Hungary's prime minister distances himself from 'indefensible' orgy scandal MEP
Viktor Orban has distanced himself from the MEP who tried to escape through a window after police in Brussels raided a coronavirus lockdown-busting orgy involving 25 men.
József Szájer, a founder member of Mr Orban’s ruling Fidesz party and an opponent of equal rights for gay men, resigned after his participation in the sex party was exposed.
Hungary’s prime minister said József Szájer’s resignation was "the only appropriate decision" on Wednesday, as his actions had " no place in the values of our political family."
"We will not forget nor repudiate his thirty years of work, but his deed is unacceptable and indefensible," he said
The naked MEP escaped through a first floor window but injured himself shinning down a drainpipe before being captured on Friday. Police found the drug ecstasy in his backpack, which Mr Szájer denies is his.
Mr Szájer, a lawyer, is seen as a key architect of Mr Orban’s ultra-conservative crackdown. He drafted an amendment to Hungary’s constitution that prevents gay marriage.
“It is of course hypocritical of him, but he is not the only one,” said the orgy host, David Manzheley, 29.
Most of his guests, who were naked and unmasked, were not afraid of catching coronavirus because they had had it in the first wave, he told the Het Nieuwsblad newspaper.
He said, “It is about free sex. Everyone who comes here comes to have sex. Sex without a condom. And only with men. There are no women. The only rule is that the participants do not have HIV and - recently - no corona. ”
Mr Szájer claimed diplomatic immunity before resigning on Sunday as an MEP, blaming the strain of politics. On Tuesday he admitted that he was present at what police sources described as “a gang bang”.
Hungary and Poland have blocked the EU's £1.6tn budget and coronavirus economic recovery package, which has clauses tying funding to respect for the rule of law. They will come under pressure to drop the veto at the December 10 EU summit.
The scandal was a nefarious plot by the European Union to discredit Hungary during its bitter budget battle with Brussels, Hungarian pro-government newspapers claimed on Wednesday.
Magyar Nemzet quoted Gabor Vona, a former leader of the far-right Jobbik party, who claimed the secret services of EU countries might have orchestrated the scandal.
“This is probably not the first party so why has this one come to light now?” he asked
