The Prime Minister of Hungary, Viktor Orban, withdrew the parties from the centre-right organization of the European Parliament in a move aimed at expelling them from the country’s democratic retreat.
Brussels-For many years, Hungarian leader Viktor Orban has clashed with the European Union because he has eroded the country’s democracy, but time and time again conservative European party alliances have saved him from severe punishment.
The relationship between Mr. Orban and the center-right organization, the European People’s Party, has worn down with the development of authoritarianism, and the coalition has hinted that he may eventually be deported. But Oban jumped up first on Wednesday and withdrew his Fidz party from the group.
The membership of the organization makes Orban and Mr. Fidesz influential and legal in Europe. The party includes mainstream conservatives, such as Christian democrats in Germany, Republicans in France and Forza Italia in Italy, and is the most powerful faction in the European Parliament.
No longer need to provide cover for him, can make the center right group get some relief. For a long time, some European conservatives have complained that tolerating Mr. Alban means damaging their principles, making it possible for him and what he calls “free nations”.
The isolation of powerful EU allies who have long protected him from an anti-democratic retreat may make Hungary desperately need EU funds. His government hopes to obtain billions of euros in EU coronavirus recovery stimulus funds, which are closely related to compliance with the rule of law.
But Mr. Orban may decide to withdraw from the European People’s Party out of political courage, hoping to inspire his image as a European traitor, because he faces the most serious crisis in Europe since he took office in 2010.
Hungary’s health care system is under pressure from the growing coronavirus pandemic. The epidemic is largely unchecked and economic conditions are becoming increasingly chaotic. The opposition has united and is scheduled for the first election next year. Take over with Mr. Orban.
In European politics, it is not clear whether Mr. Orban and Mr. Fides will ally with any other nationalist, populist, or far-right organization, such as the Allied Party in Italy.
As Mr. Orban eliminated the independence of the Hungarian judiciary and most of the media, targeted civil society groups, strangled dissidents and drove refugees from war-torn Syria, the pressure within the European People’s Party increased. The bigger he came, he had to reject him.
The organization suspended Fidesz operations in 2019 and recently changed its rules to make it easier to expel members. It said in a statement that it will vote on whether to expel Fidz at the next meeting, which has not yet been held.
In his letter announcing his withdrawal from Fides, Orban said that while countries were fighting the coronavirus, the European People’s Party was “paralyzed by its internal administrative problems” and “trying to silence the Hungarian people’s congress.”
Manfred Weber, the leader of the European Parliament of the Union, said this was a “day of grief” for the group and thanked the outgoing Fidesz members for their contributions. But he accused Orban of “continuous attacks” on the broken EU and the rule of law in Hungary.
Even without Fidesz’s 12 members, the European People’s Party is still the largest party in the European Parliament, and Fidesz’s representatives will not lose any rights in the Parliament.
The long-term split between Mr. Oban and the center-right group highlights how mutually beneficial this relationship is.
For a long time, mainstream conservatives in Europe are reluctant to take decisive action against Mr. Orban because they personally lean towards the right and are cautious about the challenges raised by the rising far-right parties.
Fidesz voted for their group, which in turn supported or at least tolerated Mr. Orban because he methodically dismantled the domestic democratic system.
For Mr. Alban, the membership of the European People’s Party has lost its appeal because it has been reducing his contacts with allies for a long time.
He will lose his main ally German Chancellor Angela Merkel (Angela Merkel), who will resign soon. Analysts say that Mr. Orban has calculated that he is unlikely to have an intimate relationship with those who follow Ms. Merkel, so this grouping is no longer useful for him.
R. Daniel Kelemen, a professor of European political science at Rutgers University, said that this alliance between Mr. Orban and Ms. Merkel has benefited both parties. “Sir. He said that Orban received political protection and legitimacy, and Mrs. Merkel obtained the right to vote on the policy agenda of Orban representatives in the European Parliament, as well as preferential treatment for German companies in Hungary.”
As a result, “a union that is considered unacceptable at the national level usually occurs at the EU level,” he said.
He said: “Merkel’s party will never ally with Germany’s far-right party or any authoritarian party.” “However, I am very happy to ally with Orban’s authoritarian party at the EU level, mainly because German voters did not realize this. This happened.”
When Mr. Oban was embraced by former President Donald Trump, the Biden administration criticized his policies in Hungary.
Mr. Orban disrupted Hungary’s democratic system, leading to prominent monitors saying that the country is no longer a democracy, often accusing European conservatives of making him a democracy.
In 2015, when more than one million refugees fled to Europe to seek safety in Syria, Mr. Orban built a wall on the Hungarian border and imposed severe penalties on those seeking asylum in the country.
Mr. Auban’s position is supported by those in the European Union who threaten the arrival of refugees to the European Union.
Frank Engel, the head of the Christian Social People’s Party in Luxembourg and a member of the center-right organization, said: “This is not the Middle Ages.” “This is the 21st century. European Christian civilization is fully capable of defending itself without the need for Mr. Alban to erect a fence. ”
Post time: Mar-26-2021