FG MEPs take credit for Orban suspension

Fine Gael’s seven MEP candidates have said they were to the fore in seeking the suspension of Hungarian prime minister Viktor Orban from their European party grouping. The European People’s Party (EPP) this week agreed to an indefinite suspension on Mr Orban’s Fidesz party after a succession of infringements of constitutional principles and attacks on media freedom and academic independence.

Fine Gael has come under attack for the fact that the decision was done in agreement with Mr Orban, rather than imposing it on him. Speaking at the party’s national conference in Wexford yesterday, the party’s sitting MEPs and new candidates insisted they led the charge to oust Mr Orban in order to give him an opportunity to mend his ways.