Debtors' prison

„Hungarians have long been known for their inventiveness. The definition of a Magyar, the old joke goes, is someone who enters a revolving door behind you but comes out in front. The government now seems to be applying a similar ingenuity to jurisprudence. Government officials and MPs from the ruling right-wing Fidesz party are calling for legal action against three former Socialist prime ministers, Péter Medgyessy, Ferenc Gyurcsány and Gordon Bajnai, for allowing the state debt to spiral from 53% of GDP in 2002 to 80% in 2010. (...)

Most Hungarian commentators see Mr Gyurcsány as Fidesz's real target. In 2006 he admitted, in private, that his government had repeatedly lied to the country about the real state of the economy. His speech—which was recorded and leaked, sparking days of rioting—would doubtless be used by prosecutors. Mr Gyurcsány reacted angrily to the accusation, saying Fidesz was launching a political attack. »This criminalisation action, making it retrospective, raises many questions. I cannot see how it is lawful. This is part of the complicated political game led by Fidesz [to discredit me]«, he told the Financial Times.”