework. That is why we can learn a lot from the Hungarian experience, but we will have to look for the answers in accordance with the circumstances here.
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