Total political control over Hungary's public media: Orbán's man decided everything
Internal documents show that Attila Várhegyi, a close associate of Viktor Orbán, controlled Hungary's public media editorially and financially. MTVA leadership has filed a criminal complaint.
Várhegyi, the adviser who ran Hungary's public media in place of official directors
Internal documents discovered during an audit of Hungary's former public media operator, the Fund for Media Services and Asset Management (MTVA), reveal systematic political control exercised by Attila Várhegyi, a politician and businessman close to former Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, according to Digi24 citing Daily News Hungary.
The current leadership of operator Duna Médiaszolgáltató announced on Monday that it is filing a complaint with the police regarding alleged illegal editorial management practices from the previous period.
Letters, statements and other internal documents show that Várhegyi, officially employed as an adviser, effectively assumed the institution's management responsibilities. He made decisions regarding editorial content, personnel and financial matters. "In many cases, those responsible for the institution did not even dare to make a decision without his consent," states the operator's official statement.
According to the same document, Várhegyi functioned as a direct link between the government and public media, relaying instructions from ministers and politicians from Fidesz, Orbán's party. "Várhegyi's conduct clearly shows that the public media, which have a legal obligation to be independent from political influence, were in fact under tight political control," the statement emphasises.
The statement identifies both the informal influence exercised by Várhegyi and "the benefits he accepted" as illegal. Among these is a driver made available to public media for several years, whose contract was officially registered as an events organiser "to conceal the truth in official documents".
Várhegyi also organised weekly meetings with the institution's leadership, in which chief executive Dániel Papp and other leaders "informed him even of the smallest matters", consulted him before any decision and acted according to his instructions. From 2023 onwards, Várhegyi received a monthly salary of 3.5 million forints within the institution.
Várhegyi wholly owns the Hollóháza porcelain factory, a Hungarian brand with international distribution, which he acquired in 2020 for a sum of 175 million forints.
Source: Digi24