Since its adoption in 2021 the Hungarian Child Protection Act has faced significant criticism from both the domestic and European left. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen recently informed the European Parliament (EP) that this law is the rationale behind Brussels withholding some of the EU funds rightfully due to Hungary. The governing parties are now preparing to further tighten the law, a move that will likely exacerbate tensions with Brussels.

A fierce debate erupted in the Hungarian National Assembly this Monday regarding the child protection law and the clemency scandal, which led to the resignation of former president Katalin Novák. Bence Rétvári, Parliamentary State Secretary of the Ministry of Interior, pointed out that the opposition had not supported several recent amendments aimed at protecting children and increasing penalties for paedophile offenders.

Among these measures he emphasized that individuals involved in serious crimes against children are now prohibited in Hungary from working in roles related to the upbringing and care of children. He also highlighted the introduction of relationship violence as a criminal offence in 2013, which provides protection to many abused family members.

Rétvári recalled that the proposal to establish secret safe houses for the victims of domestic violence in 2015 also did not receive backing from the opposition. Furthermore, in 2016, the opposition rejected efforts to strengthen the child protection referral system and opposed the creation of a paedophile register.

The Left Harbours Paedophiles

It is evident that the political left in Europe and in Hungary are currently prioritizing other agendas over child protection, such as promoting LGBTQ rights and early-age indoctrination. However, this hasn’t always been the case. In 2010, there was an attempt to encourage Member States to take more decisive action collectively against child sexual abusers, but this initiative remained merely a proposal. The question arises: why has there been no substantial progress since then? To find the answer, one must examine the European left, where several politicians have been accused of sexually abusing children.

Arguably one of the most controversial cases is that of Daniel Cohn-Bendit, a politician holding dual French-German nationality who led the Green political group in the European Parliament from 2004 to 2014. Cohn-Bendit rose to prominence as one of the key figures in the 1968 student uprisings in France, but later became known—or rather infamous—for different reasons. Referred to as ‘Red Dany,’ he admitted to (or rather, boasted about) engaging in inappropriate behaviour with children in a 1975 interview with Swiss television. In his book Le Grand Bazar, published the same year, he described encounters where children would initiate age-inappropriate touching, to which he responded.

‘On several occasions, some children would pull down my fly and start fondling me...If they persisted, I would fondle them back.’

Daniel Cohn-Bendit ultimately evaded a potential investigation by disavowing his own words, claiming that the disturbing passages in his book were written as provocations.

As the right-wing Hungarian website Pesti Srácok has recalled, Cohn-Bendit has been critical of Hungary on multiple occasions and maintains a good relationship with Belgian MEP Guy Verhofstadt, who consistently expresses animosity towards Hungary. Cohn-Bendit visited Hungary several times, including at the invitation of then LMP, later Párbeszéd (Dialogue) politician Benedek Jávor.

But it is not only in the EP that we can find left-wing politicians who have been accused of paedophilia. Krzysztof F., a former politician from Donald Tusk’s Civic Platform (PO) party, was on trial for paedophilia, and was convicted of sexually abusing and drugging two children, a 13-year-old boy and a 16-year-old girl. The story is particularly bizarre and disturbing because it involved the children of one of his party colleagues, and the boy committed suicide three years later. Perhaps unsurprisingly, Krzysztof F. was also an LGBTQ rights activist. Law and Justice (PiS) politician and former Education Minister Przemysław Czarnek said of the case:

‘While the PO’s people talk about fighting paedophilia, they are harbouring paedophiles.’

Swedish Centre Party politician Leif Svensson—considered left-wing or liberal in Hungarian terms—portrayed himself in the election campaign as a passionate advocate for education. However, what he did not disclose at the time was that he had been engaging in inappropriate behaviour with underage girls on social media under the alias Leif Candyman, with intentions of a sexual nature. Svensson’s actions were brought to light in 2023 by the paedophile detection organization Dumpen, which revealed that he had also shared explicit images of his genitals.

In the UK, the Paedophile Information Exchange was founded in Edinburgh in October 1974 by two gay campaigners, Michael Hanson and Ian Campbell Dunn. Campbell Dunn was a trade union official and Labour party activist. He was even a local Labour council candidate at one point. The PIE’s notoriety grew in 1982 with the trial of Geoffrey Prime, who was both a KGB spy and a member of PIE and who was sentenced to for 32 years of prison for passing on secrets from his job to the Soviet Union, and for a series of sex attacks on young girls.

The Hungarian left does not lack its own paedophiles either. A former LMP – Hungary's Green Party candidate for local government and subsequently for parliament is currently in custody for allegedly luring a 13-year-old boy away from home and coercing him into engaging in sexual activity.

Stricter Child Protection Needed

Taking all of this into account, it becomes evident that the Child Protection Act is necessary, and it should be even stricter than it currently is. Máté Kocsis, the leader of the Fidesz parliamentary group, stated that 20 amendments would be introduced. It is proposed, among other things, that offences committed against underage never be statute barred, that there be no possibility of release before completing the sentence, and that the Constitution explicitly exclude the possibility of pardons. Additionally, it is proposed that perpetrators of such crimes never again be eligible to obtain a certificate of good conduct.

One thing is almost certain: the left, which has been known to advocate for the rights of paedophiles and paedophile sympathizers, will likely oppose the new child protection law both domestically and in Europe.

Nevertheless, thanks to the Hungarian government’s resolve, these attacks are unlikely to succeed, as demonstrated by past instances. As a result, Hungarian children will benefit from a level of protection that sets a new standard in Europe.

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