Blanar: Not Customary for New Hungarian Premier to Make Slovakia His First Stop

(STVR, 'O 5 minut 12', 19 April) Speaking on STVR's discussion programme 'O 5 minut 12' (Five Minutes to Twelve) on Sunday, Foreign Affairs Minister Juraj Blanar (Smer-SD) stated that he believes that the fact that Peter Magyar, the candidate for Hungarian prime minister, doesn't plan to include a visit to Slovakia among his first foreign trips doesn't mean a deterioration in Slovak-Hungarian relations, adding that these relations are at a good level. Slovakia's chief diplomat doesn't consider it to be a tradition for a newly elected Hungarian prime minister to visit Slovakia first. MEP Ludovit Odor (Progressive Slovakia/PS) believes that Magyar is a clearly pro-European politician and he also sees a clear Western orientation in Magyar. According to Blanar, however, it is important how the future Hungarian government defines its manifesto. In connection with Magyar, they also discussed the issue of the Benes Decrees. Blanar emphasised that the Benes Decrees are the foundation of Slovak statehood. He stated that the current government won't repeal the provision of the Criminal Code under which questioning them is punishable. "No one has played the 'Hungarian card' here for a long time, and it was Progressive Slovakia that, at its meeting ... included in its programme something that is absolutely unacceptable to us for the Slovak Republic as such," pointed out Blanar. According to Odor, addressing the decrees is part of the PS's plan to improve living conditions in southern Slovakia. He confirmed that he is also in close communication on this topic with Tisza, the winning party in the Hungarian elections. He emphasized that PS doesn't want to reopen the past, but wants to ensure that no new legal cases arise regarding the Benes Decrees. He confirmed that if PS were to enter the government, it would repeal the provision of the Criminal Code that penalises publicly questioning or denying the post-World War II peace settlement, based on legal acts including the Benes Decrees. Blanar also responded to Magyar's remarks that migrants were allegedly transported to the Slovak border ahead of the 2023 parliamentary elections. He called it "conspiracy nonsense" to link this matter to Smer-SD, which was in the opposition at the time. Odor stated that the Tisza party intends to investigate this matter and added that, during his time as prime minister, the secret services informed him that migrants were illegally transported to Slovakia from Hungary. am