Scandal in Slovakia Over Statement on Orbán's Actions Regarding Migrants — Aktuality
A political uproar has erupted in Slovakia following a statement by the winner of the Hungarian elections regarding Viktor Orbán’s possible actions. The statement referred to allegedly directing migrants toward the border in order to “play into the hands” of Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico. The opposition is demanding an official explanation.
This was reported by Aktuality.
The scandal was sparked by a remark made by Péter Magyar in a speech in which he outlined his government’s migration policy.
"We will not dump migrants at the Slovak border when it suits our Slovak comrade during the election campaign," he said, hinting that this had happened under Orbán’s rule.
MP Jaroslav Špíšak of the opposition “Progressive Slovakia” party stated that Mádyar’s statement lifts the veil on what was behind the “rapid halt” of illegal migration after the Fico government came to power.
“(Interior Minister) Matúš Šutaj-Ešták constantly repeats how he allegedly stopped illegal migration (...) by bringing equipment to the border with Hungary that ‘scared off’ all migrants and smugglers in a matter of hours… But it turns out that all of this was a ploy by Orbán that jeopardized our security. Because Fico had to win at any cost," the MP stated.
The leader of the opposition “Democrats,” an extra-parliamentary party, Jaroslav Nád, stated that Fico must immediately provide an explanation to the public regarding what Magyar said, and if it turns out that Fico colluded with Orbán to “manually control” the migration crisis and score political points—this is an unprecedented situation that warrants a referral to the prosecutor’s office.
Igor Matovič’s opposition party, OĽaNO, is also calling for an investigation into whether the migration crisis on the border with Hungary was a mere coincidence.
The Slovak Ministry of the Interior stated that the Slovak opposition is now seizing on Magyar’s statement in an attempt to “hide its own incompetence and mistakes” during its time in power—pointing out that a record 60,000 migrants entered Slovakia in 2022–2023.
"Unlike them, the current government has taken strict measures against illegal migration from the very first days, tolerating nothing and sending a clear signal that Slovakia is no longer a safe transit route. And the result is nearly zero illegal migration along the Western Balkans route," the ministry spokesperson said.
Orbán will not attend the EU summit, where he was expected to be questioned about his ties to Russia.
At the EU summit, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen planned to raise the issue of Orbán’s ties with Moscow.
As a reminder, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán acknowledged the defeat of his Fidesz party in his first public address following the parliamentary elections.
