February 11th, 2020
A liberal columnist believes Mr Orbán is cleverly weighing his chances in the European People’s Party and is prepared for every eventuality, while his opponents there cannot muster the majority needed to expel him.
In a Népszava comment on the eve of Mr Orbán’s meeting with Angela Merkel in Berlin, András Kósa describes Mr Orbán’s attitude towards the EPP as a ‘triple game’. He still hasn’t given up the idea of achieving a ‘conservative revolution’ within his party family; on the other hand, he is trying to convince other member parties to leave with him if Fidesz is eventually expelled; while at the same time, he is already working on shaping a new party alliance which he could immediately join in case he is evicted from the EPP. Kósa finds it ‘funny’ that Mr Orbán is doing this all quite so openly. Upon his return from a conference of Patriotic Conservatives in Rome and a meeting with League leader Matteo Salvini, the Prime Minister told the press he talks to the rivals of the Peoples Party because he prefers to have the largest elbow room possible. Kósa thinks that after the People’s Party prolonged Fidesz’s suspension (but also its membership) indefinitely, and since EU procedures against his government are slow and eventually ineffective, Mr Orbán is ‘winning time’, and ‘time works for him’.
Tags: Orbán, People's Party, Salvini
