Borvendég Zsuzsanna: Fabulous Spy Games. How international trade networks with the West developed after 1945 - A Magyarságkutató Intézet Kiadványai 24. (Budapest, 2021)
‘THE HUNGARIAN MAFIA’ - The secret man behind the scenes: János Nyerges
FABULOUS SPY GAMES settled in Italy, where in the 1980s he was implicated in the scandal that erupted regarding the P2 Masonic lodge he was a member of. From the point of view of this book, János Nyerges was the more intriguing figure of the two men, I would even go as far to say that Nyerges was one of the most important players in the interest group identified as the ‘foreign trade lobby’. He is likely to have had relations with Communist International already between the wars, and, though hidden behind the scenes, the enormous informal power he wielded to interfere in Hungary’s foreign trade policy remained undiminished after 1945 and throughout the entire socialist period. It was essentially Nyerges who not only shaped and controlled the economic ties with the capitalist West, but was also a decisive player at the negotiating table with the Common Market. From the 1960s, he urged Hungary to open up towards the European Economic Community (EEC), and wanted to coerce western countries to abandon their protectionist policies against Hungary. Nyerges led the negotiations to join the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) along the same lines. Based on the research by Pál Germuska, it is safe to say that, because his expectations were not met, he became an obstacle by the mid-1980s, impeding relations with the Common Market: he believed that only trade agreements complying with GATT were acceptable, and disagreed with the idea that Hungary should make concessions to Brussels.128 128 Germuska 2019. Gyula Horn wrote in his memoirs about the role János Nyerges played in the economic negotiations in the late 1980s: “In addition to the Soviets, top Hungarian leaders in charge of external relations, János Nyerges in particular, did everything they could to torpedo the negotiations [i.e. negotiations with the EEC]. Even in the spring of 1988, these good people’ kept repeating like a mantra that Hungary must foster its relationships with the socialist community.” Horn 1991, p. 142-143 129 János Nyerges’ personal bequest is held by the Budapest Capital Archives (BFL) under reference number BFL XIV. 43. Unfortunately, I was unable to use these documents to present János Nyerges’ life and professional activities because his family did not consent to the research. Information about Nyerges ’ life before 1945 is rather scarce.129 He was born at Christmas in 1918, and was orphaned at a very young age: his father fell victim to the White Terror in 1920. Biographical data do not show what function his father had during the Hungarian Soviet Republic that resulted in him being 52
