The European Parliament's vote to punish Hungary for flouting democratic standards works in Prime Minister Viktor Orban's favor by letting him pose as a champion of national sovereignty against a remote Brussels elite as EU elections loom next year.
His typically feisty performance before EU lawmakers has boosted Orban's standing among nationalists at home and also among anti-immigrant parties that are expected to increase their presence in the next European Parliament (EP).
And with Hungary's regional allies Poland and the Czech Republic offering to shield it against any EU sanctions, Orban's gamble is likely to pay off - although his Fidesz party may end up having to quit the conservative European People's Party (EPP), currently the largest grouping in the Parliament.
In an unprecedented move on Wednesday, more than two thirds of EP lawmakers voted to sanction Hungary due to concerns over Orban's pressuring of courts, the media and non-government groups and his refusal to take in migrants.
Addressing the EP on Tuesday, Orban made clear he would not abandon his hardline stance on the mostly Muslim migrants who have come to Europe since 2015. He has previously said they pose an existential threat to Christian civilization.
Cheered on by far-right parties, Orban said he rejected "the blackmail, the slander and fraudulent accusations leveled against Hungary and the Hungarian people by the European Parliament's pro-immigration and pro-migrant forces".
Echoing that line on Thursday, the pro-government daily Magyar Idok said: "Pro-immigration forces took revenge with a fraud."
Orban, whose right-wing Fidesz party has governed Hungary since 2010 and was re-elected in April for a third consecutive term on a strongly anti-immigrant platform, is playing a long-term political game in Europe.
"We hope anti-immigration forces could even gain a majority in the European Parliament to be elected in 2019... but at least there will be a strong shift, with the anti-immigration forces gaining ground," Orban's chief of staff Gergely Gulyas told a news conference on Thursday.
Fidesz looks likely to perform well. The latest opinion poll, published by pro-government think-tank Szazadveg, put its support at 36 percent in early September, with nationalist opposition party Jobbik second at 8 percent. As in some other EU countries, the center-left has been largely marginalized.
No comments:
Post a Comment