Ministers sacked from board seats of uni foundations – opposition reactions

The opposition Socialists, Párbeszéd and DK welcomed on Thursday the government’s decision to withdraw ministers from the boards of asset management foundations of universities.

The parties also called for stricter rules on conflict of interest. In reaction to head of the Prime Minister’s Office Gergely Gulyás’s announcement concerning the university foundations made at a government press briefing earlier in the day, Socialist lawmaker István Hiller said the success of talks with the European Union hinged on the decision to withdraw the relevant board members, so the government was left with little choice in the matter. He noted that the Socialists had never supported the transfer of state-run universities to foundations, calling it “an attempt by power holders to occupy” academia. Meanwhile, standards in higher education were not improving, he added.