Simicska accuses Orbán of informing on him in Communist era

Commentators are predominantly sceptical about the allegation that PM Orbán was recruited by the communist secret services during his military service in 1982.

In an interview with Mandiner, Lajos Simicska said that while they were doing their military service before enrolling at university, Viktor Orbán told him he had to report on him to their superiors and the two of them decided together what he should say. In a new twist in his feud with the Prime Minister, Mr Simicska, the Fidesz tycoon whose companies used to be the biggest winners of public procurement tenders (but are not any more), also insinuated that Orbán might have been recruited by the secret services at the end of his one year military service and that the relevant documents must have disappeared but are surely available in Moscow. In consequence, the Prime Minister may be blackmailed by well-informed Russian authorities, he suspects.

In a front page editorial, Népszabadság writes that Mr Simicska did not prove his allegations but “the doubt will remain”, and doubt is the most formidable enemy the Prime Minister may face, because Fidesz is kept united by faith in its leader.

On HVG online, András Hont does not believe that Viktor  Orbán was an informant, but neither does he think that the whole story was simply concocted by Mr Simicska. He thinks we will never learn the truth.

On Cink, László Szily is “not convinced by Simicska at all”. On the contrary, he believes “allegations about former informants should not be levelled so irresponsibly”. He now has  serious doubts whether Simicska has any strong cards against Mr Orbán up his sleeve.

On Pesti Srácok, former conservative Prime Minister (1993/1994) Péter Boross says Viktor Orbán was selected by the secret services as a potential informant in 1982, but refused to cooperate. Mr Boross saw the relevant documents in 1990 when he served as Cabinet Minister in charge of the secret services and when similar charges were circulating against the then opposition politician. “They turned out to be sheer calumnies”, he says.

In Magyar Hírlap, Zsolt Bayer also refers to now declassified contemporary secret files which prove that the services tried but failed to recruit the young Viktor Orbán. Bayer accuses Simicska of playing into the hands of  “those who would do anything to bring down this government”.

Tags: communism, Orbán, secret services