"A few hundred thousand people die, a few dozen cities are bombed, there will be a massive drop in the standard of living, and then sobriety will return. Unfortunately, I believe we need to go through a cleansing again," remarked agricultural economist Gyorgy Rasko on his social media page.
The advisor to the Tisza Party bases his shocking statements on the notion that the right-wing is gaining strength in both Germany and Austria. In light of this, he opined that "Weimar conditions are beginning to take shape in Europe."
As previously reported by Magyar Nemzet, back in October last year, Peter Magyar managed to enlist the support of Rasko, a "green baron" who became wealthy through the wave of privatizations. The businessman, who joined Hungary's Antall government in the 1990s after working in conjunction with the World Bank,
is best known for selling a conglomerate of oilseed production factories to foreign owners.
Shady business dealings continued under socialist governments, with Rasko acquiring the state-owned Komarom agricultural company at a below-market price in the 2000s.
Frequent Insults Toward the Elderly
During the 2010s, the "green baron" funded the opposition Momentum party and later backed PM candidate Peter Marki-Zay. From there, his path led to the Tisza Party. Notably, as an official Marki-Zay supporter, Rasko took to insulting millions of Hungarians. During the parliamentary election campaign, he posted on social media:
What is a typical Fidesz voter like? A woman over 65, with at most an elementary school education, living in a village, and receives a low income or a pension.
Within a month of joining the Tisza Party, Rasko caused such a scandal that Peter Magyar was forced to do some explaining regarding this comment, too, on top of whitewashing some of his other murky issues. The former MDF (Hungarian Democratic Forum) MP Gyorgy Rasko wrote in a post again about Fidesz voters:
It is to the benefit of the Tisza Party that many members of the elderly age group, to the tune of hundreds of thousands, will no longer be around to vote by the next election.
Although the post was quickly removed, it caused such an uproar that a survey conducted on the matter revealed that Hungarian pensioners strongly condemn the use of human life expectancy as a topic for political speculation or election calculations.
Peter Magyar forced on the defensive
Following the controversy, Peter Magyar claimed that Gyorgy Rasko was neither a candidate nor a member of the Tisza Party, but had once been part of Fidesz. He alleged that Rasko had been elected MP as a joint candidate of MDF, Fidesz, and the Smallholders' Party, and had worked for Viktor Orban until 2000.
However, this claim is false; the Tisza Party chairman misrepresented the facts again. Gyorgy Rasko was never a Fidesz candidate.
Mandiner pointed out that there is significant evidence of an alliance between the Tisza Party and Rasko. The agricultural expert had appeared in a video alongside Peter Magyar, where he detailed the problems of Hungarian agriculture.
In October, Rasko himself stated on Klubradio that he was one of the people helping to select the Tisza Party’s future representatives and policy experts. He claimed that the selection process was being supported by competent HR professionals, and that he also had a role in the casting.
Tamas Menczer, the majority government party communications director also remarked on the recording, stating, "In the Tisza Party, they are waiting for the deaths of pensioners. There are no words for this."
