Minister of Human Capacities Zoltán Balog said the German Society for Foreign Policy (DGAP) country analysis on Hungary was both objective and positive. Balog handed presented a copy of the document to Deputy Speaker of the Bundestag Johannes Singhammer (CSU), on Thursday in Berlin.
Balog told Hungarian news agency MTI that the document, entitled “Hungary in the media 2010-2014 – Critical observations on press reports” would be instrumental in improving Hungary’s international image.
“The document includes some critical remarks regarding the rule of law, the separation of power, the independence of the judiciary, electoral legislation, social justice, corruption, anti-Semitism, homelessness and the situation of the Roma – that obviously must be taken into consideration – but it concludes that Hungary, particularly in the German media, is portrayed unilaterally, in a manner that does not conform to either the facts or the truth” – Balog said.
He said the leader of the research was Klaus von Dohnányi (SPD), former Federal Minister for Education and Science.
Balog also said that prior to his visit to Berlin he was in London, were he was received in a very positive manner. He had held talks with three cabinet members who praised Hungary’s economic performance and its results in public employment and Roma integration, he added.
The DGAP analysis concludes that many German and international press reports about Hungary are incomplete, unilateral and sometimes even contain factual errors, thus presenting the readers with a distorted image of the country.
The analysis also states that this distorted image has an influence on German political opinion, whereas “Hungary remains a free and democratic state governed by the rule of law, the press is free from censorship, the institutional independence of the judiciary is a matter of course and the Orbán-government does not support anti-Semitism”.
The recommendations of the analysis, which can also be found on the DGAP homepage, state that the quality of reports about Hungary could be improved if journalists checked the fact more carefully, asked the opinion of independent analysts and if they also asked the opinions of experts rather than just “Hungarian intellectuals who are well-known in Germany”.