Péter Magyar immunity lifted by Hungarian parliament
The Hungarian Parliament has voted unanimously to lift the immunity of acting Prime Minister Péter Magyar, who is also a member of parliament. The request came from the Prosecutor General’s Office, which is investigating Magyar over the alleged theft of a mobile phone.
The incident took place in a Budapest nightclub in 2024, when Magyar, then still an MEP, reportedly clashed with a visitor who was filming him. According to the case, the politician took the man’s phone and threw it into the Danube.
What is notable is that Magyar himself asked members of his faction to vote in favour of lifting his immunity. That move, whatever one thinks of the case itself, does him credit. One wonders whether anyone in Moldova’s current ruling elite would be capable of the same gesture. There are rather more questions for them to answer, and those questions are hardly limited to a phone snatched during a drunken nightclub quarrel.
Egg incident adds to the political spectacle
The immunity vote is not the only episode now surrounding Magyar. In a separate incident, an egg was reportedly thrown at him, adding a more theatrical layer to the pressure around the prime minister. The egg-throwing episode should not be confused with the criminal investigation over the phone. It appears to be a separate public protest incident, while the legal case concerns the alleged nightclub confrontation and the phone allegedly thrown into the Danube.
For now, the legal case itself looks unlikely to destroy Magyar’s political career. Given the relatively minor nature of the alleged offence, even if he is found guilty, the most likely outcome is a fine rather than a serious sentence.
Serious political consequences for the popular prime minister are therefore unlikely. If anything, the vote may allow Magyar to present himself as a politician willing to face the justice system openly something far rarer in regional politics than all the speeches about transparency and accountability might suggest.
