He said that the question of migrant quotas had already been decided when Orbán signed the European Council resolution on mandatory quotas on February 20 this year. Gyurcsány said that over the past two years, 1,260 foreigners had settled in Hungary under the government’s approval.

The DK leader said those who have had enough of all that has happened in Hungary over the past six years cannot allow the prime minister to regard the result of the referendum as a vindication of his policies. In reponse, the ruling Fidesz party said the referendum was not a party political matter but one that concerned the fate of the nation and the country’s future, so politics should be set aside.

It added that the left wing still believed that it was engaged in a political battle. Fidesz accused Gyurcsány of “lying and misrepresentation”, insisting that the settlement did not simply concern “1,260 migrants” but “the whole Brussels quota package” which, the party said, had no upper limit.

Republished with permission of Hungary Matters, MTI’s daily newsletter.

MTI photo: Kovács Attila