Hungarian Parliament Confirms Péter Fejes as Prosecutor General

The Hungarian parliament has elected retired career prosecutor Péter Fejes as the country's new prosecutor general for a nine-year term. Fejes secured 139 votes in favour and six against in the 199-member assembly, where Prime Minister Péter Magyar's Tisza party holds a two-thirds majority. Lawmakers from Viktor Orbán's Fidesz party and its alliance partner KDNP boycotted the vote.

The appointment forms part of a push by the new administration to investigate alleged corruption associated with the previous government. Addressing lawmakers after taking his oath, the 65-year-old Fejes stated that his priority is to restore public trust in the institution. He apologised for past decisions and failures to act by the prosecution service, promising that future legal work would remain independent of political pressure.

Fejes takes office following the resignation of Gábor Bálint Nagy in July and the rejection of a previous candidate proposed by President András Baka last month. The current government has established an anti-corruption initiative led by official Anna Unger, which has referred more than 60 cases involving public assets to law enforcement authorities. Unger noted that securing final court verdicts in these matters could take several years.

Several high-profile investigations involving former senior figures have gained momentum in recent weeks. Former central bank governor György Matolcsy was taken into custody last month on charges of economic fraud involving significant financial losses, while international authorities issued an arrest warrant for his son, Adam. Two other former cabinet ministers have remained in custody since September in connection with separate graft inquiries.

Orbán has publicly denied wrongdoing by his former ministers, characterising the investigations as politically driven efforts to weaken his party. Meanwhile, legal representatives representing former officials have urged the new prosecutor general to review earlier cases, including an April operation involving the seizure of assets from a Ukrainian state-owned bank transiting Hungary. Former lead prosecutor Pal Furcht resigned from that inquiry in June, alleging that senior officials had obstructed his work.

Written by Thorben Thiede thorben.thiede@alpineweekly.com