Gergely Olosz, on the left in a blue suit, standing between two ministers  / Source: Székely Hírmondó

It was less than two months ago that Mikola Gruevski, the former Macedonian prime minister, found refuge in Hungary. Instead of spending two years in jail on corruption charges, he has been having a splendid time in Budapest. His escape, executed with the Orbán government’s active assistance, did further damage to the already well-deserved battered reputation of Hungary’s far-right government.

A somewhat similar though less high-profile case might be underway at the moment. A former member of the Romanian parliament and senate, Gergely Olosz, an RMDSZ (Alliance of Hungarians in Romania) politician representing Covasna precinct (Kovászna megye), failed to present himself to the authorities to begin serving the jail sentence of three years he received for corruption. Certain Romanian papers, including the influential Adevarul, suspect that Olosz escaped to Hungary. The papers don’t provide any hard evidence; they only point to the excellent relationship Olosz has had with both Viktor Orbán and Zsolt Semjén in last ten years or so.

Who is this Gergely Olosz? My hunch is that few people in Hungary have ever heard of him, although he was an important figure in Hungarian-Romanian politics. I’m also certain that few people realize the incredible number of Transylvanian-born Hungarians who hold important positions in Fidesz and the government in Budapest. For example, two of the leading advocates of the Kulturkampf being waged on the pages of Magyar Idők are Transylvanian imports.

Olosz, like many others, spent a large part of his life in Hungary. Over the years he attended a number of Hungarian educational institutions, including the famous Benedictine gymnasium in Pannonhalma, the István Széchenyi University in Győr, and ELTE’s Law School in Budapest. After so many years, most Transylvanian visitors decide to stay in Hungary, but Olosz went back to Romania, where he received another degree at Drăgan European University of Lugoj (Lugos). Thanks to his close relationship with President Traian Băsescu, he became the head of the powerful Autoritatea Națională de Reglementare în domeniul Energiei (ANRE), where he had plenty of opportunity to enrich himself by demanding large sums of money from companies in exchange for favors.

Soon enough Olosz became involved in RMDSZ politics. One ought to know that ever since 2011 RMDSZ has been more or less run from Budapest. In 2011 Béla Markó, who had been chairman of the party for many years, retired from politics, perhaps in part due to Viktor Orbán’s obvious displeasure with his displays of independence from Budapest. Hunor Kelemen, the man who had Markó’s support to be his successor, was therefore suspect in Fidesz circles. Orbán, apparently at Semjén’s suggestion, recommended Olosz as Fidesz’s choice for the job. But the clumsy interference of Fidesz in the internal affairs of RMDSZ backfired, and Olosz ended up with the least number of votes at the crucial congress of the party.

Gergely Olosz’s chief Hungarian supporter was apparently Deputy Prime Minister Zsolt Semjén, whose job includes church and minority affairs. He is a frequent visitor in Transylvania, especially in the Szekler-inhabited region where Olosz lives. Semjén was often Olosz’s house guest, which gave him the perfect opportunity to engage in his pastime, hunting. Rumors were flying by 2012 that the National Anticorruption Directorate was investigating Olosz, yet Semjén was not deterred. He managed to get a seat for him in the senate, which a year later Olosz had to resign.

After many years of investigation and repeated court procedures the conviction became final. On December 21, 2018, Olosz was supposed to appear at the police station to begin serving his three-year sentence. But he failed to show up, and a warrant for his arrest was issued. Since January 3, 2019, he has been sought under an international arrest warrant.

Népszava says that if Olosz is in Hungary he doesn’t need to request asylum because, like many Romanian-Hungarians, he is a dual citizen. If he is in fact in Hungary, Budapest is supposed to extradite him, but that action is unlikely. Attila Markó, another Romanian-Hungarian politician convicted by the same anti-corruption office, has been living in Hungary ever since 2014.

Gergely Olosz, whom a Romanian source described as a political adventurer, is not a favorite of the leaders of RMDSZ. The party leaders have stood by the three other Romanian-Hungarians, including the fugitive Attila Markó, who have been convicted or accused of corruption. But they didn’t move a finger for Olosz.

Népszava spotted Olosz on a photo taken in Zagon/Zágon on November 11, 2018 in the company of Zsolt Semjén and a number of high-ranking Reformed ministers. The occasion was a thanksgiving service celebrating the renovation of the town’s famous baroque Reformed church, built in 1782. An article written about the event in Háromszék, a local paper, lists all the important people who were present. After the service was over, the paper further reported, Zsolt Semjén, who is an ardent Catholic, in the company of Gergely Olasz, also a Catholic, at the invitation of Zágon’s mayor and parish priest visited the Catholic church that had been refurbished a year earlier. Evidently, relations between the two men were still close in late 2018.

Another article that appeared in Daily New Hungary, written about the same event, sheds light on Semjén’s stance regarding Olosz’s guilt. From this article we learn that Semjén, in addition to visiting the Reformed church in Zágon, presented the “For Hungarians Beyond Borders” awards to four Romanian-Hungarian politicians. In his speech he referred to the criminal procedures launched against Hungarian politicians. “What is going on is an intimidation of Hungarians under the pretext of fighting against corruption,” he claimed. Semjén, unlike the RMDSZ politicians, talked about four innocent Hungarians, not three, which must include Gergely Olosz. He promised that “Hungary will never let these people down. They can always rely on Hungary’s support.” Semjén added that Hungary will solicit support for them in all possible international forums. That to my mind means that Olosz’s trip to Hungary was already prepared before the final verdict was announced. It also indicates that he is safe in Hungary.

Source: Hungarian Spectrum