The Hungarian MEP, who made headlines for a mid-lockdown "orgy" in Brussels in 2020, wants to move on from the scandal, he told Politico on Monday.
József Szájer served as a Hungarian MEP between 2004 and 2020. He made headlines in November 2020 when he participated in a gay sex party in Brussels, flouting strict lockdown rules during the Covid-19 pandemic.
He fled the scene by sliding down a drainpipe as police arrived to shut down the party. Psychoactive drugs were discovered in his backpack, but he was acquitted of possession by a Belgian court. He resigned as an MEP, left the political party Fidesz and paid a €250 fine for breaking lockdown rules in the wake of the scandal.
In an interview with Politico on Monday, Szájer sought to rebuild his image, stating that "nothing of a criminal nature happened."
Hungarians living in Brussels installed this plaque on the gutter which MEP József Szájer tried to use while fleeing authorities “after attending an illegal ecstasy fuelled orgy”, @telexhu reports.
The plaque quickly became popular among locals.https://t.co/mj4zI8cMuH pic.twitter.com/6PBg7oZ9QJ — Szabolcs Panyi (@panyiszabolcs) December 5, 2020
Staying in touch with Orbán
Szájer is a co-founder of Fidesz, the right-wing party of which Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán is a member. Now, Sjázer has taken up a role in the Orbán-affiliated thinktank Institute for a Free Europe.
The Prime Minister is a proponent of anti-LGBTQ legislation and described the gay sex party as "indefensible" when his colleague's involvement was exposed in 2020.
Nevertheless, Sjázer argues that Orbán did not make any homophobic or hateful remarks, and defends his controversial domestic policies.
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán. Credit: EP
"In Hungary, no one’s private life is restricted by any law that does not allow them to enjoy that freedom," he said in reference to the Child Protection Act that restricts sex education, forbids homesexuality being portrayed on television before 22:00 and equates homosexuality with paedophilia.
"If the biggest problem for press freedom is the packaging of books [...] then we are doing very well," he continued.
More than a caricature
After a four-year break from public life, Sjázer wants his thinktank to challenge the view that federalism is the only pro-European political choice on offer.
"The federalists can’t reserve the right to call themselves pro-European," he said. "At the moment, federalism is the only position of the Brussels mainstream, but it’s possible to create a new Europe based on nations, and we want to be part of the intellectual buzz around it."
"I want to prove that I am more than the caricature that has been made of me and that has made me famous, even around the world."
