Bucharest, June 6, 2026 – RBJ – By Constantin Radut – Hungarian irredentism and revisionism appear, once again, with more power, in the political rhetoric of Hungarian officials. Although many believed that replacing political baron Viktor Orban with a former collaborator of his would calm Europe and our southeastern European region, it turns out that Peter Magyar is more cunning and aggressive than his predecessor at the helm of the Hungarian Republic.
Yesterday, Péter Magyar, in his festive speech on the National Cohesion Day, PM Magyar showed his true personality as a slanderer of relations with his historical neighbors. Magyar used the expression used the expression “Hungary borders itself”, receiving applause from those who gather annually on June 4 to protest against the Treaty of Trianon.
In response to Magyar’s opinion, representatives of the government of Slovakia (the neighboring country) protested vehemently, asking the Hungarian PM to abandon provocative discourses specific to “Hungarianism”, an ideological current that considers “Felvidék” in Slovakia or “Erdély” in Romania, Hungarian lands.
The authorities in Bucharest pretended not to hear, as usual. A habit, of course, harmful and destructive.
The expression “Hungary borders itself” is considered by historians to be part of the rhetorical arsenal of Hungarian irredentism and revisionism. Although the leaders in Budapest often present it as a simple cultural metaphor, the way it is used places it directly in this ideological sphere. Why does this statement fall within the concept of irredentism? Definition of irredentism: irredentism represents the desire of a state or a political movement to annex the territories of another state, on the grounds that an ethnically related population lives there or that those lands belonged to the mother state in the past. Symbolic contestation of borders: When you say that Hungary “has borders with itself”, you subtly convey that the current official borders are not the “real” or historically correct ones. It is suggested that the real Hungary extends everywhere where Hungarians live. Cult of Trianon: The expression directly fuels resentments about the 1920 Treaty of Trianon, the central element of Hungarian revisionism.
The fact that after his inauguration as PM of Hungary, Magyar did not visit Warsaw, Brussels, Berlin and Paris fuels the feeling that the political figure Peter Magyar does not like the current relations with neighboring states.
But history does not give him the right to think like the “advanced” Hungarians who preached expressions such as the well-known: they created the famous irredentist slogans such as “Nem, nem, soha!” (No, no, never!).
No, Peter Magyar, the wheel of history does not turn. Especially in Transylvania. We present to you once again the supreme argument: In the Romanian province of Transylvania, Hungarians have never been a preponderant population.
In the second half of the 19th century and at the beginning of the 20th century, the authorities in Budapest organized strict censuses, based on the spoken mother tongue. Even under the conditions of an intense policy of Magyarization, the results showed a clear Romanian majority. The census of 1869: Romanians represented 59.0% of the population, while Hungarians were only 24.9%. 1880 census: Romanians represented 57.0%, and Hungarians 25.9%. 1910 census (last before the Union): After decades of cultural pressures, Romanians still represented the majority with 53.8% (over 2.8 million people), while Hungarians were 31.6% (approximately 1.6 million). After the 1918 Union, after Transylvania became part of Romania, the first national censuses reconfirmed the demographic proportions. 1930 census: the ethnic Romanian population increased to 58.3%, and the Hungarian population decreased slightly to 26.7%. Modern evolution (2021): According to the latest data from the National Institute of Statistics in Bucharest, Romanians represent over 76% of the population of Transylvania, while the Hungarian community reached approximately 17%. In the pre-modern period (before scientific censuses). In the 17th-18th centuries there were no modern censuses based on ethnic criteria, but only fiscal or religious estimates. However, documents of the time record the reality. In 1773, the Austrian Emperor Joseph II noted in his travel journal that Transylvania was inhabited mostly by Romanians, whom he called “the bearers of the main burdens of the country”. Historians explain that the Romanians occupied the old hearths in the villages and valleys, being the agricultural and demographic base of the region, although from a political point of view they were only viewed as a population “tolerated” by the medieval laws of the Three United Nations (Hungarian nobles, Saxons and Szeklers).
Now, in the 21st century there are even more arguments for Peter Magyar and his acolytes to apply the motto “A magyaronkánk nýgotnak kell maradniuk” (The Hungarians should remain calm).
