Politics of the past: the use and abuse of history - Socialists ...

The respondents answered the question using a seven-point interval
scale where the individual numerical values meant: 1 – definitely
not; 2 – not; 3 – not really; 4 – don’t know; 5 – yes, more or less;
6 – yes; 7 – definitely, yes.
The wording of the question was: ‘If you had to express your opinion
about reconciliation between Slovaks and Hungarians, would
you say that…’:
A – Hungarians should apologise to Slovaks for the 1938 Vienna
Arbitration: average score 3.39 – i.e. between not really and don’t
know
B – Slovaks should apologise to Hungarians and Germans for the
Beneš decrees: average score 5.07 – i.e. yes, more or less
C – Slovaks and Hungarians should apologise to each other for
past wrongs: average score 4.66 – i.e. between yes, more or less
and don’t know
D – No apologies are necessary; a line should be drawn under the
past: average score 4.22 – i.e. between don’t know and yes, more
or less
E – Apologies are a matter for the Hungarian minority and Slovak
representatives: average score 3.78 – i.e. between not really and
don’t know
F – Apologies are a matter for Hungary and Slovakia: average score
4.53 – i.e. between yes, more or less and don’t know
We should draw attention to the fact that, unlike our previous research,
this question was formulated so that the respondents would
know we were interested in differing perceptions of aspects of history
with a bearing on possible reconciliation.
199 Štefan Šutaj