The highest officials of the European Union must leave and do not deserve a second chance after the European Parliament elections, the Hungarian Prime Minister said on Friday. Viktor Orban.
The nationalist leader faces one of the toughest elections of his 14-year rule. The economy is in recession, his platform with family values at its core is rocked by an abuse scandal, and there’s a political newcomer who threatens to change the status quo.
Despite these challenges, Orban’s Fidesz remains the most popular party in Hungary. But the appearance of a former government insider, Peter Magyara vocal critic of the prime minister, brought additional uncertainty to the elections.
“There are problems in Brussels, big problems. The (EU) leadership has failed,” Orban told supporters in an unusually short 15-minute speech to launch Fidesz’s campaign for the June 6-9 election.
“If you did a bad job during your mandate, put your voters in danger and if they don’t expect anything more from you, you have only one thing left – pick up your things and leave,” Orban said.
Orban said Europe’s economy was in decline and criticized the West’s policy of supporting Ukraine’s war effort against the Russian invasion. He claims that there could be a wider conflict if the EU does not change its approach.
Orban has long been at odds with his EU allies and Washington over a range of issues, including refusing to send arms to Kiev and continuing to maintain economic ties with Moscow from a 2022 invasion of Ukraine by Russian forces.
Budapest is also arguing with the European Commission over judicial reforms, which resulted in the suspension of billions of euros from European funds.
Investigation against the Magyars
As Orban spoke, a new office investigating foreign interference in Hungarian elections opened an investigation into Magyar over suspected foreign funding of his campaigns.
Magyar is canvassing rural areas to drum up support and hopes to capitalize on Hungary’s economic woes and widespread voter disillusionment with other opposition parties that have failed to mount a credible challenge to Orban over multiple election cycles.
“Although the political and economic background is favorable for Magyar’s TISZA party to achieve relatively good results in the European Parliament and local elections, it is nowhere close to surpassing Fidesz,” said Andrius Tursa of the Teneo think tank.
“The ruling party is at 40 to 42 percent in the polls, has a stable and committed voter base and can use huge administrative resources to its advantage,” Tursa said.
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