Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, a staunch ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin, had a speech interrupted this week by a screaming activist.
On Tuesday, a Hungarian opposition activist and municipal councilor interrupted a press conference in Strasbourg, France, while Viktor Orbán spoke about Hungary’s agenda for its upcoming six-month presidency of the European Union.
Activist Márton Gyekiczki disrupted Orbán’s remarks on immigration by rushing toward the podium and throwing what appeared to be a stack of banknotes at the Hungarian prime minister as he spoke.
“How much did you sell out the country for? How much did you sell out the country for, Mr. Prime Minister?” Gyekiczki yelled. “He sold out to Putin, he sold out to [Chinese President] Xi Jinping!”
The disruption occurred just ahead of Orbán’s scheduled address to the European Parliament on Wednesday, marking the start of Hungary’s six-month rotating presidency of the EU. Orbán’s government has frequently clashed with the bloc over accusations of undermining democratic rights, while facing growing criticism for its close ties with autocratic regimes like Russia and China.
Hungary’s Prime Minister Viktor Orbán gives a press conference on the sidelines of a plenary session at the European Parliament in Strasbourg, eastern France, on October 8, 2024. During a speech on Tuesday, an activist interrupted Orbán.
FREDERICK FLORIN/AFP via Getty Images/Getty Images
Orbán is considered by many to be the most pro-Kremlin leader of a European Union nation and has shown his loyalty to Putin by trying to thwart the EU‘s sanctions against Russia as punishment for the Ukraine war while also trying to undermine NATO‘s military support of Kyiv.
Gyekiczki, an activist and member of Hungary’s Democratic Coalition party, was quickly subdued by a security guard and escorted from the room. He also serves as a local councilor in a suburb of Budapest.
Former Prime Minister Ference Gyurcsány, president of the Democratic Coalition party, later expressed his support for Gyekiczki’s actions on social media, stating that he was “proud” of the activist.
“We will say it everywhere and always: Hungary has a traitorous government!” Gyurcsány wrote.
Orbán is likely to face a divided response in the European Parliament on Wednesday. Several lawmakers have called for his government to be stripped of EU funds, citing concerns over corruption and violations of the rule of law.
Two years ago, the European Parliament declared that Hungary, under Orbán’s leadership, had shifted into “a hybrid regime of electoral autocracy,” effectively removing the country from the community of democracies. Despite criticism, Orbán successfully established the Patriots for Europe group within the European Parliament this year, bringing together far-right parties from across the continent. The alliance has become the third-largest bloc in the EU legislature.
At Tuesday’s press conference, Orbán voiced concerns about what he views as the European Union’s declining economy and its struggle to remain competitive with the United States and China. He described this as “the most serious challenge we have to face.”
Orbán criticized the EU’s recent tariffs on Chinese-made electric vehicles and condemned immigration policies, which he argued were leading to the breakdown of the visa-free Schengen area. He pointed to countries like Germany, Austria, Italy and Slovenia, which have reinstated temporary border checks, as evidence of this growing issue.
This article includes reporting from The Associated Press.
