Internal letters, statements and other documents uncovered during a review of the then operator, the Media Services and Asset Management Fund (MTVA), reveal details of the political surveillance of the public media and the role played by Attila Várhegyi, a Fidesz-linked politician and businessman, in directing the organization, Daily News Hungary reports.

According to the statement, the public media was effectively managed by Mr. Várhegyi, who had been contracted as an advisor. He assumed the powers of media executives, making decisions on content, staffing and financial matters. “In many cases, those in charge of the institution did not even dare to make a decision without his consent,” it said.

The statement also suggested that Várhegyi acted as a link between the political leadership and the public media, conveying the wishes of government ministers and Fidesz politicians.

“Várhegyi’s conduct clearly shows that the public media, which is legally required to be independent of political influence, was in fact under close political control,” the statement said.

According to the statement, not only was Várhegyi’s informal influence unlawful, but so were “the benefits he accepted”.

For years, for example, the public media provided him with a driver, who was employed as an event organizer “to conceal the truth in official documents”.

Várhegyi also held weekly meetings with public media executives, at which “director general Dániel Papp and other leaders informed him about even the smallest matters”, consulted him on planned decisions and acted on his instructions, the statement said.

The document added that Várhegyi had received a monthly salary of HUF 3.5 million since 2023.