Civil Unity Forum denies spending Magyar Villamos Művek donation on Gyurcsány-Vona posters

The pro-government Civil Unity Forum (CÖF) on Monday denied that it had spent money received from state-owned energy company Magyar Villamos Művek (MVM) on a poster campaign depicting opposition leaders Ferenc Gyurcsány and Gábor Vona.

CÖF reacted to radical nationalist Jobbik lawmaker István Szávay’s Sunday statement that Jobbik had filed a report against an unidentified individual with the Budapest police after MVM failed to reveal why it had donated 508 million forints (EUR 1.6m) to CÖF last year even though the head of the data protection authority had instructed it to do so. Szávay said MVM’s silence on the matter further heightened suspicions that CÖF had used the monies to pay for a “clown billboard campaign” aiming to discredit Jobbik and “bunch together” Jobbik head Vona with the opposition Democratic Coalition leader.