Government Spokesperson Zoltán Kovács finds it interesting that Transparency International (TI) had no major remarks before 2010, during the period of the Gyurcsány and Bajnai Governments when there were fundamental problems with the utilisation of public funds.

The Government Spokesperson spoke to the Hungarian news agency MTI in response to the fact that Transparency International presented its report on Wednesday, which claims that Hungary occupies the 57th position in the world rankings compiled on the basis of the organisation’s Corruption Perceptions Index.

According to Mr Kovács, it is “interesting” that Transparency International made no such remarks before 2010 and ranked the country higher on the list at the time, despite the fact that “EU funds were embezzled in a free-for-all fashion” during the period of left-wing governance, there were enormous problems with the utilisation of public funds, and economic growth declined. During this period, there were a number of signs that indicated that there are fundamental problems with the management of public funds, yet, no such criticisms were levelled, he added.

At the same time, he stressed: a new trend has evolved in recent years as the civic government manages funds in a responsible manner. Thanks to the disciplined management of funds, Hungary has been removed from the excessive deficit procedure, and the long-term course of growth has permitted the utilisation of funds for a variety of purposes: it serves as the basis for the introduction of the career models and pay rises, among other things.

“It is minimum strange to accuse Hungary that there is a problem with corruption here now, during the Orbán Government”, he said.

He added: the indicators and results released by the European Union show that there is no indication, based on which there is greater cause for concern in Hungary in the context of corruption.

The Government Spokesperson stressed at the same time: the Government is committed to the fight against corruption, and there is zero tolerance in this respect.

(MTI)