The daily "Magyar Nemzet," which supports the opposition FIDESZ, on 18 June published a front-page story claiming that Prime Minister Peter Medgyessy worked as a secret agent for the communist Interior Ministry before being admitted to the university.

The daily says Medgyessy was recruited as an agent on 1 January 1961 and that his code number was D-209. According to "Magyar Nemzet," after completing his studies in economics, Medgyessy worked for the Finance Ministry, but drew salaries from both ministries. The daily says that the Socialist Party leadership had a heated debate over Medgyessy's past before deciding to nominate him as the party's prime-ministerial candidate.

Meanwhile, Medgyessy's personal assets statement, released to the public on 17 June, shows that he is the richest of the four prime ministers that Hungary has had since the end of communist rule. Medgyessy declared assets worth more than 200 million forints ($777,635).

(RFE/RL 18.vi.02)