In the past few days, Katalin Novák, the President, and Judit Varga, the former Minister of Justice, who was supposed to be the lead candidate for Fidesz in the European Parliamentary elections on June 9, both resigned. Katalin Novák was forced to resign because she granted clemency to an accomplice of a pedophile, and Judit Varga resigned because, as Minister of Justice, she co-signed this clemency request. The dual resignations, along with the revelations made by Varga Judit's ex-husband about the exposure of the system, have resulted in a real public scandal that continues to unfold, often going beyond the specifics of the case.
Bálint Magyar, a sociologist, analyzed the operation of the Orbán governments at the systemic level in his 2015 book, "The Anatomy of the Hungarian Mafia State." He pointed out that while the organized crime or "mafia state" was in an embryonic state during Fidesz's first term (1998-2002), it has now become a system-forming element, with the state functioning as a criminal organization. After 2010, the Orbán governments built a power structure similar to that of Central Asia and Russia by occupying state institutions and consolidating control over civil organizations, media, and social media. This network organized around a political family gained a monopoly on power and operates a mafia state. Unlike a liberal democracy, where political, economic, and community actions are separated and operate based on transparent rules, in Hungary, these elements are intertwined, and their relationship is not transparent. The goal of the state's operation here is no longer to establish the common good but to represent private interests.
The details of the ongoing clemency case reveal the connections in the operation of the mafia state. We discuss these with our guest, Bálint Magyar.
In the interview, we refer multiple times to the KZfaq channel named "Partizán," where the conversation with Magyar Péter, the ex-husband of Judit Varga, the former Minister of Justice, was published on February 11, 2024. This conversation can be accessed at the following link: • EXKLUZÍV: Varga Judit ...
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