‘It is in no way the job of an ambassador serving here to interfere in Hungarian elections. We will not accept any criticism or commentary regarding Hungary’s elections,’ Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Péter Szijjártó of Hungary declared in front of ambassadors of EU Member states serving in Hungary on Friday, 16 January, as reported by the Hungarian state news agency MTI.
The European diplomats gathered for an event marking the start of Cyprus’s term in the rotating presidency of the Council of the European Union.
Hungary will hold its parliamentary elections on 12 April this year. Prime Minister Viktor Orbán of Hungary, who is seeking his sixth overall and fifth consecutive term in the highest office in the land, is facing off against his primary challenger, MEP Péter Magyar of the Tisza Party.
‘Brussels wants a government in Budapest that says yes to Brussels—yes to war, yes to migration, and yes to gender ideology. We say no to Brussels. Over the past years, we have said no to war, no to migration, and no to gender ideology,’ FM Szijjártó has stated on the choice before the Hungarian electorate this spring. ‘For this very reason, Brussels is now doing everything it can to ensure that a pro-Brussels government,’ he added.
He then went on to elaborate on his stance against comments by EU ambassadors on the outcome of the upcoming Hungarian election, saying:
‘It is already evident that, anticipating the likely defeat of the Tisza Party, efforts have begun to erode confidence in Hungary’s elections. They are already talking about manipulation, attempting to discredit our electoral system, criticizing it in advance…We expect respect. We expect our sovereignty to be respected. And we also expect that not a single ambassador serving in Budapest will lecture, speak out, criticize, or comment on Hungary’s elections.’
Minister Szijjártó also warned that the Hungarian government is willing to stop granting access to its senior-level officials to any foreign diplomat who refuses to comply with his demand to refrain from commenting on the Hungarian election’s outcome.
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