Inner City Press: Investigative Reporting from the United Nations

Hungary FM Favors Thorning-Schmidt for UNHCR, Wants Sophia More Robust

By Matthew Russell Lee

UNITED NATIONS, September 29 -- When Hungary's foreign minister Péter Szijjártó took questions at the UN, on his country's use of tear gas and barbed wire (but “no rubber bullets,” he pointed out) on asylum seekers, Inner City Press had two questions for him. Video here.

Inner City Press asked for Hungary's view on EU NAVFOR MED off Libya, on which it had been trying to ask the EU's Federica Mogherini (she ended up answering the question an hour later), and if Hungary supports the candidacy to head the UN's refugee agency UNHCR by former Danish Prime Minister Helle Thorning-Schmidt.

    Szijjártó said if anything, Hungary thinks EN NAVFOR MED should be more robust and aggressive, not just doing “research” (Mogherini told Inner City Press it is being re-named Sophia, but that's another story).

   On UNHCR, Szijjártó said it should be a person with a (former) high position. Inner City Press followed up: did that mean Thorning-Schmidt is more favored by Hungary than Grandi (“only” former UNRWA) or Achim Steiner of UNEP? Is Prime Minister high enough?

   Prime Minister is high enough, Szijjártó said, smiling. We'll have more on this - Inner City Press already exclusively reported on the lobbying campaign for Thorning Schmidt, including the UN President of the General Assembly's office. Watch this site.

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