“This would not mean abandoning the EU, but that the whole issue should be addressed on a European level.” He insisted the prime minister was not putting forward the issue seriously, adding that Orbán seems to have drawn from a recent byelection won by Jobbik is that Fidesz should steal the radical nationalist party’s ideas.

Orbán told a press conference in Pécs that the issue of whether or not to restore capital punishment should “stay on the agenda”. The prime minister said that Hungary’s “three strikes” law and real life prison sentences had not proved sufficient to deter criminals.

“It must be made clear to criminals that Hungary will use all means to protect its citizens,” Orbán said.

Debates on whether Hungary’s penal laws are strict enough flared up in connection with the recent murder of a young shop assistant in south-west Hungary. Opposition green party LMP said the party rejected the restoration of the death penalty, adding that Orbán’s decision to raise the issue was a diversionary tactic.

LMP lawmaker István Ikotity said Fidesz was desperately trying to recapture the support of a section of the electorate that it had lost and was pandering to Jobbik. All left-wing opposition parties have attacked Orbán for raising the issue.

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