cross-posted from: https://scribe.disroot.org/post/10667321

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At press conferences by former Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó, instead of media representatives, employees at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs were present, posing as journalists and creating the impression of a full hall, as the media outlet 444.hu reports (in Hungarian), citing its own sources.

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Instead of independent journalists, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ staff were seated at Péter Szijjártó’s press conferences, using many of the ministry’s staff as what 444.hu calls “bio-decorations”.

Referring to sources in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the report says that

the Ministerial Cabinet sent a letter to the heads of the organisational units stating that in a few days’ time Péter Szijjártó would hold a joint press conference with his foreign partner in the conference room, and that the staff of the organizational unit and its departments were hereby cordially invited to the event.

So far, this could even be a nice invitation, in case someone has nothing better to do besides work.

But the letter also stated how many people were expected to attend, and that the managers should send in advance who would be attending the event.

Two staff members also told us what their job was at the time. Nothing more than filling the seats in the 50-60-seat room. It was an important requirement that they had to take their seats half an hour before the start [of the press conference], so that “by the time Szijjártó arrives, everyone should be sitting in silence. And at the end of the press conference, it was forbidden for anyone to stand up until Szijjártó had left the room.”

How the organisational units dealt with the attendance varies. According to one staff member, “there was obviously no question of professional relevance; the departments and secretariats sent the colleagues whose workload on the day in question allowed it the most, and in the most exceptional case, the subordinate responsible for the region/industry was also able to sit in out of healthy professional interest”. In several departments, the procedure was that the managers asked if there was anyone interested in the event, because, for example, the topic was exactly in their field, but they could not pose questions either.

However, there was a permanent fixture at these house parties: Gyula Budai, who was Szijjártó’s ministerial commissioner responsible for the economic protection measures necessitated by the challenges arising from the sanctions. He was a regular participant in the “press conferences”, regardless of the topics.

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Investigation against Szijjarto over his appointment at Chinese EV maker BYD and his ties to Russia

There is also an investigation ongoing in Hungary against Peter Szijjarto after public figure [and former member of the ex-ruling party Fidesz’s Hungarian Civic Union] Istvan Tenyi’s statement about possible bribery.

The reason for this was Szijjártó appointment as senior manager at Chinese car manufacturer BYD. The new Hungarian Prime Minister Peter Magyar suggested that Szijjarto’s appointment at BYD could be a public “thank you” for his assistance in the construction of the automaker’s plant in Szeged when he was a minister. The prosecutor’s office explained that such actions could fall under the article on obtaining an unlawful benefit in the interests of a business organization. If Szijjarto is found guilty, he faces a sentence of imprisonment for up to three years.

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Hungary is investigating the former Hungarian foreign minister’s ties to Russia. Szijjártó has been under scrutiny since recordings leaked earlier this year in which he briefed his Russian counterpart on meetings in the European Union and offered to help ease EU sanctions against Moscow. In a leaked recording of a phone call between Szijjártó and Sergey Lavrov, the Hungarian minister can be heard asking his Russian counterpart for arguments to use at the next meeting of EU foreign ministers. Hungarian Prime Minister Péter Magyar has said that the recordings appear to indicate Szijjártó’s treason.

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