Hungary minister’s remarks about Roma cleaning train toilets spark outrage

A senior Hungarian minister drew widespread condemnation Friday after suggesting that Roma people should clean toilets on trains, arguing the country has “no migrants” to do the work.

The comments came during a campaign event ahead of the April 12 election, which will test Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s 16-year rule as opposition parties lead in independent polls.

Hungary’s Roma community, the country’s largest minority, makes up about 7% of the population and has long faced discrimination. While Orban promotes a “zero migrant” policy, Hungary has admitted tens of thousands of guest workers in recent years to ease labor shortages.

“So, if there are no migrants and someone has to clean the toilets on the InterCity train -- because Hungarian voters are not particularly keen to clean up after other people's shitty toilets -- then internal reserves have to be tapped. And the internal reserve is the Hungarian Roma community,” Construction and Transport Minister Janos Lazar said Thursday in the western city of Balatonalmadi.

Opposition leader Peter Magyar called on Lazar to “get out of the public life,” accusing him of “crossing every line.”

Roma organizations also condemned the remarks, saying they pushed the minority to the bottom of society.

“It’s outrageous that every time there's an election campaign, the 'gypsy card' is played,” Szilvia Szenasi, head of the anti-discrimination Uccu Foundation, told the Roma Press Centre news site.

Bela Racz, head of the 1Hungary Association, rejected the idea that Roma are a labor “reserve.”

“Look around, Roma people work in construction, as entrepreneurs, intellectuals, and in public works projects,” Racz said, calling on Lazar to apologize and resign.

Lazar later dismissed the criticism in a Facebook post as “typical lib do-goodism,” saying he and the government had done much to promote Roma integration.