The vote is about two issues: the less contentious is about barring the privatisation of hospitals, the troubling one is about double citizenship. Signatures for the former were collected by a far-left (post-communist) party, for the latter by the far-right-tending World Association Of Hungarians - but both themes were seized upon by the recklessly populist right-wing main opposition party, FIDESZ-MPP, while governing parties proved inept or even cowardy in confronting it.

The double citizenship issue is not the same as in Germany: it is not about foreign citizens living in Hungary, but ethnic Hungarians living outside Hungary. Significant Hungarian ethnic minorities live on territories that belonged to Austria-Hungary before 1919 - above all, in Southwestern Slovakia an in Transsylvania.

There is already nationalist conflict with parties (and people) of majority populations. This would be greatly enhanced: an extra-territorial constituency will increase both fears of border change demands from Hungary and far-right demands that Hungarians ‘move home’ to Hungary; money paid by the Hungarian state for its extraterritorial citizens would give birth to envy, and Hungarian minorities themselves could be further radicalised.

Furthermore, the right-wing parties in Hungary most probably support this not out of any misguided concern for the survival of ethnic Hungarian communities outside Hungary, but in hopes of these ethnic Hungarians voting for them in future elections, best if they even move from their ancestral areas to present-day Hungary.

Unfortunately, a few years ago plebiscite law was changed thus that if the “Yes” or “No” vote gets 25% of all eligible voters, the vote is valid even if participation is below 50%. And since the “Yes” camp on double citizenship is almost certainly more than 25%, while the governing parties failed to mobilise for a “No”, it will probably be passed.