With two Orbán-era ministers detained, Magyar's 'Operation Purge' takes shape

Prime Minister Péter Magyar’s “Operation Purge” has entered a new phase with the detention of two former ministers. Holding officials from the Orbán era to account was a central campaign pledge, and Magyar says the drive will now accelerate. Fidesz has denounced the effort as political revenge.

Hungarian prosecutors on Monday detained two former ministers over corruption and abuse-of-office allegations after parliament lifted their immunity.

The detention of Miklós Seszták and Balázs Hankó is a significant development in Prime Minister Péter Magyar’s efforts to hold officials from his predecessor Viktor Orbán’s era to account. The campaign has been dubbed “Operation Purge.”

Magyar, whose Tisza Party won April’s parliamentary election, has accused Orbán of running a “mafia state” that channelled billions of euros in public funds to his business associates. Tisza campaigned on a “Road to Jail” programme, and after forming a government, Magyar announced Operation Purge in June, aimed at dismantling what he described as state capture.

"We are launching Operation Purge, which will close those long decades when Hungary could be held hostage by organised political and economic criminal groups," Magyar told parliament.

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