Hungary’s Former Socialist Politician Zuschlag Says Bribed By Socialists In 2006

  • 10 Mar 2014 8:00 AM
Hungary’s Former Socialist Politician Zuschlag Says Bribed By Socialists In 2006
Former Socialist politician János Zuschlag says he was bribed by the Socialist party in 2006 to step down as a parliamentary candidate. On learning that he was planning on running for office again in 2006, the Socialists gave Zuschlag 50 million forints (EUR 161,780) in cash in return for forfeiting his candidacy, Zuschlag, who has spent time behind bars for corruption, told business daily Napi Gazdaság.

The Socialists deny the accusation. Zuschlag was forced to return his mandate in 2004 after making a joke about Holocaust victims at an official event. In 2007, he was given a prison sentence of six years for siphoning off state funds totalling around 75 million forints (EUR 242,000) and channelling them into the Socialist party’s youth organisations.

Zuschlag told the paper that when Ferenc Gyurcsány had been minister for youth, he had known about Zuschlag’s misdeeds. He said that another 50 million forints paid to the court in compensation had been administered by his lawyer.

“The money probably came from a safe at the Socialists’ headquarters,” he said. Referring to the recently disgraced Gábor Simon, he said the same party leaders who “had made a scapegoat out of me without reservations ... are still corrupt to the core”.

Source www.hungarymatters.hu

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