In Kisvarda, Hungary, a sense of hope has emerged following the judicial decision to keep former National Development Minister Miklos Sesztak in prison. On Wednesday evening, October 28, it was confirmed that Sesztak will remain detained until at least January 30, 2027. The official, who served from 2014 to 2018 and was placed in pretrial detention on September 30, is suspected of accepting bribes in three public procurement cases. His case has become a symbol of the anti-corruption efforts led by the current government of Prime Minister Peter Magyar.
Magyar, a center-right leader, assumed power in May after sixteen years of rule by nationalist Viktor Orban. The detention of Sesztak represents a historic precedent, as no minister has been imprisoned in Hungary since the fall of the communist regime in 1989. This legal action follows the arrests of former Culture Minister Balazs Hanko, who served from 2024 to 2026, and former Central Bank Governor Gyorgy Matolcsy, who held office between 2013 and 2025.
Sandor Lederer, founder of the anti-corruption NGO K-Monitor, notes that these arrests have given many Hungarians the impression that new authorities are finally addressing a dossier that generates strong public expectation. Lederer explains that Magyar's promise to fight corruption helped unify a diverse electorate by convincing voters he would remove a power structure they no longer desired. Many citizens felt that while friends of Orban's Fidesz party were enriching themselves, the country was becoming poorer, making any perceived weakness in this area unacceptable to the public.
Sources: Le Monde International.