15 years after the Őszöd speech
May 28th, 2021On the 15th anniversary of the ‘Őszöd speech’, a pro-government commentator finds it outrageous that former PM Ferenc Gyurcsány is still active in Hungarian politics – and is even threatening politicians of the current government with imprisonment.
The speech was made by then PM Ferenc Gyurcsány at a closed meeting of Socialist Party MPs at the lakeside resort of Balatonöszöd, soon after the party’s victory in the April 2006 election. Mr Gyurcsány told MPs that the party had lied ‘morning, evening and night’ to win the election. Demonstrations against the government began in September, after an audio recording of the speech was broadcast on Hungarian Radio.
Magyar Hírlap’s Károly Bán looks back on former PM Ferenc Gyurcsány’s 2006 ‘Őszöd speech’, leaked around 15 years ago, and the subsequent violent riots in Budapest. The conservative commentator thinks that 2006 is still not history as Ferenc Gyurcsány is still an active player in Hungarian politics. Bán finds this sad and shameful as he considers Ferenc Gyurcsány personally responsible for the police violence against civilians in October 2006. Bán also claims that in the speech, Ferenc Gyurcsány implicitly admitted electoral fraud in the 2006 election. In light of this, Bán finds it outrageous that Ferenc Gyrucsány is threatening government members with retaliation and even imprisonment if the opposition wins in 2022.