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The Hungarian Socialist Party (MSZP) has called on István Ujhelyi, who resigned from the party on Sunday, to return his seat in the European Parliament and to settle his debts to the Socialist Party.
In a statement the MSZP said that they are thinking of Ujhelyi “with disappointment but friendship”, but asked him to “settle the considerable debts he has accumulated in recent years towards the Socialist Party”. They also called for the return of his mandate as an MEP, which he had “received from the Hungarian Socialist Party”.
The MEP’s resignation is a part of a post-election ripple effect still tearing the Hungarian opposition apart, where members of the former pre-election coalition continue to throw accusations at one another for the dismal performance in April. There are other reasons behind Ujhelyi’s resignation though, such as his unsuccessful attempt to rebrand the MSZP, the withdrawal of his referendum initiative and his failed bid for the party leadership.
István Ujhelyi, MEP of the Socialist Party and the Dialogue Party, announced his resignation from the MSZP in a personal open letter on Sunday, where he spoke of a “long period of brooding and inner mourning”. He was clearly referring to the disarray in which the opposition parties have found themselves after the elections when he said that with his resignation he was saying goodbye to the “mechanisms and blinkered lack of vision of today’s MSZP.”
I have tried more than once to shake up our party community in recent years, and after the most recent shocking electoral defeat I outlined our own situation with unsparing honesty,
the open letter says. “But in the end, I had to admit and accept that, for the umpteenth time, I could not break through the wall of petrification. Instead, I incurred the intriguing wrath of some, which slowly stifled the clear air around me,” he said.
Few among the Hungarian electoral majority, who have voted for the Orbán government will shed a tear for Ujhelyi, who has consistently voted with the European left for punitive measures against his country. More recently, in the European Parliament he voted for withholding vital recovery funds needed to strengthen the Hungarian economy after the pandemic.
Featured Photo: MTI/Bruzák Noémi