Hungarian state media say MEP orgy scandal is plot to discredit Orban amid budget standoff with EU

József Szájer is a key architect of Viktor Orban's conservative crackdown in Hungary

Credit: BERNADETT SZABO /REUTERS

An MEP orgy scandal is a nefarious plot by the European Union to discredit Viktor Orbán’s ruling party during its bitter budget battle with Brussels, Hungarian pro-government newspapers claimed on Wednesday.

József Szájer, a founder member of the  Fidesz party, took part in a coronavirus lockdown-busting gay sex party involving 25 men in the Belgian capital, which was raided by police after complaints from neighbours. 

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.

A view of the Monroe Bar where the sex party took place in Brussels

Credit: LAURIE DIEFFEMBACQ /AFP

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”.

Viktor Orban announced the MEP has quit the Fidesz party.

Hungary and Poland have blocked the £1.6tn budget and coronavirus economic recovery package, which has clauses tying EU funding to respect for the rule of law. 

They will come under pressure to drop the veto at the December 10 EU summit. 

Magyar Nemzet, a Hungarian newspaper, 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?” asked Vona. 

The paper, along with Magyar Hirlap, another pro-Fidesz party, also ran a story on comments made by Andras Pulai, a left-wing political commentator, who asked why, “if a lot of important people attended the party, is it that Fidesz’s most important EU politician is the only one who’s been named?”