Orbán blasts own political family at rivals’ conference
‘What the hell are we doing?’ Hungarian PM demands of European center right.
By SILVIA SCIORILLI BORRELLI 2/4/20, 8:39 PM CET Updated 2/5/20, 4:51 AM CET
ROME — Viktor Orbán wasted no time in thumbing his nose again at his estranged political family.
A day after Europe's center-right alliance extended the suspension of his Fidesz party, the Hungarian prime minister pitched up on Tuesday at a gathering of right-wing and far-right politicians in Rome and attacked his longtime political home.
He described Fidesz as the "black sheep" of the European People's Party (EPP) — the umbrella group of center-right parties that suspended him last year over concerns about the rule of law in Hungary and anti-EU rhetoric. And he made clear he didn't mind being apart from the flock.
Orbán accused the EPP of wanting to be "part of the power structure of the EU at any cost, including by compromising with the left."
"But by doing so we lose our identity," he declared at the conference, held under the banner of National Conservatism and attended by far-right figures including Thierry Baudet of the Netherlands, France's Marion Maréchal and Brothers of Italy leader Giorgia Meloni.
"My hope is that the EPP will adapt and let in new movements. We need new forces, we are no longer enough, we do not have a majority" — Viktor Orbán, Hungary's prime minister
He told a cheering crowd featuring large numbers of American, Italian and British nationals that conservatism is suffering across Europe as the EPP is drifting to the left and losing its identity.
"What the hell are we doing?" he asked.
Orbán's suspension from the EPP has prompted speculation that he could switch his MEPs to the European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR) group in the Parliament. The leader of the ECR group, Ryszard Legutko of Poland's ruling Law and Justice party, was among the delegates at the Rome conference.
Orbán, however, made no mention of planning to leave the EPP to join the ECR. Instead he expressed hope that the EPP would admit groups such as Spain's Vox, another far-right party.
"My hope is that the EPP will adapt and let in new movements. We need new forces, we are no longer enough, we do not have a majority," he said.
Legutko said Orbán will decide whether he wants to leave the EPP to join another group before his suspension is turned into an expulsion — a prospect that may never come to pass, as EPP officials have made clear there is currently no majority for throwing out Fidesz.
Meanwhile, MEP and former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, who had a long meeting with Orbán earlier on Tuesday, said he is committed to making sure Fidesz stays inside the EPP.
The schedule for Tuesday's conference originally included a speech by Matteo Salvini, the leader of Italy's far-right League party, right after Orbán's address.
According to Italian media reports, Salvini pulled out because the organizers refused to let him deliver his keynote speech in Italian. However, a spokesperson for the League was quoted by several outlets as saying the former interior minister never confirmed he would attend the conference, even though his name featured in the official program.
One League official said his boss decided to skip the conference as it was dominated by members of the ECR. The League is part of a rival group in the European Parliament, Identity and Democracy.
Among those who did attend the conference was British Conservative MP Daniel Kaczynski, who defended his participation in a blog post published by The Spectator on Monday.
"Orban and Salvini are not to everyone’s tastes, of course. And I might not agree with each and every one of their policies. But I am not Hungarian or Italian, and they have been elected on huge popular mandates in their countries. They represent serious ideas and concerns, some of which are shared by people in Britain," Kaczynski declared.
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