Hungary can only be free of the threat of the “forced settlement of migrants” and protect its borders in the long run if its ruling parties have a strong enough mandate both at home and at a European level, the head of the Prime Minister’s Office said in an interview to the Thursday edition of daily Magyar Hírlap.
Gergely Gulyás said that the past several years had shown that Fidesz and the Christian Democrats are the most effective in representing Hungary in the European Union, and argued that the opposition parties “have sworn to support immigration, but at least would surrender to the EU’s [migrant] quotas“.
Gulyás said he expects the European election to result in a “shift in emphasis” in favour of the political factions that “support European unity but oppose immigration and reducing the powers of member states”.
He said Europe will be harder to govern after the elections, as the EP is likely to become more diverse in its composition. He added that for the first time since 1979, the European People’s Party (EPP) and the Socialists and Democrats (S+D) may not have enough seats for a combined majority.
As regards Fidesz’s place in the EPP, Gulyás noted his party’s “readiness for compromise” when it had backed EPP group leader Manfred Weber’s candidacy for the post of European Commission president. He added, at the same time, that it was still questionable how Weber would go about securing a parliamentary majority.
“We’d consider it unfortunate if the EPP’s lead candidate would commit to a pro-migration, green, left-liberal direction in advance,” Gulyás said.
Asked about the recent resignation of István Varga as the chairman of the board of trustees of the Central European Press and Media Foundation and his comments criticising the quality of Hungarian right-wing media, Gulyás said: “I hope that the good journalists are on the right.” “Being a journalist on this side is a moral advantage on its own,” he added.
Featued image: MTI