Jobbik slams plan to allow leaseholders to buy state land

Budapest, July 15 (MTI) – The radical nationalist Jobbik party has savaged a plan to allow leaseholders of state land to buy the holdings.

Jobbik lawmaker Zoltan Magyar told a news conference on Wednesday that it was “unbelievable” that the government was considering acting on the related proposal made by association of Hungarian farmers’ societies and cooperatives Magosz.

People have been witnessing for the past 25 years how the remainder of state assets have been distributed to oligarchs tied to political forces, he said. Now state land is all that is left of the nation’s assets, he insisted.

Magyar said that the national land fund manager had distributed leaseholds of Hungarian land amid “dubious circumstances”. Based on the results of tenders, it is proven that in two-thirds of cases local, family-run farmers were not awarded the leaseholds, he said.

Among the three biggest winners were Lorinc Meszaros and interests associated with him, the Jobbik politician said, referring to an investor reported to be close to the ruling Fidesz party. In effect, Meszaros will come into possession of land over which he now has control via a leasehold free of charge, Magyar said, adding that 200,000 hectares of land was a stake altogether.

Source: http://mtva.hu/hu/hungary-matters