Spat between ex-spouses in Hungarian politics - or more?
In a long interview with the pro-government private broadcaster TV2, Hungary's former Justice Minister Judit Varga has accused her ex-husband Péter Magyar of verbal and occasionally physical abuse over the course of many years. Not long before the interview Magyar released an audio recording in which Varga said that the government had deliberately destroyed evidence in corruption proceedings. The press is divided on how to react to the allegations.
Varga can't be believed
Writing in Népszava, journalist Zoltán Batka voices doubts after hearing the interview:
“Judit Varga doesn't even try to explain the contradiction in the fact that she used her family relentlessly to advance her political career while being subjected to psychological terror at home. She used sunny publicity photos of her children to show what a wonderful, loving, close-knit family they were. If she was lying through her teeth to advance her career then, why should we believe she's not doing the same now? ... Why does she want to play MeToo now that her estranged husband has levelled serious accusations against her sect [Fidesz]?”
Forget the politics and focus on the accusations
Such accusations must not be swept under the carpet, feminist activist Júlia Bakó writes in Mérce:
“Regardless of the political context of the case, we must take a step back and examine Judit Varga's allegations. ... Because if we drift into victim-blaming because of the personalities involved in an abuse case, we reinforce the very social climate that allows abuse to remain widespread and often hidden in Hungary. Nor can we say that whatever happened was a private matter between the two. Violence against women and domestic violence are not private matters.”