Orban’s tough trip to European Parliament exacerbated his isolation

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s trip to Strasbourg for the European Parliament session turned out to be nerve-wracking and turned into a protracted political battle in which he suffered a defeat.

Thus, the debate in the European Parliament not only confirmed the isolation of Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban in the EU but turned him into a persona non grata for the majority of MEPs. The conflict has gone even further.

Orban’s tense relations with the EU

Viktor Orban’s relations with the European Union have been tense for many years, but they have become increasingly complicated over time.

The longtime Hungarian prime minister is used to blackmailing the EU, and the war in Ukraine has become a convenient tool for him. At the same time, government propaganda in Hungary consistently demonizes the EU and blames it for all the country’s problems.

Let’s recall how the EU managed to overcome Viktor Orban’s blackmail on Ukraine aid and agreed to a €50 billion package for Kyiv in January 2023. A robust and united position among EU member states convinced the Hungarian prime minister to end his “blackmail,” according to European prime ministers.

On a personal level, Orban has long-standing disputes with a number of Western European officials. But the biggest critics of the Hungarian authoritarian state are still MEPs.

Orban came to Strasbourg because the EU has a tradition that the prime minister of the EU presidency reports to MEPs on his program every six months.

The beginning of the visit was inspiring. Following an overcrowded press conference in the EP building and a meeting with far-right MEPs who were friendly to him, Orban even posted about his admiration for the successful visit.

During the speech, Orban said that “Ukraine cannot win on the battlefield,” adding that it is in the interest of the European Union to establish closer ties with Russia to negotiate a ceasefire.

Acknowledging the differences in views on the war with most EU member states, the Hungarian prime minister insists that “most Europeans want peace, while EU leaders favor continuing the conflict.”

“The majority want a ceasefire and negotiations. When I mentioned peace in the EU, a ceasefire, and negotiations, they said I was Putin’s Trojan horse,” Orban said.

Orban interrupted by an opposition activist

A member of the Hungarian opposition interrupted his press conference by hurling counterfeit banknotes at him and accusing him of selling out the country to Russian leader Vladimir Putin. The protester called Orban a “traitor.”.

The incident at the press conference occurred when a man who ran up to the prime minister’s desk threw counterfeit money and shouted, “For how much did you betray the country, Mr. Prime Minister?”

The security guards quickly grabbed him and took him out of the room. However, the protester persisted in accusing Orban of “selling the country to Putin and Xi Jinping”.

Later, it became known that the offender was Marton Gekicki, a member of the youth organization of the Hungarian opposition party Democratic Coalition. Party leader Ferenc Gyurcsany supported Gekicki’s actions, stating that his party has always viewed Orban’s government as traitors.

Hostile reception in the European Parliament

Upon entering the plenary hall of the European Parliament, he was met with a hostile reception. The European Parliament has greeted no other political leader with such hostility.

However, the guest’s opening speech did not contain any direct insults to the EU or anything like that, and it was even atypical for the Hungarian prime minister.

However, Orban’s speech was full of manipulations. Moreover, he made no mention of Ukraine and the Russian war, but he did talk about EU enlargement.

After the Hungarian prime minister, the floor was given to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen; according to procedure, their speeches should have been linked and aligned. After all, the presidency and the European Commission together govern the European Union and should closely cooperate and coordinate.

However, in Orban’s case, this is not the case. It is difficult to recall such a harsh criticism of the current leader of the EU state from the current President of the European Commission.

Escalation of the conflict between Orban and von der Leyen

In his response, Orban has escalated the conflict with the European Commission President, since the latter has become open and undisguised. In particular, he blamed Ursula von der Leyen for part of the responsibility for the so-called “Ukrainian defeat.”

Orban obviously realized that such statements were a path to isolation. Therefore, the subsequent course of the debate can be described by the phrase “everyone but the far right is against Orban.” 

The President of the European Commission commented on the July visit of the Hungarian prime minister to Moscow, saying: “There are still some who blame for the war those who were invaded, not the invaders.”

After his return to Budapest, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban called the debate in the European Parliament an “attempted crucifixion” by the European Union.

“Those who came to the debate wanted our blood and did not want a meaningful debate at all, but imagined a political defeat and attacked us,” Orban said in an interview with Hungarian state radio, in which he criticized European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.

In this context, Orbán’s visit to Strasbourg was a failure, with no dialogue with MEPs established and his isolation only intensifying.