Socialists voice conditional support for probe into Fidesz’s 2010 campaign spending

The Socialist Party on Thursday said it is prepared to back radical nationalist, Jobbik’s call for an investigation into ruling Fidesz’s spending during the 2010 election campaign on the condition that it can preside over the parliamentary committee examining the case.

Socialist support for the probe would be conditional on expanding the investigation to cover Fidesz’s campaign activities between 2010 and 2017 as well as contracts signed between parties contesting the 2010 and 2014 elections and Mahir Cityposter, an operator of advertisement columns, over the past seven years.

Mahir Cityposter is linked to construction and media magnate Lajos Simicska, a founder of Fidesz who had large sway over its finances but later fell out with Prime Minister Viktor Orbán.

Fidesz accuses Simicska of putting his wealth and business interests at the service of Jobbik.

Meanwhile, Jobbik MP György Szilágyi on Thursday called on the prime minister to admit to committing electoral fraud in order to win the 2010 election.

Now “the friends and relatives of Fidesz officials” fill all important state positions and “theft and corruption” take place at a state level, Szilágyi told a press conference.

He said Jobbik would continue to investigate the 2010 election should it win next year’s election.

The ruling Fidesz party said in reaction that it had conducted every single one of its election campaigns lawfully. In a statement, Fidesz said the state auditor had examined the party’s campaigns and had found them to have complied with the law.

Referring to graft allegations circling the opposition parties, Fidesz added that with their initiative the Socialists and Jobbik were merely trying to sow doubt because they had no adequate response to “the Czeglédy case and the Jobbik-Simicska corruption”.

Czeglédy was a local government representative of Szombathely, in south-west Hungary, representing Éljen Szombathely-Socialists-DK-Együtt. He also worked as a lawyer for DK and the Socialists. Czeglédy is one of ten suspects in the case charged with committing tax evasion as part of a criminal organisation through a series of companies, causing damages to the state of up to 3 billion forints between 2013-2016.

ce: ZsK

Source: MTI