Hungary’s ruling Fidesz party has boycotted a session of parliament called by the opposition to ratify Sweden’s Nato membership, even as a group of western ambassadors arrived in the building to urge a vote.
For months, the Hungarian prime minister, Viktor Orbán, repeatedly promised his counterparts within Nato that the country would not be last to sign off on Sweden’s membership.
But Orbán reneged on the pledge when Turkey ratified the Swedish bid last month, leaving Hungary alone holding up Stockholm’s accession.
The Hungarian leader then publicly promised Nato’s secretary general, Jens Stoltenberg, that he would urge parliament to “conclude the ratification at the first possible opportunity” – only to also abandon that pledge by not showing up to a session initiated by the country’s opposition with the aim of voting on Sweden’s accession.
Just a bit of context, Hungarian MPs of the current government have boycotted every move of the opposition in the past 14 years.
They didn’t show up to any of the sessions, they didn’t put any initiatives or laws on the agenda. Not one.
I would have been more surprised if they actually did show up. That would have been unprecedented.