The Budapest Institute stands by our colleague, András Simonovits, and firmly rejects the false claims spread about him

23/10/2025

The articles published by Magyar Nemzet on September 25 and October 20, followed by reports in Origo, Index, and other pro-government media outlets and statements by politicians, referred to him as an expert of the Tisza Party and attributed false statements to our external collaborator, András Simonovits, regarding the Hungarian pension system. These claims have then been used to attack the Tisza Party — a party of which András is not an expert, much less a responsible leader — and whose published pension proposals contradict what Magyar Nemzet and others allege. This is unacceptable to us.

We believe that Hungary needs many open policy debates on the directions of reform for major areas of welfare such as the pension system. A free and substantive debate, focusing on key issues and bringing together the expertise and views of specialists, leads to better-grounded policy decisions. In the case of the pension system, this is particularly important, as many aspects must be balanced: it must be fair, efficient, and sustainable — and discussion is always timely, since the system must constantly adapt to a changing world.

Therefore, it is essential that highly knowledgeable and independent researchers and public-policy experts — such as András Simonovits — can contribute to public debate without fear or reprisals.