Head of the Hungarian coalition party SMK József Berényi has hit back at head of Slovak national party (SNS) Jan Slota, who has been calling for Berenyi to say whether or not he took dual citizenship with Hungary, which thanks to the controversial Citizenship Act would mean he would lose his Slovak citizenship.
Berenyi has filed an official request with the Ministry of Interior to examine whether or not Jan Slota requested dual citizenship with Croatia after 17 July 2010, the date the law came into effect in Slovakia. The press secretary of the SMK party informed TASR of the news.
If Slota were to have gained Croatian citizenship, the law lays down that he would lose his Slovak citizenship automatically on the day that he freely acquires that of some other country. This would also affect his position in the SNS party.
Berenyi pointed to how Slota’s relationship with Croatia is well known, as he has been going there for the past fourteen years and has the use of a villa there from the company Laganj, which Berenyi feels Slota is behind. Berenyi claims the company is owned by Slota’s former assistant.
Berenyi is calling on the ministry to investigate his claim and take necessary steps. Jan Slota reacted by saying Berenyi was just trying to draw attention away from him holding Hungarian citizenship. Slota denied outright that he has Croatian citizenship, saying he has “never even contemplated the idea”.
Berenyi requested Hungarian citizenship in January, and by law this would mean that he can no longer head his SMK party as his Slovak citizenship would be annulled. Berenyi has still not declared if he has dual citizenship or not and he responded to the requests of the Ministry of Interior by saying that according to the Constitution nobody had the right to deprive someone of their citizenship.