The Albany Gazette - Sparks fly as Orban berates EU 'elites' in parliament trip

As Russian President Vladimir Putin's closest ally within the European Union, Orban's nationalist government is at loggerheads with its partners on a host of issues -- from stalling aid for Kyiv, to enacting a host of laws the bloc sees as democratic backsliding.

Orban is in Strasbourg to present the "priorities" of Hungary's norm-defying EU presidency, in a Wednesday debate attended by Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen -- and set to feature stormy exchanges with lawmakers bent on calling him out.

But the spotlight-loving prime minister kicked things off Tuesday with a press conference -- briefly disrupted by a yelling protester -- at which he railed at European "elites" and vowed a "great change" was coming to European politics.

"Europe is not in Brussels, not in Strasbourg," he said. "Europe is in Rome, Berlin, Prague, Budapest, Vienna, Paris. It is an alliance of nation states," Orban said -- warning against any temptation to "isolate" leaders such as himself on the European stage.

"The elites are putting a protective ring about themselves, but we live in a democracy, and these voices have to have found people to represent it," he said.

- 'Can't win' -

It came as little surprise, when Hungary assumed the EU's six-month presidency in July, that Orban went entirely off script: embarking on an uncoordinated Ukraine "peace mission" to Kyiv, Moscow and Beijing that left heads spinning in Brussels.

In response, von der Leyen ordered top officials to skip a series of meetings organised by the Hungarian presidency -- an unprecedented de facto boycott.

Orban doubled down on his maverick foreign policy Tuesday, telling reporters Kyiv was headed for defeat and that "we need a new strategy" on Ukraine.

"If you cannot win on the battlefield -- you have to communicate, you have to negotiate, you have to have a ceasefire."

The Hungarian premier also warned that if Trump wins re-election, Europe should be ready for him to start efforts to end the Ukraine war before his inauguration in January.

"He will act immediately -- so we don't have as European leaders any time to waste," said Orban, who is to host a European summit in Budapest two days after the US election on November 5.

A long-time Trump supporter, he quipped that he would "open several bottles of champagne" if the populist leader is returned to power.

- 'Let the Patriots in' -

Orban has pointed at hard-right electoral gains from Italy to the Netherlands and Austria -- and the rising influence of a Hungarian-led new group in the EU parliament, the Patriots for Europe -- as evidence of a political sea change in Europe.

In Strasbourg, he complained bitterly that his Patriots -- the third-largest group in the EU parliament -- were being kept out in the cold under a tacit agreement by mainstream parties to bar the far right from power.

"We are pro-European, we are Patriots of Europe," he told reporters. "So let's not push the Patriots aside, let's let them into the process."

On the hot-button issue of migration Orban -- whose government is threatening to bus asylum seekers to Brussels in protest at EU refugee policies -- said his country was being "punished" for defending its borders.

Last month, the EU moved to withhold another 200 million euros ($220 million) in funds for Budapest after it failed to pay a fine for violating asylum rules, on top of billions already frozen.

- 'Playing arsonist' -

Twice delayed and now taking place halfway through Budapest's mandate, Wednesday's debate promises to be heated, with mainstream EU lawmakers promising to hold Orban to account and the Hungarian opposition-leader-turned-MEP Peter Magyar among the speakers lined up to challenge him.

There is no love lost between Orban and centrist forces in the European Parliament -- who promise to pull no punches during his visit.

French lawmaker Valerie Hayer said his freelance diplomacy conducted under the EU presidency banner was "unacceptable" and played into the hands of "autocratic states".

"Orban is playing arsonist with the very idea of Europe," she charged.

"Orban should not be using the council presidency to push Putin's interests," said Maltese lawmaker Alex Agius Saliba, saying his Socialists and Democrats would be putting the Hungarian prime minister "in check".

Since returning to lead his country in 2010, Orban has moved to curb civil rights and tighten his grip on power, repeatedly clashing with Brussels over rule-of-law issues.

(O.Robinson--TAG)