Orban is protecting Ziobro so that he himself has a place to escape when he loses power?

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban provides shelter in his country to politicians suspected of corruption and abuse of power, such as former Polish Minister of Justice Zbigniew Ziobro, writes on Tuesday a columnist for the German daily “Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung”.

“Zbigniew Ziobro is apparently looking for refuge in Hungary,” says Stephan Loewenstein in a comment published on Tuesday on the FAZ website.

The commentator explains that the Polish prosecutor's office accuses the politician of various crimes – “from embezzlement to participation in a criminal group.”

He is currently unavailable to the justice system, which he previously headed, the author emphasized.

Referring to Ziobro's statement that he will inform at a later date whether he will stay in Budapest, Loewenstein writes that treating the law “according to one's own whim” says a lot about the way Ziobro exercised his office, “regardless of criminal charges against him”.

“Ziobro is not the first European politician who escaped the domestic justice system thanks to his stay in Hungary,” writes Loewenstein.

Last year, Ziobro's deputy, Marcin Romanowski, was granted political asylum in Hungary, accused of the same crimes, the author recalled, noting that it was asylum granted in an EU country protecting against prosecution in another EU country.

Previously, former Macedonian Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski, who was convicted of corruption in his country, was granted asylum in Hungary.

“Viktor Orban, a strong man in Budapest, protects people he considers his political allies when they are accused of corruption and abuse of power. Does he think about what may await him when he loses power?” – the FAZ commentator concludes.

Jacek Lepiarz (PAP)

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