SSweden must continue to wait for Hungary's consent in its desire to join NATO. In a special session initiated by the Hungarian opposition, the matter could not be voted on due to the absence of MPs from Prime Minister Viktor Orbán's Fidesz party. Only 51 of the 199 MPs took part in the vote on the agenda.
MP Ágnes Vadai from the left-liberal opposition party “Democratic Coalition” accused Prime Minister Orbán of delaying the vote out of “vanity” and to please Russian President Vladimir Putin. Koloman Brenner from the conservative Jobbik party said the government was acting against the national interest. MP Előd Novák from the far-right Mi Hazánk party also spoke of “obstructionist politics” and called for a vote in which his party wanted to vote against NATO expansion.
The government faction was not impressed on Monday by the ambassadors from 16 member states of the alliance who were present in the parliamentary gallery. “Sweden's accession to NATO is an issue that directly affects the national security of the United States and also the security of the entire alliance,” American Ambassador David Pressman said after leaving Parliament House.
Fidesz parliamentary group leader Máté Kocsis repeated calls for Sweden's Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson to travel to Budapest for talks before a parliamentary decision. Kristersson has so far said he is prepared to visit if Parliament approves Sweden's accession beforehand. Fidesz officials indicated that this could happen at the next regular meeting on February 26. Orbán had originally announced that Hungary would not be the last country to ratify Sweden's accession. But at the end of January, Turkey became the penultimate NATO member state to ratify it.