Another criminal proceeding against the businessman often called the "synthetic fertilizer king" is still ongoing with similar charges.Continue reading
Hungary’s 12th wealthiest man, László Bige, has joined the supporters of Péter Márki-Zay’s campaign, donating millions of forints to his cause. The owner of chemical works Nitrogénművek Zrt, often called in the press the ‘fertilizer king,’ says the opposition’s joint candidate for prime minister is the only one “close to his heart” because he represents “not a single party or a group, but the whole country.”
“I’ll give him as much as he asks for,” businessman László Bige said in a recent interview, when asked how much Péter Márki-Zay’s support is worth to him in order to help the change of government.
“He’s the only one close to my heart because he does not represent a single party or a group, but the whole country. This country has never been so divided and never been in such a deep moral crisis as it is today,” he said, adding that he hoped the opposition’s joint candidate for prime minister would be able to restore democracy in Hungary. László Bige also said that “where there is a one-party system where the branches of power are in the same hand and there is no free press, there is no control over the government, and it is not called democracy, but a dictatorship.”
Bige has long been a regular figure appearing in the news. A few weeks ago his company received a record-high fine from the Hungarian Competition Authority for cartel activities. Meanwhile, he is also the subject of several criminal proceedings. According to the ‘fertilizer king,’ his rival, Sándor Csányi, one of Hungary’s most influential businessmen, is behind the authorities’ accusations with the permission of Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, in order to make him disappear and thus gain control over his business empire.
In a television interview, Bige then revealed that Márki-Zay “asked for some spare change” during the [opposition] primaries,” and when asked how much the sum was, the billionaire said it was a few million forints.
“I offered to support his campaign if he wanted it,” said Bige.
Later, Péter Márki-Zay shared that László Bige had donated five million forints to his campaign. He also said that he welcomes wealthy people’s financial support to his campaign, however, as he put it “they can only give and not ask for [something in return].”
The fertilizer king is not the only one to support Márki-Zay’s campaign
After László Bige, another Hungarian billionaire, Gábor Bojár, the founder of Graphisoft, has also been mentioned as a supporter of Péter Márki-Zay. It was revealed in a podcast when Péter Márki-Zay mentioned Bojár as the creator of his economic policy program for businesses.
Bojár is currently Hungary’s 49th wealthiest person, according to Forbes.
Featured photo by Zsolt Czeglédi/MTI