It is logically impossible that I signed a contract with myself
– explained Nyírbogát mayor Ildikó Rizsák in a video addressed to the town’s residents, in which she discussed her second, third, and fourth jobs, which she holds alongside her municipal mandate. In her view, it is particularly beneficial for the Nyírség settlement that she is both the mayor and the town’s general practitioner, and she also explains how Nyírbogát has saved a significant amount of money by having her also manage the local retirement home and football club. However, as these latter institutions are municipal organisations, she has essentially become her own boss. In addition to all this, Rizsák also serves as the president of a regional organisation responsible for distributing EU funds. To top it off, Rizsák also has her own association that spends said EU funds.
Ildikó Rizsák is the wife of Fidesz MP and former mayor Miklós Simon, and the only general practitioner in Nyírbogát, a town of 3,000 residents. She “inherited” the mayoralty from her husband in 2014 when, due to stricter conflict-of-interest rules, Simon had to choose between Parliament and the town hall. Since then, the couple has become an unavoidable political force in the 6th electoral district of Szabolcs-Szatmár-Bereg County.
Running in the colours of Fidesz-KDNP in the June 2024 local elections, Rizsák won by a significant majority against independent candidate Gábor Tuba, securing her third term as mayor. However, her victory was overshadowed by the fact that Fidesz candidates found themselves in the minority on the municipal council, with a 4–2 split. Even the mayor’s nephew, Róbert Rizsák, who had led the financial committee in previous terms, failed to secure a seat. Nevertheless, the government-aligned majority was ultimately preserved, as
Gábor Tuba – who, despite not winning the mayoralty, did secure a seat on the council — has frequently criticised the Rizsák-Simon duo, both during the campaign and in the months since. In his view, the couple’s efficiency has been unparalleled in building a power base that serves by now not even Fidesz, but specifically the enrichment and empowerment of their own family.
This is not just about the positions they hold. MP Miklós Simon and his wife wield power that extends over the entire region. Ever since I announced my candidacy, my business has been subjected to more official inspections than in my entire life combined. The tax authority, the construction office, the labour office — they have all been here; I’ve lost count.
– Tuba told our newspaper. After Rizsák’s video was posted, the independent politician once again became embroiled in a war of statements with the Simon family.
Initially, it was our newspaper that inquired with the mayor about her additional jobs, but before sending her responses, she published them on her Facebook page. In the video, she claimed that the questions
contained false and malicious insinuations.
Among other things, we wanted to know how Rizsák is able to properly perform multiple full-time jobs alongside managing the municipality, what kind of general practitioner contract she had signed with herself or her family’s business as mayor, and whether she considers her political role incompatible with medical work. We also inquired about how it was possible for her to oversee herself in leadership positions tied to the municipality and how much money from various EU funds had been allocated to the clinic and other family-owned interests.
The mayor denied that the municipality had signed a general practitioner agreement with her family’s limited partnership, even though it is widely known in the town that she operates her practice through Nyír-Medicina 2003 LP. A few years ago, Rizsák even stated in an official CV published on a government website that she was employed by the company. The limited partnership is also listed as a “contracted service provider” in the medical appointment booking system.
In both the video and her response letter, Rizsák argued that she had received her appointment before the regime change from the local council.
My district doctor contract was signed by the local council before the regime change for an indefinite period, so it is logically impossible that I signed a contract with myself after being elected mayor. I am neither the owner nor the leader of any limited partnership or business entity. I do not pay rent for the clinic in our family home
– Rizsák stated.
According to company records, the mayor has indeed not been a leader or even a limited partner in the business for quite some time, and she does not pay rent either. However, she and her husband founded the company in 1996, and in 2005, ownership was transferred to their daughter, Ildikó Simon. Ildikó Simon practices as a doctor in Nyíregyháza, but the limited partnership’s registered headquarters remains the parents’ address in Nyírbogát, as Rizsák’s clinic operates from their family home.
