Why I Never Gave Up on Hungary
I don’t speak Hungarian. Yet, at Budapest Pride, an elderly woman suddenly stood before me, speaking to me with boundless enthusiasm. At the end, she folded her hands in gratitude. That gesture has stayed with me ever since. To me, it was a thank you to everyone in Europe who kept watching over Hungary.
Countless speeches, trips, and resolutions: Over the past years, I have invested more time and energy in Hungary than in any other country. No other politician has occupied my attention as much as Viktor Orbán. Why? It was both coincidence and inevitable.
A similar system, a similar man, could have risen to power in another EU member state. But to this day, there is no head of state or government in Europe more corrupt or more hostile to Europe than Orbán. That’s why, as early as 2018, when I ran for the European Parliament, I was determined: We had to rein this man in.
Europe has given me so much: my education, my family, my vocation. And then there was Orbán, systematically undermining the values of the Union, endangering Europe’s security with his vetoes, and hollowing out the rule of law in his own country – until nothing remained but a corrupt mafia state.
While others hesitated, I thought: This cannot be. This must not be. So I decided to get involved.
In my speeches, I warned of the rampant corruption in Hungary. I confronted Orbán during a visit to the Parliament, after which he called me the “most corrupt person.” I argued in Parliament for linking European funds to European values.
Together with colleagues from other political groups, I finally succeeded in negotiating laws that gave the Commission sharper tools – to protect European democracy. Since 2021, the Commission has been able to freeze billions in EU funds if governments undermine the rule of law.
Getting Von der Leyen and her commissioners to implement these rules was an uphill battle. I remember endless negotiations, nights spent debating cross-party formulations and measures until midnight. The moment we took the Commission to court to force it to act.
In the end, billions in EU funds for Hungary were frozen. The signal was overwhelming: We are not powerless. The pressure from the European Parliament works. Europe can – when it chooses to – stand protectively before its citizens, who have been abandoned by their own government.
The other side responded with hate and incitement – on social media and in the Hungarian media controlled by Orbán. Until recently, I was repeatedly called a “Hungary-hater.” What the trolls and propagandists misunderstood: My work was and is a declaration of love – for Europe and for Hungary.
My office also became the target of a cyberattack, aimed at eavesdropping on and monitoring my phones and computers. The attack, likely orchestrated by Orbán’s government, was unsuccessful. But it could have had devastating consequences – especially for all my contacts in Hungary: activists, journalists, and opposition politicians.
In the end, every attack from Budapest only strengthened us and made our struggle more visible – in Hungary and across Europe.
But ultimately, it could only be the Hungarian people who sent Viktor Orbán into political retirement. That this has now happened after 16 years still feels surreal. With Péter Magyar’s election victory, Orbán’s system, built over years, hasn’t vanished overnight. But the mood has changed dramatically. On election night in Budapest, I heard chants of “Europe, Europe.” The propaganda posters have disappeared from the walls. A wave of relief is sweeping through the country.
Hungary’s new parliament is set to convene for the first time on May 9 – Europe Day. It feels as though Hungary is joining the European Union all over again.