Hungarian opposition leader Peter Magyar accused the government of Prime Minister Viktor Orbán of systematically and illegally spying on him, his employees and the headquarters of his TISA party, DPA reported, quoted by BTA.
"Intelligence officers who serve their country, not a mafia government, confided in me that my apartment, our offices and our cars have been bugged for months," he said at a press conference in Budapest yesterday.
Magyar called on Interior Minister Sándor Pinter to send experts to remove the listening devices and clarify who ordered and authorized the illegal surveillance. As a member of the European Parliament (EP), Magyar enjoys immunity, making alleged secret service measures against him even more dubious, he argued, denouncing what he called "Hungarian Watergate", comparing it to the wiretapping scandal, led to the resignation of then US President Richard Nixon in 1974.
Orbán's opponent and contender only became known to the general public in February, when he broke with the prime minister's Fidesz party. Magyar is the ex-husband of Justice Minister Judith Varga, from whom he gained deep knowledge of the workings of Orbán's system. He founded his TISA party, which after its debut in the European elections in June won almost 30% of the vote.
In the latest polls, Magyar's party is ahead of the ruling party for the first time. "There is panic in the Carmelite monastery,", Magyar said at the press conference, referring to the monastery in Buda Castle, where Orbán's government seat is located.
The opposition leader also said that Orbán's powerful chief of staff, Antal Rogan, is planning a smear campaign against him that will use artificial intelligence (AI) to attribute false claims to him.
The Hungarian government has denied the allegations. "Someone watched too many spy thrillers out of boredom," a government spokeswoman wrote on her Facebook page.
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Source: www.bta.bg