Until the 2022 reform of the asset declaration system, Miklós Simon consistently reported in his parliamentary wealth declarations that Nyír-Medicina provided him with a monthly income of 165,000 forints through rental payments for the used spaces. One of the declarations also revealed that, in addition to the 190-square-metre residential area in the house, the clinic occupies 50 square metres. However, the family has never disclosed the amount of municipal reimbursements.
In response to our questions, Rizsák also claimed that she had never applied for or received EU funds and that the clinic in their family home was renovated using private funds.
Data found on MP Miklós Simon’s website contradicts this claim. The politician compiled lists of grants awarded to settlements in his electoral district to showcase how much funding had arrived during his tenure.
- 15.6 million forints specifically for the development of the clinic,
- twice 3 million forints for the purchase of medical equipment,
- while based on grant searches, Nyír-Medicina received an even larger amount from the EU’s EFOP fund, nearly 150 million forints, under the title of primary healthcare development.
Moreover, the Rizsák family business also received financial support from the local LEADER group. This is particularly interesting, as the organisation – running under the slogan “For a Better Life” –that encompasses twenty settlements in the area, is led by Ildikó Rizsák. Last year, independent MP Ákos Hadházy attempted to assess the activities taking place around Nyírbogát, and concluded that the network created by the mayor and her family was “siphoning off EU funds from this source in an extremely blatant manner”. According to Hadházy’s research, Nyír-Medicina LP. received 14 million from here, too, and at least 200 million was distributed to Rizsák’s LEADER association, as well as to the mayor’s now-deceased sibling, the mayor’s nephew, the nephew’s wife, and the mayor’s son-in-law.
Few locals were able to track these financial distributions, but what caused a major stir was that the
The vehicles were hardly seen in the town, so for a long time, their existence was only a rumour. However, Gábor Tuba recently obtained the project reports and posted them as a comment under the mayor’s video. The comment was deleted, but the mayor’s daughter, Ildikó Simon, eventually admitted to the purchase. She also wrote an open letter to Tuba, claiming that the entrepreneur was attacking the company, which provides care for many people, out of pure malice. She defended the purchase of the vehicles, stating that some patients “live in areas so inaccessible due to terrain conditions that not even ambulances can reach them.”
Rizsák, who earns a gross monthly income of 390,000 HUF along with expense reimbursements as mayor in addition to her salary as a general practitioner, is also entitled to an additional gross 280,000 HUF for leading the municipality’s Unified Social Institution (ESZI).
The ESZI, founded by the municipality, functions simultaneously as a residential care home for the elderly, a daytime care centre for seniors, a provider of social catering services, and a rural caretaker service. The municipality has been unable to find a suitable leader for the institution for a decade, so since 2014, the position of acting director has been continuously held by the mayor.
As the prolonged interregnum could be unlawful due to incompatibility concerns, the matter was reported to the Szabolcs-Szatmár-Bereg County Government Office in December. After a brief deliberation, the government office declared itself not competent to handle the case and passed it on to the notary of Nyírbogát.
The mayor, however, considers it particularly beneficial that she has taken on this leadership role, as well as the socially mandated mayoral position coming with a lower salary, claiming that it results in significant savings.
The positions I hold on a non-full-time basis represent substantial savings for the town. Since 2014, the town has saved nearly 90 million forints
– wrote Rizsák. This calculation did not even include the football club, Bogát 2000 TC, where she serves as president without remuneration.
When asked whether she found it a conflict of interest to approve the financial operations of a club she leads and to decide on its funding, Rizsák responded that the reports and funding decisions were approved not by her, but by the municipal council.
According to the minutes of the previous council’s final meeting last September, the councillors accepted the club’s financial report and funding without much demur.
Everyone could see that after two decades, Bogát 2000 TC has advanced to County League Two. We support the club every year because it cannot cover its expenses on its own. I propose that we grant the club five million forints in funding
– said Ildikó Rizsák. The proposal, supported by Róbert Rizsák as chairman of the financial committee, was then unanimously approved by the councillors.
