{"id":1957,"date":"2018-04-06T08:42:12","date_gmt":"2018-04-06T07:42:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/visegradpost.com\/?p=1957"},"modified":"2025-05-26T08:48:41","modified_gmt":"2025-05-26T07:48:41","slug":"peter-marki-zay-my-hope-would-be-for-a-technocrat-government","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/visegradpost.com\/en\/2018\/04\/06\/peter-marki-zay-my-hope-would-be-for-a-technocrat-government\/","title":{"rendered":"P\u00e9ter M\u00e1rki-Zay: \u201cMy hope would be for a technocrat government\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"

Hungary \u2013 P\u00e9ter Marki-Zay: \u201c<\/span>My hope would be for a technocrat government, a managing government, whose primary purpose would be to restore democracy, freedom of the press, the state of law, the market economy, and the commitment to European integration.<\/span>\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

On 25 February, the independent candidate P\u00e9ter M\u00e1rki-Zay, cadre of the private sector who has lived in North America for several years, won the by-elections in H\u00f3dmez\u0151v\u00e1s\u00e1rhely, a Hungarian city of 44,000 inhabitants in the south of the country.<\/span><\/p>\n

Supported by both Jobbik (a former nationalist party that has become a modern centrist one, although still regarded by some as unacceptable) and by liberal left parties and civil society, this newcomer in Hungarian politics created a surprise in Hungary by winning with 57.49% of the\u00a0<\/span>votes the election for the post of mayor in a hitherto impregnable stronghold of Fidesz, Prime Minister Viktor Orb\u00e1n\u2019s ruling party.<\/span><\/p>\n

He impressed by his unexpected success as the figure of the anti-Orb\u00e1n opposition, labeling himself as a conservative but calling to vote on April 8 for the candidates with the most chance to prevail against Fidesz.\u00a0<\/span>All this in co-operation with major figures of liberal-libertarian civil society like M\u00e1rton Guly\u00e1s, whom a senior Fidesz official had described last September as a threat to national security, because of his networks of activists seeking to destabilize the country\u2019s\u00a0<\/span>government.<\/span><\/p>\n

P\u00e9ter M\u00e1rki-Zay has become the leading figure of the sacred union strategy against Fidesz, which does not really seem to take a few days ahead of elections.\u00a0<\/span>However, this 45-year-old man was able to seduce, out of nowhere, many senior cadres of opposition parties.\u00a0<\/span>To the point that more and more voices call to name him as Prime Minister in case of victory against Orb\u00e1n, to form a coalition capable of governing.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Visegr\u00e1d Post had the opportunity to conduct a short interview with this rising and representative figure of the opposition to Viktor Orb\u00e1n.<\/span><\/p>\n

VPost: You are a new figure on the scene of Hungarian national politics. Could you tell us something about your life before politics?<\/em><\/p>\n

P\u00e9ter Marki-Zay:<\/span><\/span><\/strong>\u00a0Yes. So I worked for EDF two times, for a combined period of twelve years. I also worked for Legrand two times, combined for almost five years. So in Hungary I was always working for French multinational companies. In the meantime, I spent five years in Canada and the United States, where I was also working in marketing in an automotive aftermarket company. So I was always working as an economist, marketing manager, customer service, logistics \u2013 in different positions.<\/p>\n

I was contacted by local politicians of Jobbik several times, but previously, I always said no. I am not a Jobbik member or fan. I\u2019m a disappointed Fidesz voter. As such, I cannot fully identify with any of the current opposition parties. But as a disillusioned Fidesz member, I\u2019m very disappointed in . . .<\/p>\n

VPost: Member?<\/em><\/p>\n

P\u00e9ter Marki-Zay:<\/span><\/span><\/strong>\u00a0I was never a member, only a voter. But I was very disappointed with the performance of the Orb\u00e1n government in the last few years. I would say that disappointment started many years ago, but became stronger during the last five to eight years. In the beginning, they were doing many good things. In the last five or six years, not so much. It\u2019s really just about conserving their power. Corruption is bigger than ever before, and corruption is the root problem, but it really led to a limit on the freedom of the press. It also meant curtailing the state of law. So, of course those who are involved in corruption and who are leading the country, it\u2019s not in their interest for the public to find out about these activities, so freedom of the press is very limited, and also they don\u2019t want to go to jail. So of course they don\u2019t want an independent Attorney General who would put them behind bars if any wrongdoing would be proven.<\/p>\n

VPost: You\u2019re mentioning the freedom of the press. I watch Hungarian TV every day, both sides, Echo TV and H\u00edr TV. In my opinion, the media is very biased toward one side, but can we really say that they are limiting their freedom?<\/em><\/p>\n

P\u00e9ter Marki-Zay<\/strong>:<\/span><\/span>\u00a0Yes, you\u2019re right, but unfortunately you also have to take into account how many people are being reached by each media. H\u00edr TV has very wide coverage, which is fortunate, but you also have to take into account that Mr. Simicska will not be able to finance H\u00edr TV for very long. So it\u2019s really the annihilation of any independent source. Also, remember the attacks against RTL, putting an increasing burden on them. It\u2019s kind of a blackmail situation. You are also aware of the local newspapers, regional newspapers, which were all purchased by people associated with Orb\u00e1n and Fidesz. So there are a large number of people in Hungary who have no access to independent media sources.<\/p>\n

