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For several years, the ultra-conservative government of Viktor Orbán has attacked the LGBTI community. Now that a senior official has been caught at a libertine gay party in Brussels, all his party’s hate speech is shaking.
József Szájer, a close friend of Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, was caught at a libertine gay party in Brussels in full confinement. ¿Why is it so important? The Spectator explains.
Who is Josef Szájer and why does it matter that he ended up at a gay party?
Szájer was until recently a far-right Hungarian MEP who boasted of being one of the authors of the Hungarian Constitution of 2011, which restricted the rights of the LGBT community in the country.
This text particularly includes a clause that defines “the institution of marriage as the union between a man and a woman”, since the government defends “Christian values”.
Szájer is also a member of the president’s party, the Fidesz-Unión Cívica Húngara, the same party that was about to prohibit adoption by same-sex couples and the registration of sex changes in the Civil Registry, in addition to establishing in the Magna Carta that “the mother is a woman, the father is a man.”
But at the same time that Szájer was handling a speech that attacked the rights of the LGBT community in his country, his vision was different on a personal level and abroad.
The MEP was found at a clandestine party in Brussels, which was described as a “gay orgy” by the Belgian press, in which 25 naked men participated who were also violating health regulations dictated by the government. When the police came to uncover the party, Szájer failed to escape into the street by climbing down a drain.
In addition, it was found that his suitcase was loaded with narcotics, something that was confirmed by the Belgian prosecution. This, plus the failure to comply with restrictive measures against COVID-19, mock the morale promoted by Orban.
“As Fidesz politicians teach us about Christianity and family, they lead a completely different life,” commented former left-wing Prime Minister Ferenc Gyurcsany.
Why is there such a stir with this news?
This revelation detonated like a bomb in Hungary, where the opposition and the press denounce the hypocrisy of the power that attacks LGBT people. Szájer was also Orbán’s right hand man, so his escape to Brussels impacts the prime minister’s speech against this community.
“While he (Szájer) has a great time in a Brussels open to LGBTs, he makes life miserable for their peers in Hungary, amending the Constitution,” reproached Szabolcs Panyi, a journalist for the investigative outlet Direkt36.
After a long silence, Orban on Wednesday condemned “an unacceptable and indefensible act,” according to a tweet from his spokesman, Zoltan Kovacs.
“What our representative, Jozsef Szajer, has done, has no justification in the values of our political family,” he added.
Beyond the immediate resignation of the Hungarian politician, fined for not respecting the regulations against the coronavirus and now investigated for possession of narcotics, the bacchanal that was interrupted and in which there were several diplomats, has opened a delicate door related to the limit the public and private life of political positions, especially when their behavior contradicts their ideological proclamations.
“We have seen attacks on the LGTBI community orchestrated by the Orbán government and ten years ago Mr. Szájer was one of the architects of the Constitution in which it appears that marriage can only occur between people of the same sex, which translates into that basically gay marriage is constitutionally prohibited and now it is proven that he is homosexual himself ”, comments the founder of the European Coalition for Security and LGTBI Equality, Rémy Bonny, who criticizes the“ hypocrisy ”of the ultra-conservative Hungarian MEP. .
The activist adds that “the Hungarian media, especially the tabloids and government-related newspapers, have tried to silence this case” and simply say that the politician was “at an illegal party, without pointing out that it was a gay party or that there were drugs involved ”.
“This news comes at a very particular time, given that there is a proposal in the Hungarian Parliament for a law that can prohibit adoptions by same-sex couples,” Bonny recalls.
What are the repercussions?
The resignation of MEP Szájer, presented on Wednesday, could weaken the Hungarian position, while Budapest is embroiled in a confrontation with the EU over the rule of law. It is not only about the revelation of the hypocrisy of the government’s speech, but the MEP had a long career in the European Parliament, and his work there was very important for Orbán.
“The disappearance of Jozsef Szajer”, a great connoisseur of the ins and outs of the European Parliament, where he held a seat since 2004, “will weaken Orbán’s position” at the next EU summit, considers political scientist Zoltan Lakner, editor of the weekly Jelen.
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