Hungarian Foreign Minister flew more than even US Secretary of State Pompeo

Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó frequently travels by plane. The officially published data shows that the Hungarian Foreign Minister travels more often than most of his foreign colleagues.

The Hungarian Foreign Minister flies many times

The 24.hu compared the travel habits of the Hungarian Foreign Minister Szijjártó with his foreign colleagues. They examined the second half of 2018. The Hungarian website looked at how frequently the foreign ministers of each country flew in that period.

Péter Szijjártó flew abroad 61 times for an official trip.

By comparison, former U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo travelled 28 times, while German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas travelled 30 times during this period. In addition, the Fidesz politician is ahead of his Danish, Dutch and Austrian counterparts. Dutch Foreign Minister Stef Blok attended 40 meetings. Karin Kneissl, the Austrian Foreign Minister, had 29 official trips. Danish Foreign Minister Anders Samuelsen only boarded 25 times during the period under review.

The examined period is the second half of 2018 because Bernadett Szél, an independent representative, submitted a request for public data for this period.

Travel habits are also different in Hungary

There is a difference not only in the amount of travel but also in the way you travel. Most foreign ministers visit several countries on a trip. Out of Szijjártó’s 61 journeys in 54 cases, he did not leave Europe. He even came home the same day during most of his travels.

Szijjártó even took a plane to nearby Bratislava.

This trip cost 631 thousand forints (€ ) for Hungarian taxpayers, RTL News says. However, there is no official data on the price of most trips. So, instead of organising his travels by acting on several official matters in a district, Szijjártó always travels to only one place.

It’s different abroad

In Hungary, politicians use private aeroplanes frequently. However, there are no examples of this abroad. If, however, someone is caught travelling in a luxurious way, it is not left without consequences. The former U.S. Secretary of Health resigned because, in 2018, about $ 1 million of taxpayers’ money was spent on travelling by a private jet.

Source: 24.hu, RTL News