Parliamentarians in the Hungarian government boycott Sweden's accession to NATO

The session of the Hungarian Parliament scheduled for Monday, which was dedicated to voting on the ratification of Sweden's accession to NATO, was postponed for at least three weeks due to the absence of pro-government deputies.

Members of the ruling Fidesz party, led by ultra-nationalist Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, did not attend the session called by the opposition, which led to the lack of a quorum necessary for the vote to be held, given that the Fidesz party controls two-thirds of the seats. In Parliament.

Bence Torday, a member of parliament for the Environmental Dialogue for Hungary party, suggested that the absence of Fidesz MPs may be linked to the interests of Russian President Vladimir Putin, predicting that Orbán could hinder NATO's strength for strategic reasons.

Other MPs, such as Tamas Harangozo of the Socialist Party, questioned the “peace” policy pursued by the government and Orban, pointing out that opposition to the expansion of NATO, the alliance that guarantees peace and security, contradicts the principles of promoting peace.

Despite the absence of Fidesz representatives, the session was attended by many ambassadors of NATO member states in Budapest, demonstrating the great international interest in the issue.

A vote on ratifying Sweden's accession is expected to take place after February 26, when the spring session of Parliament begins. Sweden's NATO membership has been blocked by Hungary and Turkey for more than a year, and although Ankara ratified membership in late January, Budapest has been left alone in its reluctance.

Fidesz ministers and deputies justify their opposition to accelerating the ratification of NATO enlargement by saying that Sweden has been “unfair” in its criticism of the state of democratic values ​​in Hungary.

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