Kelemen Hunor criticizes the AUR proposal to change the name of the Balvanyos resort to “Bălvăniș”: “It didn’t even bother Ceaușescu”

The bill initiated by several AUR senators, which proposes changing the name of the Balvanyos spa resort to “Bălvăniș”, was criticized on Monday, November 2, by UDMR president Kelemen Hunor, who told Euronews Romania that the initiative is “stupid” and will not pass through Parliament.

Kelemen Hunor argued that changing the name brings no benefit, but could affect the Hungarian community. The UDMR leader ironically stated that “their happiness lies in the name of the locality of Balvanyos” and said that AUR’s concern reflects the party’s anti-Hungarian and ultranationalist positions.

According to Hunor, the name Balvanyos cannot be translated and was not a problem even during the communist regime. He even mentioned Nicolae Ceaușescu, stating that the former dictator did not consider it necessary to change the name of the resort either.

The UDMR president also gave a personal example, explaining that his first name, Hunor, was retained in official documents because it could not be translated. In his view, the same situation applies to the name Balvanyos. The bill is to be examined in Parliament.