Rekindled nationalism

The desire for autonomy in Romania's Székely Land - a majority of whose inhabitants are Hungarian and where the Hungarian national holiday was celebrated on the weekend - are a thorn in the side for many Romanians. The Bucharest-based daily Cotidianul comments: "President Traian Băsescu has also seemingly been motivated by nationalism recently. Two weeks ago he waved the constitution and the Romanian flag in his hand while speaking in Harghita and Covasna about the 'ethnic cleansing' committed by Hungarians on Romanians in the region. ... Such a nationalist topic can divert attention from job losses and decreased buying power, but it is a two-edged sword. In times of economic crisis and poverty, inter-ethnic conflicts come to the fore much more easily. It is no coincidence that we are now once more seeing attacks in Northern Ireland. In each case economic and social frustrations can be tapped and directed at the 'others'. The rekindled nationalism we are seeing among Romanians and Hungarians has thrown us back almost twenty years, to the days when there was street fighting in Târgu-Mureş."

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