EU Parliament Backs Orbán Rival by Delaying Crucial Immunity Vote

Left-wing and mainstream forces in the European Parliament (EP) are deliberately delaying a hearing on whether to lift the immunity of a centrist Hungarian MEP, Péter Magyar, the leader of the largest opposition party in Hungary.

The intention to protect Magyar from having to face criminal prosecution for theft is part of a Brussels-wide effort to get rid of the Hungarian conservative government which has defied the EU’s pro-migration, pro-war, and pro-LGBT narratives.

As Hungarian conservative media outlet Mandiner reports, the hearing into Péter Magyar’s immunity case should have been held last week, on June 4th.

The 44-year-old leader of the Europhile Tisza Party got into a drunken brawl at a nightclub in Budapest last year with a man who was filming him. Magyar forcibly took the phone away from the man, and, after being escorted out of the club by security guards, threw it into the Danube.

In September, the chief prosecutor’s office asked the European Parliament to lift Magyar’s immunity. If he is found guilty of theft, he could face up to two years in prison.

As Tamás Deutsch, MEP for the ruling Hungarian Fidesz party said, the procedure got off to a slow start: it took two months after the request to appoint a rapporteur, and another two to put the matter on the agenda in Brussels. “We can expect them to drag out Magyar’s immunity issues in the EP for as long as possible,” he added.

The European Parliament has been quick to rule on the immunity cases of right-wing MEPs—such as the Polish PiS’ Patryk Jaki or the German AfD’s Petr Bystron, both of whom were stripped of their diplomatic protection over a single tweet earlier this year.

On the other hand, the leftist majority of the EP does everything it can to protect their own.

The rapporteur appointed to this procedure, Polish left-wing MEP Krzysztof Śmiszek, has not revealed the reasons for the delay.

However, as Mandiner points out, it is not hard to understand why he and his left-wing colleagues in the European Parliament are keen on protecting Magyar: Krzysztof Śmiszek is the exact ideological opposite of the governing conservatives in Hungary, and is therefore willing to do everything necessary to assist Magyar and his Europhile Tisza Party before the upcoming Hungarian elections next year.

Śmiszek has been actively supporting LGBT causes and battling traditional conservative, Christian values for many years. He maintains close ties to global left-wing networks, including organisations that enjoy financial support from billionaire George Soros—such as the Polish Society of Anti-Discrimination Law, and the NGO Campaign Against Homophobia.

The ruling elites in Europe, including the European People’s Party (EPP), of which Tisza is a member, have riled against Hungary for its no-nonsense anti-migration, anti-LGBT, and pro-peace stance. EPP chief Manfred Weber has not been shy in declaring his intention to get rid of Viktor Orbán and install Péter Magyar in the prime minister’s chair.

As Mandiner concludes, for this to happen, the EP first has to ensure that Péter Magyar avoids being prosecuted.

“Péter Magyar is the humble servant of Brussels. Brussels, the European People’s Party, and Manfred Weber and co. are giving him a helping hand so he can hide behind his immunity from being held accountable before the law,” Tamás Deutsch said.

As PM Viktor Orbán recently warned, both Brussels and Ukraine are pushing for a change in government in Hungary.