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

we consider the trends suggested being clearly positive and, as far
as the perception of history is concerned, we can describe them as
a good basis for mutual co-existence.
The results of our research may indicate a trend that could offer a
basis for society’s executive organs to work in the direction required
for reconciliation. However, finding a road to reconciliation also
means having to admit that there have been injustices, express regret
about what has happened in the past and seek a way for the
Hungarian minority and Slovak people in the Slovak Republic, as
well as for the Slovak Republic and the Republic of Hungary, to relate
to one another in peace and without conflict.
Since a great deal is currently being written about policy on historical
topics, we can also assert that the politicking and pragmatic
behaviour of political parties is not good for the future of Slovak-
Hungarian relations. Public opinion surveys, like our academic research,
indicate the direction in which public opinion is set, and
politicians – who are interested in winning over certain population
groups – do not want to risk changing their policies towards the
politics of historical traumas or on the issues involved in tackling
the legacy of history. At present, moreover, for political reasons, the
SMK and some strongly nationally-oriented organisations in Slovak
society, as well as parties that are – or wish to be – in government,
do not want to alter their basic strategy on key questions
relating to Slovak-Hungarian problematic issues, so as not to lose
the support of their voters. Only the joint influence of politicians,
civil society and experts can alter the view of the shared – or at
least, parallel – history of these two peoples.
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