For a nation with over a millennium of history behind it, claiming that current events are pivotal would be pretentious. However, for Hungarians who yesterday headed to the polls for the second round of general elections, the choices they face will produce an outcome likely to affect the former Soviet bloc nation as it prepares for accession into the European Union. Hungarians are passionate about their politics, evident in a mass political demonstration in Budapest earlier this month, where different sources estimate 5 to 15 percent of all Hungary’s citizens turned out into the streets in support of the right-wing candidate.

Under a communist regime for only 40 years of its thousand years of existence, Hungary’s history reflects a unique people landlocked in the central European basin and their tenacious capability to maintain a culture and language distinct from their Slavic and Germanic neighbors. Despite its position as a crossroads for many powers, the Hungarians did not succumb to the Turks, the Austrians or the Soviets. On my recent visit to Hungary, a close friend showed me a map of his home country.

“See, this is the most Hungarian part of Hungary,” he explained, pointing to a forested area in the western part of the country.

“When the Soviets came, they pulled up all their railroad tracks. They just didn’t want to industrialize.”

It is this idea of “Hungarian-ness” – to Anglicize the idea of Magyar identity – that lies at the heart of this year’s election. The right-wing candidate, Viktor Orban, from the center-right party Fidesz, is stumping throughout the nation on his commitment to maintaining Hungarian identity, including special recognition for the nearly 2 million Hungarians who live abroad.

Some critics of Orban’s policies – primarily Socialist supporters of leftist candidate Peter Medgyessy – accuse Orban of being too nationalistic.

Orban’s vision of Hungary is not the only example of Europe wrestling with the concept of national identity on a continent with more porous borders than ever before and a common currency uniting much of the continent.

While proponents of the euro show the economic power of a united Europe more able to compete in global marketplace, restrictions on immigration passed in many countries in western Europe and far right leaders embraced in places like Austria are proof that for many Europeans, maintaining the culture and language of their nation-states remains a priority.

Orban is the youngest prime minister in Europe and put the country on an economic austerity plan that effectively weaned it from the IMF dole.

Little more than a decade after the fall of communism in Hungary, the nation appears to be a leader among the economies of Eastern Europe. Even small details like fresh paint and newly-renovated facades in historic districts of small towns are evidence of the investment Hungarians have been making throughout the county.

Their efforts have not gone unnoticed. Today, Hungary is a prime destination for many Western European tourists who want to enjoy the lakes, forests and standards of living in a country that does not charge the rates of its neighbors in Austria and Germany. In a humorous response the influx of visitors from the West, many Hungarians sport a T-shirt that reads “I am a Hungarian, not a tourist” to comment on the increase in businesses, spas and restaurants that cater to a German-speaking crowd.

Regardless of the outcome of the elections, the Hungarian people seem to be able to maintain their culture and identity in a rapidly globalizing world.

Even more than their signature paprika, the Hungarians retain their own unique spice of life at the European smorgasbord.

Rachel Faber Machacha is a graduate student in international development studies from Emmetsburg.