There are some pretty hard-hitting quotes being attributed to MSZP bad boy János Zuschlag today, the man at the center of the corruption trial it is hoped will bring down much of Hungary’s political elite. The first headline-grabber sounds like an admission of quilt: “It was me they called when they wanted money.” The second Zuschlag soundbite cites 1998 as the top of the slippery slope into the valley of corruption and embezzlement. Unfortunately, juicy as these quotes might sound, there is nothing actually there when you read between the lines. The statements are actually quite far from the detailed confession Hungary is expecting.
First, it is no secret that Zuschlag was in charge of distributing funds to youth groups like the Ifjú Szocialista Mozgalom (Socialist Youth Movement). That was just part of his job, and until that watershed of 1998, he claims to have handed out the money fairly to groups from both parties. So what happened in 1998? Well, there was a seemingly innocent change in the law that stopped handouts being granted directly to political youth movements. This led to the change of tack that got Zuschlag in so much trouble – namely that his political friends and associates started setting up fictional NGOs and asking him (and indirectly former sports minister Ferenc Gyurcsány) for free money. The only problem was that the party gave it to them. In other words, Zuschlag was a victim of legal circumstance taken for a ride by his friends. It looks like being another long and boring court case.
