Budapest, May 20 (MTI) – Socialist party leader József Tóbiás has called on President János Áder to make a statement regarding the questions raised over central bank spending.
Speaking at a press conference in front of the presidential Sándor Palace on Friday, Tóbiás said central bank governor György Matolcsy and the central bank’s foundations “endanger Hungary’s financial stability and weaken the forint”.
The central bank has broken the law and Áder, as the protector of a rule of law in the country, must take a stand, he insisted.
It is not written down anywhere that the central bank governor may undertake a political role. On the contrary, it is forbidden for the central bank and any party’s activities to become linked, he said, referring to economist Csaba Lentner, a board member in a central bank foundation, who recently said that the foundations should do all they can to help Fidesz win the 2018 elections.
“Áder has already listened to his conscience once,” he said, noting to Áder’s decision refer the law which aimed to shroud the spending of 260 billion forints on the bank’s funds in secrecy. It is time for him to speak up again and enforce the law, he added.
Tóbiás said a letter has been sent to Áder on Wednesday asking him to give an opinion on “what György Matolcsy has been up to in recent years”.
In response to a question asking him to comment on Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s morning radio interview, Tóbiás said the government is making every effort to isolate Hungary from Europe and the US. “It is unacceptable that the prime minister or any government members should label Democrats, the trustees of democracy, and the cooperation between the EU and the US in this manner”, he said. “This goes against Hungary’s long-term interests,” he added.
Fidesz said in response that Tóbiás should be talking about the Socialists’ own corrupt affairs, like the “bribes they received from Alstom” and “money hidden in secret foreign bank accounts by senior officials of the Socialist Party”.
Photo: MTI
Source: http://mtva.hu/hu/hungary-matters
