Hungarian Prime Minister Péter Magyar has called on the Catholic Church to distance itself from a priest who denounced supporters of his ruling Tisza party, as the government also faces signs of declining support and scrutiny over its anti-corruption drive. Zoltán Osztie described Christians who vote for Tisza as backing a “deeply morally corrupt group” during a September 26 sermon in Feldebrő, a village in northern Hungary. He also said that Tisza supporters did not understand the Gospel and were voting for a group that would destroy the country. The Esztergom-Budapest Archdiocese subsequently said Osztie’s remarks did not reflect its position and warned the priest, according to Hungarian media reports. The dispute comes days after Magyar met Pope Leo XIV at the Vatican and as a 21 Research Centre poll showed support for Tisza falling by nine percentage points since May, while the party retained a substantial lead over Fidesz. Magyar, whose April election victory ended Viktor Orbán’s 16-year rule, has also pursued investigations into alleged corruption under the previous government. His government has already moved against other Orbán-era officeholders. Two former ministers were detained this week in separate corruption investigations. Balázs Hankó, the former culture and innovation minister, was detained after parliament suspended his immunity; Miklós Seszták, a former development minister, was also detained in a separate investigation into alleged bribery linked to state contracts. The cases remain at the pre-trial stage.
