Another plot against our country has been formulated at an online conference organized and moderated by the German Greens MEP Daniel Freund, a staunch Hungary-hater.
The panel discussion was also attended by Klara Dobrev, a Hungarian DK MEP, a correspondent for the German Suddeutsche Zeitung and Daniel Hegedus, a Hungarian researcher at the Washington-based, self-proclaimed independent German Marshall Fund policy institute.
According to Daniel Freund, "Make Europe Great Again" - the motto of the Hungarian EU presidency - sounds worrying because it is a take off on Trump's motto, who used it to incite his followers to take over the Capitol. Viktor Orban now wants to take over Brussels, Freund said, also expressing regret that Hungary, with a number of EU sanctions and penalties in effect against it, now holds the rotating EU presidency. He said the Hungarian government was pursuing a two-faced policy and asked his guests what they expected from the Hungarian presidency.
MEP Klara Dobrev believes that
Viktor Orban will cause symbolic, rather than practical damage in the next six months if his room for manoeuvre is not restricted.
Daniel Hegedus said that Orban is working to build a network of illiberal actors in Europe and beyond.
He was the only EU head of government to back Trump in both the 2016 and 2020 US elections.
In his view the Hungarian PM was expecting a national-minded breakthrough this year, both in the European and American elections. So far, the Marshall Fund's researcher said, the standing is a draw, but that the damage the Hungarian prime minister could cause should not be underestimated.
He will take advantage of the EU Presidency to intervene on a communications level in the elections in Georgia and Moldova, he added.
The Hungarian government will not cooperate, Hegedus opined, urging European partners to come up with a Plan B, as they have always done. According to the Suddeutsche Zeitung correspondent, if they let him, the Hungarian prime minister will make the most of the opportunities offered by Hungary holding the EU presidency.
Despite the current unstable European political climate, Hegedus maintains that Hungary will take over the presidency in a comfortable environment, as political processes in the Netherlands, Italy and elsewhere have started to turn in Viktor Orban's favor.
Dobrev, on the other hand, forecasts that this will be a conflict-filled six months in which Viktor Orban will have many symbolic disputes with other member states. She says the good election results of Orban's Fidesz party will embolden the Hungarian government to be even more aggressive within the EU.
Hungarian Prime Minister and Fidez President Viktor Orban, adopted a patriotic manifesto for the future of Europe in Vienna on Sunday morning with Austrian Freedom Party (FPO) President Herbert Kickl and Czech ANO Party president and former Prime Minister Andrej Babis. According to the Patriotic Manifesto, the nations of Europe have reached a historic turning point. The European Union, once a dream project rooted in a desire for reconciliation after the devastation caused by two world wars and decades of division, has turned against Europeans and now represents interests that are at odds with the will of nations, regions and the small communities that make up our European homeland.
In response to Daniel Freund's question about the sovereignist formation Patriots for Europe, brought ot life in Vienna, Dobrev said that the populists have little strength, and that if they do not cooperate with the European People's Party (EPP) they will not be able to impose their will in the European Parliament.
Dobrev stressed the need for saying they refuse to work together with Nazis and extremists. In her view, however, the European conservatives, especially the Christian Democrats (CDU/CSU) and the Austrian People's Party (OVP), will cooperate with the right wing in one way or another.
According to the German journalist, the isolation the Hungarian government has experienced in recent years is easing. He described Herbert Kickl, chairman of the Austrian Freedom Party (FPO), as a big fan of Viktor Orban, but said that the relationship with Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico was "more complicated". According to Cathrin Kahlweit, the German Alternative for Germany (AfD) has a good chance of being accepted into the Patriots for Europe party family.
Daniel Hegedus said that many people would like to see government policies similar to Hungary's and warned against belittling the significance of the Patriots for Europe party group.
