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PoliticsHungarian prosecutors raid Fidesz party servers in post-Orbán crackdown
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Hungary's Fidesz party, led by former nationalist leader Viktor Orbán, announced on Tuesday that prosecutors raided its data servers in an unprecedented move since the end of communism in 1990. The raid comes after Prime Minister Peter Magyar's pro-European Tisza party won a two-thirds majority in April elections, ending Orbán's 16-year hardline rule. Magyar's government has swiftly implemented anti-corruption measures and constitutional changes to prevent Orbán from running again. Fidesz has accused the new government of autocratic behavior, a charge previously leveled against Orbán himself. The raid marks a significant escalation in the political transition, as Magyar seeks to dismantle Orbán's lingering influence over the Hungarian state.
Source report
The Fidesz party of Hungary's former nationalist leader Viktor Orbán announced on Tuesday that prosecutors had launched a raid on its data servers. Orbán's party was swept from power in the April elections.
Since ending Orbán's hardline 16-year rule, Prime Minister Peter Magyar's new pro-European conservative government has moved quickly to loosen the former leader's lingering grip on the central European country.
Party Statement
In a statement posted on Facebook, Fidesz said:
"Investigators from the prosecutor's office showed up unannounced at the data centre hosting Fidesz's servers with the intention of seizing the party's entire communications system and databases."
The party claimed that "there has been no precedent for this in Hungary since 1990, the end of communism."
Political Context
Magyar's Tisza party swept the April elections on a promise of "regime change" and a clean break with the Orbán era, winning a two-thirds majority in parliament.
His government has moved swiftly to undo the former leader's grip on the Hungarian state, including by:
- Passing a swathe of anti-corruption measures
- Changing the constitution to effectively bar Orbán from running again
Orbán's Fidesz has consistently decried Magyar's moves as "autocratic"—a charge often levelled against the former nationalist leader during his tenure.
Source
EuractivWestern
Part of this Story
Hungarian prosecutors raid Fidesz party servers as new government targets Orbán's legacy