Hungary’s independent media has already won the election

Free media does exist in Hungary, and it’s making its voice heard as the country lurches towards an election that could sweep away 16 years of Viktor Orbán’s rule.

In the build-up to Sunday’s election, which could well see the ousting of Viktor Orbán as prime minister, journalists have revealed secret government plans to send Hungarian soldiers to Chad, attempts to dismantle the opposition Tisza party’s digital infrastructure, and transcripts of embarrassing conversations held between Péter Szijjártó, the Hungarian foreign minister’s phone calls with his Russian counterpart.

“This campaign showed the importance of the free media,” said Martón Kárpáti, the president of the board of Telex, Euractiv’s partner. “If you had only just read or watched the pro-government websites or outlets then you would have no idea about what’s going on in the country,” he said.

Whistleblowers and pressure

On 24 March, the outlet reported an alleged attempt by hackers to infiltrate the Tisza Party’s IT systems by recruiting two staff members, known online as Gundalf and Buddha.

Péter Magyar accused Viktor Orbán of weaponising intelligence services, calling it a “coup” worse than Watergate, and has since appeared with one of the figures at rallies.

The media has been long dominated by Viktor Orbán, whose government has imposed restrictions on the freedom of the press, and whose allies have bought up almost all the traditional media outlets. Orbán’s Fidesz controls a gigantic consortium called KESMA. According to Reporters Without Borders, around 80% of the media is pro-government.

“Since he became prime minister he just didn’t give any interviews to any credible, independent media, when he could have faced … tough questions,” said Telex’s Kárpáti.

Journalist Veronika Munk, formerly of Telex and now at Denník N, said whistleblowers speaking out in independent media is a “new phenomenon”. One such case is Szilveszter Pálinkás, a Hungarian army captain, who told Telex that Orbán’s son Gáspár pushed for a mission to Chad.

Orbán rarely if ever submits himself to the scrutiny of the press, instead opting for the softball studio of Kossuth Rádió, which is part of Hungary’s government-controlled public broadcaster.

Lawmakers, ministers and state officials simply don’t answer journalists’ questions, and getting a question at the weekly government press conference is never guaranteed, she added.

“I wouldn’t say that freedom of press doesn’t exist in Hungary but media pluralism [faces] a quite hostile situation.”

(bw, cs)