The Hungarian Minister of Construction and Transport, John Lazarushas dem Austrian construction giant Strabag accused of interfering with the Hungarian election campaign a.
Lázár claimed on Facebook on Friday that the Strabag Hungarian opposition party Tisza (respect and freedom) with money and by commissioning opinion polls.
Conflict over construction defects on the M30 motorway
In the background of the allegations is the dispute between the minister and the construction company Construction defects on a section of the M30 between Miskolc and Szikszó. This should have been fixed by the end of October, but has been delayed.
The associated one Closure of the route recently led to a heated debate between the Hungarian Ministry of Buildings and Transport (ÉKM) and Strabag. Minister Lázár threatened the Austrian company extraordinary financial audits and with legal action.
Lázár now accused the company of being the one Tisza-Vorzidense Péter Magyar “more important than the people who want to use the M30 motorway”. The Tisza party denied Lázár’s allegations regarding the financial injections to the Hungarian online portal “Telex.hu” on Friday.
“Tisza is supported legally by tens of thousands of Hungarians,” it said. In contrast to the ruling party Fidesz, TISZA neither government nor foreign support or receive funding from companies.
Parliamentary elections will take place in Hungary next spring. According to surveys, Orbán, who has been in power since 2010, is likely to face a serious challenger for the first time in opposition leader Magyar and his TISZA party.
Lázár: “Strabag soll aus Ungarn verschwinden”
On Facebook the minister further wrote: “I suggest that Strabag and similar greedy, colonialist, liberal companies and oligarchs also prepare for a scenario in which Fidesz wins the elections (2026 parliamentary elections – note).”
Lázár also recommended that Strabag urgently repair the construction defects to stay out of politics and then “disappear” from Hungary.
The main core shareholders of Strabag are the family Haselsteiner, Raiffeisen and Uniqa. The long-time one Strabag Chef Hans-Peter Haselsteiner was also politically active, as a member of the National Council and as a major donor Liberal Forum (LIF) and her successor NEOSwho has been a member of the Austrian federal government since March and, among other things, is the foreign minister.