The Hungarian Liberal Party (MLP) expects public television to provide objective news coverage, Gábor Fodor, the party’s leader, told the press on Monday. He said his party would move to have the public media budget cut.

The 2015 budget for MTVA was approved by parliament last November at 80.4 billion forints (EUR 263.9m). The public-service media should not “toe the party line” but provide a public service, Fodor said.

Referring to businessman Lajos Simicska’s recent comments declaring a “media war” on ruling Fidesz and Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, he said the channel is “enormously well-funded” and operates “basically out of revenge,” insisting that a media loyal to the government had been established to counterbalance “Simicska’s empire”.

The leftist opposition Democratic Coalition (DK) said the public media in its current form should be eliminated altogether and the money spent on something more useful, the party’s deputy leader László Varju said. Varju said the new television does not even pay lip-service to its public service remit since live broadcasts of parliament’s sessions have been taken off air.

The opposition Dialogue for Hungary (PM) said Sunday’s launch of the new public television channel “leaves no doubt” that funding for public media should be cut. Dialogue for Hungary co-leader Tímea Szabó said she had submitted a proposal to parliament to halve the public media budget and spend the freed amount on providing free meals for children during school holidays.

Source www.hungarymatters.hu

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