Parliament’s culture committee has not backed the opposition parties’ candidates to the Independent Public Media Authority. Zoltán Moys, nominated by Our Homeland, Zoltán Márti of the Christian Democrats and Beatrix Siklósi, who was nominated by Fidesz, each received four votes in favour and seven against.
At their (separate) hearings ahead of the vote, the candidates highlighted the importance of credibility, professionalism and creating cultural values. They also stressed that public media must stand above party politics.
Committee head Alexandra Szentkirályi of Fidesz said after the meeting that the fact that none of the nine members of the body was elected by the deadline was “autocratic” and “cinema”.
Central bank probe is to start
An ad hoc parliamentary committee established to investigate the use of public monies by the National Bank of Hungary (NBH) for non-core activities aims to determine political responsibility, the committee’s chair said ahead of its inaugural meeting on Wednesday, MTI wrote.
Attila Csőszi, an MP of the governing Tisza Party, said the committee would not take over the role of the judiciary. He added that recommendations would be made to improve transparency and accountability when the probe finished. The committee will probe the management of assets in the NBH’s foundation and the renovation of the central bank headquarters.
Csőszi said the former Fidesz-KDNP government had tried to establish a regulatory environment that made it impossible to trace the public monies in the NBH foundation, paving the way for “institutionalised theft”. The committee will hear testimony of the people involved, he added.
Csőszi noted that the two committee members delegated by opposition Fidesz and KDNP had both voted for amendments to the central bank act allowing assets to be channelled to NBH foundations. Fielding questions, he said the committee would wind up its work with a report by December 31.
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