PM Orbán plays a double-game
Viktor Orbán is playing a double-game in the international sphere, and is stating falsehoods; to put it point-blank, he is lying to the European Parliament. At a press conference held parallel to the EP debate on Hungary, LMP deputy head of the LMP parliamentary group, Benedek Jávor, reacted by saying that the prime minister “is gambling (…) with the future of Hungarian citizens”.
In his opinion the serious criticisms articulated by the European Parliament are not against Hungary, but against the current government and the prime minister. He added that when articulating its (whose criticism? EP’s? EC? European People’s Party’s?) criticism, the party group of Fidesz, the European People’s Party, refuses to defend the Hungarian cabinet, drawing attention to the importance of European democratic values.
They hope that Viktor Orbán “is willing to play the game accordingly in the future”.He also referred to the fact that due to three laws, an infringement procedure has been started against Hungary on Tuesday. According to Benedek Jávor, this is a sign which shows Europe’s critical opinion of “the results of the Hungarian legislative branch in the past couple of months.” He also noted that the speakers did not merely disagree with the specific laws, but the political intentions behind them as well. “They drew attention to the fact that (…) the current Hungarian government does not believe in the natural process of democracy: that governments come and go, (…) the current administration intends to fix their political objectives, so that future governments cannot change them” – said MP Jávor.
He called the situation where Viktor Orbán showed openness to discuss the criticisms of in the letter of from President José Manuel, while simultaneously playing hardball in the European Parliament, a “double tounged act.” This act impedes Hungary from being taken seriously, and from being able to articulate its interests. “Hungary is not considered partner in debate, Hungary is not considered a democratic player in the international field” – he summarized.
Mr. Benedek Jávor commented that the current situation is not bad for the government, but for the Hungarian citizens, who will notice the effects from the loss of confidence of the Orbán administration in their pockets.
At the same time, the deputy head also called the statements of the prime minister according to which the criticisms only apply to some laws, false. He highlighted that contrary to the statements, the Venice Commission of the Council of Europe has also formed criticisms against the Constitution (or the so called Basic Law).
The laws cannot be discussed in details in a three- or five-minute remark, replied Mr. Jávor to a comment reagarding the accusation that the criticism of the EP are political objections rather than specifics. He added that these criticisms have been sent in writing to the Hungarian government.
