Hungarian MPs reject Orban’s anti-refugee bill

HUNGARY’S radical right-wing party Jobbik dealt all-powerful Prime Minister Viktor Orban a rare defeat yesterday as it blocked his bid to change the constitution to bar the resettlement of refugees.

While all 131 MPs of Orban’s ruling right-wing coalition voted in favour, the landmark bill failed to pick up an extra two votes to reach a required two-thirds majority in the 199-seat parliament.

The rejection is an unexpected setback for the populist strongman who has already amended the constitution six times since winning a supermajor- ity in 2010 and reelection in 2014.

It follows a divisive referendum last month, in which 3.3 million voters backed Orban’s rejection of the EU’s plan to relocate migrants via mandatory quotas. The ballot, however, was deemed invalid due to low turnout in the nation of nearly 10 million people.

Observers warned that yesterday’s defeat risked seriously wounding Orban’s political ambitions.

The vote could set the scene for a power struggle between Orban’s Fidesz and Jobbik ahead of the next scheduled general election in 2018.

Jobbik has been a natural ally in Orban’s hardline campaign to stop Hungary taking in any of the hundreds of thousands of migrants who arrived in Europe in 2015. But it is currently vying with the Socialists as the second most popular party in the country, and laid a surprise ambush for Orban earlier this month.

Spotting a rare opportunity for leverage, Jobbik’s leader Gabor Vona recently announced it would only vote for the bill on the condition that the government scraps a controversial cashfor-residency bond scheme for wealthy foreigners. Jobbik said the scheme, often sold by shady offshore compa- nies, posed a national security risk that could be exploited by jihadists.

Orban, caught offguard by the ultimatum, initially said he would “consider” Vona’s gambit but later told parliament that the government “would not give in to blackmail”.

During yesterday’s vote, Jobbik lawmakers held up a banner reading “The traitor is he who lets in terrorists for money”, next to the Fidesz logo in an Arabic-style font.

Vona said after the ballot he would be willing to vote for the constitutional amendment within 24 hours if the residency bonds are phased out.