Opposition daily does not take up Péter Magyar’s defence

The weeklies went to print before former Justice Minister Judit Varga, in a 145-minute-long video interview, depicted her marriage as 16 years of regular emotional abuse. The left-wing nationwide print daily carries four commentaries on the issue. None question the veracity of Ms Varga’s claims.

In a first comment on Ms Varga’s interview last Thursday, political analyst Gábor Török said the future of Mr Magyar’s campaign against the government will hinge largely on whether the opposition-leaning media would give credence to her story. (See BudaPost, March 29)

In Népszava, Zoltán Batka likens Ms Varga’s long diatribe against her husband to the ‘dissociation statements’ sect members are forced to make on those who turn against their community. However, he writes, he ‘has no clue’ whether Ms Varga was a victim, or if Mr Magyar, who accuses the government of institutionalised corruption is a narcissistic emotional offender.

In another Népszava comment, Zsófia Frank believes Ms Varga’s performance dragged her former husband and the whole family into the deepest swamps of the tabloid media. Meanwhile, she remarks, it is up to the public to decide for themselves how much of what she said was true.

Editor-in-chief Péter Németh writes on the same issue, that the hanging out of one’s dirty laundry is a very bad stage in any relationship which has turned sour, regardless of which party is more at fault.

Finally, former MSZP chair Ildikó Lendvai describes Ms Varga’s appearance on You Tube as a counter-offensive by Fidesz, aimed at discrediting their new critic as a psychopath. He may be one, she concedes, but she questions whether even that would invalidate his claims against the government.

Tags: Judit Varga, Péter Magyar