Hungary faces a vicious circle of corruption?
Many fear the consequences of reporting a corruption case, according to the Transparency International (TI) Global Corruption Barometer. However, still, 69 per cent of Hungarians consider government corruption to be a severe problem, and more than half are dissatisfied with the Hungarian government’s response to the phenomenon.
The survey inquired about the views and experiences of more than 40,000 people in the 27 EU Member States about corruption. The Kantar polling company conducted the study; 901 people were interviewed in Hungary. They worked with a representative sample. The time of the survey was October-November 2020, and the European Union supported the survey.
According to 69 per cent of Hungarian respondents, state corruption is a big or very big problem in Hungary; the EU average is around 62 per cent. In the southern and eastern Member States, the proportion of those who consider public corruption to be a major concern is higher.
Forty per cent of Hungarian respondents perceived an increase in corruption in the recent period, while 30 per cent said it remained the same. More than half of the population believes that the government is not addressing the problem in its proper place, according to Péter Martin József, Managing Director of Transparency International Hungary.
According to 45 per cent of Hungarian respondents, the government acted transparently in measures related to the coronavirus epidemic. Thirty-nine per cent said the government was not transparent in this area. According to József Martin, this clearly shows the division of society. He believes that the non-transparent and non-normative management of tourism subsidies, in particular, was highly suspicious of corruption during this period.
A significant trend is that the police are considered less and less corrupt by Hungarians (only 13 per cent found it a significant problem). The trend has been declining for years, and in comparison, MPs and business leaders are still perceived as corrupt by many.
Interestingly, 18 per cent of respondents said they had paid gratitude money, although there could probably be more people than that, and the latency in this area could be high. But this 18 per cent is also a remarkably high figure compared to the EU.
Overall, 17 per cent of respondents said they had offered a bribe, gift, or favour in exchange for a service before. This is well above the EU average (7 per cent).
Regarding the fight against corruption, Transparency basically drew the following conclusions from the survey results:
- Half of Hungarians do not trust the government.
- Nearly half of Hungarians are afraid of the possible negative consequences of reporting corruption.
- More than half of the population feels that the interests of a narrow circle have captured the state.
48% of the respondents think that they should be afraid if they report a case of corruption. This was lower a few years ago. By “capturing” the state, TI means that, according to a significant number of respondents, the
Hungarian government is not primarily driven by the public good, but by the private interests of certain people.
According to the organisation, the results of the survey lead to the conclusion that
A vicious circle of mistrust and corruption has developed in Hungary.
József Martin talked about the fact that it is clear from previous research that many people turn a blind eye to corrupt people on their “own side” while they are much more critical of those who oppose them.
It is also clear from previous surveys that two-thirds of people in Hungary tolerate corruption, i.e. there is a great deal of apathy (indifference, disinterest) towards the topic. With this two-thirds ratio, we have the highest corruption tolerance index in the EU. According to Transparency, public institutions should be more inclusive; they should serve the public good, not private interests.
Read alsoBREAKING! Hungary to reopen Schengen borders from June 24
please make a donation here
Hot news
Top Hungary news: snow covered Hungary, regime change in Budapest parking, forint free fall – 22 November, 2024
THE ranking: Győr’s Széchenyi István University among the top science universities
Hungarian minister proud that both German and Chinese battery plants are built in Hungary
Here are the top Hungarian cities for expats seeking a new home
Drugs situation in Budapest serious, leading politician says
“Hungarian Iron Dome” deployed near the Ukrainian border, expert says Putin will attack Hungary
8 Comments
My goodness, look around you, look at every country in the whole world.
Corruption is rampant.
What would you call the actions of Soros ?
How many people are on his pay-list?
The NGOs and the politicians must cost a fortune, but never mind – he just manipulates the stock-market to make a few more billions.
What happened to the 4 million euros Kyriakides received?
What happened to the von Leyen case when she was the minister of defence in Germany (a couple of hundred million euros have disappeared) ?
What happened to Vera Jourova and the cases in her country which are still going?
These are all swept under the carpet but the European Commission – in all its glory – just stands there accusing others.
Talk about the epitome of nauseating hypocrisy !
Orban cares about his country and the weird but lovable, capable beings called Hungarians in it.
I would not believe the results of this survey. The survey totally depends on what sort of group of people you ask.
They obviously asked the leftist leaning subjects.
Hungary didn’t purchase the Chinese Vaccine directly from China like every other country. There was a new Hungarian company that is very mysterious (no one know who is behind it…but I can guess) and that company bought the vaccine and then sold it to Hungary (made billions in this scam). More corrupt then this?
Orbanistan’s govt corrupt?????? Nooooooooooo.. Really???????? No way! That can not be serious…. 🙂
There is an old children’s song which goes something as follows :
” I have a secret, I can’t tell,
Promised to keep it very well,
I cannot tell you who told me,
That is the secret, do you see ?”
So here’s the conundrum for mysterious “Anonymous” :
If – as you claim – there was ‘corruption’ involved with the purchase by Hungary of COVID-19 vaccines from China, then for the sake of ALL Hungarian citizens / taxpayers just ‘come out with it’ !
At the very least, contact the Managing Director of Transparency International Hungary and provide him (Jozsef Martin) with whatever information – as opposed to ‘heresay’ – you have.
He’ll take care of the rest.
If you don’t – or won’t – do even this very easy task , then we’ll all to have to assume that you are full of what comes out of a bull’s rear end.
It’s really very simple on your part, don’t you think ?
HE ,Who is without guilt ,LET HIM, cast the first stone ,
Orbanistan – it FEEDS this.
Dismantling, Fractionalizing , Separation, Splitting Open and Apart – DEMOCRACY – just some points of Orbanistan’s Destructive Political Agenda.
Ego driven – self belief of one’s importance – that plans to re-write and change – DEMOCRACY.
Volatile – deepness of un-certainty this road and direction Hungary is being forcefully driven Politically down.
National Elections May 2022 – the – POWER – of the peoples/citizens – of Hungary – that can destine the immediate and FUTURE of Hungary.
It’s all very well for English-speaking people to engage in a form of mutual masturbation by writing comments to “DAILY NEWS HUNGARY” but the REALITY is that only Hungarian voters – the vast majority of whom do NOT speak (yet alone read or write) English – will decide Hungary’s government at next year’s general election.
“Anonymous”, “Mario” and that rambling, demented FOOL presently writing under the name “Trepidation” will all be HUGELY DISAPPOINTED because most Hungarians are thoroughly disgusted by the dictatorial attitude of European Commissioners and attempts to literally thrust onto Hungary attitudes / opinions / ‘ways of life’ which are not only ‘alien’ to this country but also anethema to most sane individuals.
As such, the present FIDESZ-led Government of Viktor Orban will be re-elected for another term.
Those three TRULY PATHETIC individuals can always move to Brussels or other similar European cess-pits.
If the EU isn’t corrupt- it is destroying Europe and the only thing that stands in their way is the Hungarian government.
.