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_WORLD WATCH______________________________
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Hungary ________________
Campaign involvement charged
Opposition leader sees Church support for regime
Hungary’s Socialist Party, the main opposition party, has lashed out against the Catholic Church for allegedly campaigning for the ruling Fidesz party before national elections in April.
Former Socialist Prime Minister Gyula Horn claimed that Catholic priests were allowing Fidesz candidates to speak to their congregations. Fidesz won a ruling majority with its coalition partners in 1998 elections, displacing the Socialists from power.
Horn has written to the Hungarian bishops’ conference outlining his party’s complaints. Hungary holds a general election on April 7, with a second round on April 21. Two thirds of Hungary’s 10.1 million people are Catholic.