Péter Magyar defends appointing brother-in-law as justice minister

Hungary’s incoming Prime Minister Péter Magyar has defended his decision to appoint his brother-in-law, Márton Melléthei-Barna, as Minister of Justice.

He’s been slammed, primarily by figures in the now opposition Fidesz party, which was ousted from government when Magyar’s Tisza won 12 April’s parliamentary elections by a landslide.

“We need to start putting our country back on track, bringing home EU funds, kick-starting the economy and improving public services,” Magyar said in a roughly six-minute video uploaded to social media.

“As well as healing the wounds of the past decades, reuniting the Hungarian nation and of course bringing justice to those who committed the crimes of the past regime.”

Melléthei-Barna’s appointment was announced by Magyar, one of the last two ministers to be appointed, together with Gábor Pósfai, the candidate for Interior Minister.

Melléthei-Barna is a lawyer and a university peer of Hungary’s next prime minister. He was one of the founding 10 members of the Tisza Party when it was formed in 2020 and served as the party’s legal director.

He has also held a number of other positions within the part requiring legal expertise, such as head of various sub-units or serving as party representative, for example on the National Election Committee during the 2024 European Parliament elections.

“The future justice minister’s domestic and international career, high quality work and vision are unquestionable,” Magyar said in the video.

“He has been part of our movement for regime change from the very beginning, shaping and driving our operations and programme…Long after joining our community, he joined his life with that of my sister. For this reason, I naturally consider it particularly important that his work be as public as possible and that all his decisions be transparent.”

Melléthei-Barna is married to Magyar’s sister, Anna Ilona, a fact that “created a serious dilemma for me,” Magyar said.

He acknowledged conerns over a family relationship inside the government governing team are “understandable,” and said his sister would be suspended from the judiciary where she previously worked as a judge.

Resetting relations

Magyar campaigned on a promise to clean-up Hungarian politics and restore the checks and balances which had been gradually eroded by previous Prime Minister Viktor Orbán during his 16 years in power.

He also pledged a reset with the European Union and on Wednesday held a series of high-level meetings with officials in Brussels.

Magyar met European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in their first direct talks since his election victory and the pair discussed steps to unlock billions of euros in EU funding currently frozen over concerns about corruption and rule of law.

Hungary risks losing around €10 billion in post-pandemic funds intended to support its economy unless Magyar secures a deal before an August deadline. Magyar will return to Brussels for an official visit on 25 May, once in office.

Hungary is also the only EU member state still waiting for approval for its large-scale defence plan, known as SAFE, which would be financed through low-interest European loans issued by the European Commission worth about €16 billion.

It is understood that Brussels held back on a decision in anticipation of the general election result.

While promising that “EU funds will soon start arriving in Hungary”, Magyar also said that the cash, which must be accompanied by reforms concerning rule of law, will not come at the expense of Hungary’s national interest.

Earlier this week, Magyar also offered to meet Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to “open a new chapter in bilateral relations” in an about-turn from Orbán’s prickly relations with Kyiv.

Orbán had repeatedly used the central European country’s veto power to stall financial assistance to Ukraine and block the country’s EU membership.

“I am initiating a meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy for early June, symbolically in Berehove, which has a Hungarian majority,” Magyar said in a social media post after meeting the mayor of the Ukrainian city in Budapest.

Hungary’s new government is due to take office on 9 May, which is also observed as Europe Day.

That date commemorates the 9 May 1950 Schuman Declaration, put forward by Robert Schuman, which proposed pooling the French, Italian and West German coal and steel industries and laid the foundation for the European Union.

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