János Lázár

Who is János Lázár?

János Lázár is the Minister of State for the Prime Minister's Office and a member of the Hungarian National Assembly. He was also the mayor of his home town of Hódmezővásárhely since 2002, being re-elected in 2006 and 2010. He is a member of Fidesz.

He became leader of the Fidesz parliamentary group after the 2010 elections, following Tibor Navracsics in this position.

On November 18, 2010 János Lázár criticized strongly the former President of the Constitutional Court of Hungary, László Sólyom in an interview published in Népszabadság

In March 2011 In the recording posted on the internet, Lázár as mayor of Hódmezővásárhely could be heard telling the city council in 2008 that “those people who have nothing are worth just that”. Addressing a press conference, Lázár said, “I would like to apologise to Hungary for my ambiguous and misunderstood statement. I would like to apologise to all who feel hurt by that.”

He said that his remark had not referred to the poor but to those who, instead of succeeding in their profession, embarked on a political career merely with the purpose of making a livelihood and for financial gains. Lázár also said the remarks posted on the internet were parts of a longer speech that were taken out of their original context. The three opposition parties slammed the senior Fidesz official for his remarks.