Also, media sponsored by state money, loyal to Fidesz, is one problem. The second problem is that public media is not independent. Public media has not invited any opposition politicians for years. Jobbik said this out loud last week. You probably heard about it. So it\u2019s just outrageous that they spread lies through official state-sponsored and state-owned channels, and they don\u2019t even bother inviting opposition opinions on them. There\u2019s a private local radio station here. They did not give me one minute of air time during my campaign. The local TV, sponsored by taxpayer money because it\u2019s owned by the municipality, they didn\u2019t invite me once during my campaign. Just imagine that there\u2019s a mayoral election, and the media doesn\u2019t even invite candidates \u2013 the leading, and eventually the winning, candidates. So that\u2019s why I\u2019m saying that there\u2019s very limited freedom of the press. Technically, you\u2019re right.<\/p>\n

Also, look at what happens with the local radio stations. Every time when their frequency license expires, they award these licenses to companies loyal to Fidesz.<\/p>\n

VPost: All right. You have been elected as Mayor of H\u00f3dmez\u0151v\u00e1s\u00e1rhely, and now you\u2019re suggesting that many people should make a tactical vote in their individual districts. So, for example, in this district you\u2019re supporting Jobbik\u2019s candidate, but if you were in Szeged . . .<\/em><\/p>\n

P\u00e9ter Marki-Zay:<\/span><\/span><\/strong>\u00a0In Szeged, I would support the Socialists, yes.<\/p>\n

VPost: My question is that, according to the Website that you launched, it would be technically possible to prevent Fidesz from getting an absolute majority in the Parliament. But then who would rule the country?<\/em><\/p>\n

P\u00e9ter Marki-Zay<\/strong>:<\/span><\/span>\u00a0My hope would be for a technocrat government, a managing government, whose primary purpose would be to restore democracy, freedom of the press, the state of law, the market economy, and the commitment to European integration. If we can restore these values \u2013 the state of law is the most important. Stopping corruption. Actually taking back some of the wealth that was probably stolen from the state. This is the primary objective of a managing government, and after that, there could be an early election. This managing government wouldn\u2019t have to ask for four years. Even before that, it would be possible to have another general election.<\/p>\n

VPost: But could you see the MPs of Jobbik, DK, LMP, and MSZP supporting a technocratic government?<\/em><\/p>\n

P\u00e9ter Marki-Zay:<\/span><\/span><\/strong>\u00a0Yes. That\u2019s the only way.<\/p>\n

VPost: Do you think they will?<\/em><\/p>\n

P\u00e9ter Marki-Zay:<\/span><\/span><\/strong>\u00a0Well, it\u2019s in their common interest. Otherwise, they will all be suppressed. They have no other option.<\/p>\n

VPost: In case Fidesz wins, what role do you imagine yourself playing?<\/em><\/p>\n

P\u00e9ter Marki-Zay:<\/span><\/span><\/strong>\u00a0First of all, I am the Mayor of H\u00f3dmez\u0151v\u00e1s\u00e1rhely, so as long as I have a job here, which I do, of course I will be performing this job. And secondly, if in this case there is any national movement against dictatorship, against authoritarian rule, against hijacking this country away from Western values and the commitment to the European Union, etcetera, towards dictatorships like Russia or Turkey, I would be participating in any collaboration or cooperation on the opposition\u2019s side. Just as I am doing today, I will always stand up for values against oppression and for the state of law, freedom of the press, and the market economy.<\/p>\n

VPost: Do you define yourself as a conservative?<\/em><\/p>\n

P\u00e9ter Marki-Zay:<\/span><\/span><\/strong>\u00a0Yes.<\/p>\n

VPost: Then what\u2019s your view of the trends in the leadership of the European Union regarding migration, gay marriage, and such things? Because you say you want to go back to European values, which in your opinion Fidesz is stepping away from. But then what\u2019s your view of the values which are nowadays represented in Brussels?<\/em><\/p>\n

P\u00e9ter Marki-Zay:<\/span><\/span><\/strong>\u00a0Well, first of all, let\u2019s state that when I\u2019m speaking about democracy, it means that everybody, including gay people, has democratic rights. So I don\u2019t see the point of your question. I have my values as a conservative, as a Christian, etcetera, but I believe in democracy, I believe in the state of law, I believe in the market economy, and European integration, which means that everybody in this European Union has the right to represent their interests, views, laws, etcetera. In the end, I\u2019m committed to the idea that five hundred million people should decide the future of Europe. Not twenty-eight people.<\/p>\n

VPost: But that\u2019s the way it\u2019s organized now.<\/em><\/p>\n

P\u00e9ter Marki-Zay:<\/span><\/span><\/strong>\u00a0And that\u2019s wrong.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Hungary \u2013 P\u00e9ter Marki-Zay: \u201cMy hope would be for a technocrat government, a managing government, whose primary purpose would be to restore democracy, freedom of the press, the state of law, the market economy, and the commitment to European integration.\u201d On 25 February, the independent candidate P\u00e9ter M\u00e1rki-Zay, cadre of the private sector who has<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":1958,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[23],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1957","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/visegradpost.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1957","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/visegradpost.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/visegradpost.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/visegradpost.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/visegradpost.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1957"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/visegradpost.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1957\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/visegradpost.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1958"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/visegradpost.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1957"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/visegradpost.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1957"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/visegradpost.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1957"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}