Hungary: will new Asset Recovery Office be effective?
Hungary has created a new top anti-corruption body, the National Asset Recovery and Protection Office (NVVH). Its investigators are tasked with recovering state assets that were misappropriated during the Orbán era and are also empowered to bring legal charges against suspects. Political scientist Anna Róza Unger was selected by the Hungarian parliament from a shortlist of three candidates to lead the new authority.
Voters are not that patient
It could prove difficult to convince the population with rational arguments, Magyar Hang observes:
“During his hearing, Unger stated that it was nonsense to believe that final verdicts would be handed down within six years. However she added that the six-year term would be just long enough to uncover irregularities and bring them to trial. A rational and sensible approach. But is society as sensible and rational after 16 years of the Orbán system? ... Every citizen who voted against Fidesz is expecting the investigations to yield results quickly and the clinking of handcuffs to become a common background noise over the next few months.”
It's the intention that counts
The political elite must take the reforms seriously, Népszava argues:
“That would be the starting point from which any national reconstruction could begin – namely that no one can lay claim to what belongs to others, and that what belongs to the state on paper does not belong to the elites of the day. This could mark the start of a genuine systemic change. Moreover, whether Anna Unger, Nicholas Sárvári or Miklós Ligeti occupies the leading position in the authority is really of secondary importance. What matters is that there should be no unprincipled backroom deal behind it.”