Government afraid of foreign influence in Hungary

All efforts must be made to prevent foreign attempts to exercise pressure and gain influence, the group leader of ruling Fidesz said in an interview with daily Magyar Nemzet published on Saturday.

During the time of the post-communist transformation, everyone thought it would never happen again that someone from outside Hungary could tell what should happen in the country and what foreign interests must represented, he added.

“Our cultural sovereignty is also under attack, with forced LGBTQ propaganda and the support or organising of mass illegal migration,” he said.

Commenting on alleged foreign influence at the 2022 parliamentary elections, he said it was telling that the left wing is continually fudging the issue, trying to deny one thing while admitting another at the same time.

At the start of the campaign, they probably expected to win and hoped that “the dirty issue of foreign money” could be silently covered up, he added.

“I believe this was politically damaging to them by all means, but they could also expect legal consequences,” he said.

“A State Audit Office review is under way and it might result in a fine for irregular party financing,” he added.

Read also:

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Media received money from abroad?

Commenting on the amendment to the election law, he said it is aimed to close a legal loophole which the left-wing parties abused in 2022, and also in 2019. Since their candidates often ran under the guise of civil organisations and not as party members, the rules of accounting that affect parties did not apply to them, he added. It has become clear that many civil organisations are maintained just for the purpose of collecting money, so that there is a receiving station for money which can later be distributed for political purposes, he said.

“Towards the end of the election campaign last year, a narrow and rather dirty segment of left-wing media was getting financed with amounts that would have been enough for a full year’s operation of a large news portal, so the money could be transferred to politics that way,” he said.

“It showed that foreign donors were trying to gain influence in the Hungarian elections through the press,” he added.

Efforts must be made and action taken to prevent that concrete politicians and organisations running in the elections get financed from abroad, he said.

“When politicians are in the pockets of dollar billionaires, it is genuine political corruption,” he added.

Commenting on the upcoming European Parliamentary elections, he said a change is needed in Brussels and expressed trust that national parties that want a change will get stronger.

“The EU need not be replaced but its leaders should,” he said.

In response to a question, he said a new conservative alliance could be set up prior to the elections.