Peter Magyar's government to declassify Communist-era secret police archives: 'My main task'
Hungary's new government will declassify historical archives of the communist-era secret police, according to the chief of staff of Peter Magyar, the winner of this month's parliamentary elections, who will become prime minister on May 9, Reuters reports.according to News.ro.
Magyar's center-right Tisza party defeated Viktor Orban's Fidesz party on April 12 on promises to put Hungary back on a pro-European path, revive an ailing economy and secure the release of billions of euros in frozen European Union funds.
Balint Ruff, confirmed by Magyar on Wednesday as the prime minister's chief of staff, told the Valasz Online news site that opening the secret police archives would be his “main task”.
“This is a task for historians, but I will be able to make sure that the next government will provide a framework for this, that is, provide the opportunity to do research without political pressure,” said Ruff, a lawyer and political adviser.
Unlike Poland or the Czech Republic, Hungary has never officially revealed the names of secret police collaborators from the communist era, although over the years some names have gradually reached the media.
Individuals can access their own files, but not, for example, materials related to other people, including former informants.
Historian Krisztian Ungvary, a fervent supporter of total transparency, stated in a 2023 lecture that although “the past of public figures is not in the public domain, they will always be vulnerable to blackmail by those who have access to information about their past.”
Ruff said he aims to set up an office to recover billions of forints lost to corruption and will also oversee EU affairs so Magyar can closely monitor efforts to unlock EU funds.
