Orbán had given refuge from prosecution to several political allies from abroad. Most recently, former Polish Justice Minister Zbigniew Ziobro, who fled his country, was granted political asylum in Hungary in January. In his home country, Ziobro is being investigated for, among other things, abuse of power; if convicted, he could face up to 25 years in prison.
Ending this asylum practice is not only a question of fairness, but also of reciprocity, explained Magyar: “We expect the same from other European countries.”
US Vice President JD Vance has expressed disappointment over the defeat of right-wing nationalist Prime Minister Viktor Orbán in the parliamentary elections in Hungary. “I’m sad that he lost,” Vance told US broadcaster Fox News on Monday (local time). “I am sure we will work very well with the next Hungarian head of government,” added Vance, referring to the election winner Péter Magyar.
Orbán received massive support from Washington during the election campaign. Vance even traveled to Hungary last week to campaign for US President Donald Trump’s ally. Despite these efforts, Orbán’s Fidesz party failed to win Sunday’s parliamentary election.
Hungary’s Prime Minister-designate Péter Magyar has accused outgoing Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó of having confidential documents at the Foreign Ministry shredded. “Today at 10 a.m. he appeared at the Foreign Ministry and since then he and his closest aides have been shredding documents related to the sanctions material,” Magyar said at a news conference in Budapest on Monday. He cited insiders from the ministry. There was initially no statement from the Foreign Ministry.
Magyar also explained that there had been indications of the destruction of sensitive documents for days – including in other state institutions.
During the election campaign, Szijjártó came under pressure because of his contacts with Russia. According to research, he is said to have promised support to his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov in order to remove sanctioned people from EU lists. There is also an accusation that he informed Moscow about internal discussions in Brussels.
