András István Demeter
The resignation came amid pressure from the leadership of the Democratic Union of Hungarians of Romania (UDMR), Romaniajournal reported. Party leader Kelemen Hunor publicly called on the minister to resign. This demand was also supported by UDMR spokesman Csoma Botond. Later, the government confirmed that Prime Minister Ilie Bolhogan accepted the minister’s resignation.
The trigger for the political crisis was a recording published by 2mnews.ro on May 25. In the audio, Demeter is alleged to have uttered the phrase “I don’t care about national interests because I am Hungarian” during a discussion with ministry officials in 2012.
The minister himself said the recording was taken out of context. In comments to the press, he initially did not explicitly confirm the authorship of the statements, noting that he did not remember such words and that they could have been “anecdotal” in nature. In correspondence with journalists via WhatsApp, he also said that he was ready to resign if an official verification confirmed the authenticity of the recording.
Additional context comes from Demeter’s work on Radio România’s board of directors in 2011-2012, when the state-owned company acquired Radio Chișinău. Around the deal, interests from Russian entities have reportedly previously arisen.
Later, the prosecutor’s office at Romania’s Supreme Court of Cassation launched an investigation into the circumstances of the transaction and questioned members of Radio România’s management. In this context, Demeter’s controversial remarks were allegedly made against the background of criticizing the investigation and discussing the feasibility of acquiring the station.
The scandal quickly turned into a political crisis within the ruling coalition, effectively depriving the minister of political support and hastening his departure.
