MEP Gyöngyösi: Political marketing or real action? How EU politicans “fight Orbán

As Hungarians, we all feel the damage that Viktor Orbán causes to our country. If you live in Hungary and haven’t turned into a fervent believer of the propaganda over the past decade, you know exactly what I mean. However, if a Hungarian travels in Europe, he immediately becomes a target of questions and accusations. Especially if he’s a politician.

Personally, I find it extremely hard to bear how Hungary is increasingly labelled in the European Union as a traitor and a corrupt servant of Russia’s interest, and it’s all the Orbán regime’s fault.

On the other hand, it is also true that the same European politicians, who keep lashing out at Hungary, had ten years to do something about the Hungarian situation, but all they managed was to use it as an easy-to-sell political product at home.

Let’s be honest, initiatives like “strip the Orbán government of its voting rights” or “suspend Hungary’s presidency of the rotating Council of the EU” are clearly useless beyond the world of social media politics, simply because they are not legal but political means. Contrary to Orbán’s Hungary, the European Union functions on the basis of the rule of law, and not political hysteria.

So, initiatives like these might generate a few extra votes for some politicians in Western Europe, but they benefit Orbán much more, since he can now pose as the defender of the nation once again, claiming that it’s Hungary under attack, not him.

If you want to help him in the next EP elections, so he could send even more representatives to Brussels, just keep going on with these political actions…

And what is the real solution? Adopt measures that would hurt Orbán’s regime but he cannot use them for his own political gains. We know exactly who is who in the Budapest government and in Orbán’s immediate circle. We also know how he and his affiliated businesses could be targeted with specific sanctions. You mustn’t take away the funds and the opportunities from the people of Hungary. Instead, take them away from Orbán and his cronies. You must block them from freely doing business in Europe and using their illegally obtained wealth. You must deprive them of the opportunity to harm Europe in the interest of Russia. 

You must make it clear to him that if he achieves the desired election result through a series of fraud and manipulation, Europe will not accept it.

These would be real measures. The question is: does Europe want to do anything about?

Disclaimer: the sole liability for the opinions stated rests with the author(s). These opinions do not necessarily reflect the official position of the European Parliament.