Orbán’s challenger, Peter Magyar, gained voters’ support in Hungary with his pro-European election campaign. How are Luxembourg’s MEPs reacting to this result?
Sunday’s election result was clear: Hungarians want a change of direction, and they want it with Peter Magyar. The 45-year-old politician was long a member of Orbán’s Fidesz party but founded his own party. Tisza is clearly pro-European and is also a member of the European People’s Party.
Isabel Wiseler-Lima (CSV), MEP and EPP member: “I think he is a partner with whom we will work very well together. I have met him in person in the group, as well as his other Hungarian colleagues, and they are one hundred percent pro-European. So we know that with him we are getting a partner who is pro-Europe and who will no longer be obstructive. He has already said that he will not oppose the loan, the money that is to go to Ukraine. And that is really a very different moment from the one we had before.”
But positive sentiment is not confined to their own ranks, and Peter Magyar will nonetheless now have to prove himself.
Marc Angel (LSAP), MEP: “Now he has to deliver, he knows he has to deliver, because he also knows that the Greens, a socialist party, a liberal party, they did not stand in this election because they understand the system. Orbán had tailored that system so that it is winner takes all, and in order not to stand in the way of a victory, those parties withdrew from this election.”
Even though there is now a predictable partner in Hungary with Peter Magyar, one should bear in mind that the rightward shift in Europe will not be stopped by a single election. As recently as Friday, the German AfD topped the polls for the first time.
Charles Goerens (DP), MEP: “I am enough of a realist to recognise that the danger has not gone away. On the contrary, it is still everywhere, real or potential. And that must give us cause for thought. And what we must particularly think about is that we are now paying the price for 20 years of a standstill on institutional reform. It was simply not possible to ever discuss abolishing unanimity voting. We are now paying a very bitter price for that.”
There is cautious optimism, then. But now is also the time to give the new Hungarian Prime Minister a chance.
Tilly Metz (déi Gréng), MEP: “This will not all change overnight, but I do believe, as I said, that it is a very positive signal, one where the rule of law can now be rebuilt. I am first and foremost happy for the Hungarians to emerge from an autocracy, where the rule of law can now progressively be rebuilt with that two-thirds majority. But I am also glad for civil society. As I said, it is a strong sign of hope.”
Viktor Orbán’s political allies are, of course, from the right. With the change of government, there is now great hope that when it comes to EU policy Hungary can, in the future, pull in the same direction as its partners.
ADR MEP Fernand Kartheiser was not available for an interview due to a trip abroad.
