Speaking after Prime Minister Viktor Orbán made opening remarks on the bill, Kósa insisted that Hungary must stay the same as it is. József Szájer, a Fidesz MEP, said the amendment accorded with EU laws and the Lisbon Treaty. The allied ruling Christian Democrats see the future of Europe in returning to its Christian roots, the party’s spokesman Imre Vejkey said in the debate.

Protecting Hungary’s sovereignty is a pre-eminent aim, he added. He criticised European leaders for uprooting Christian values and “not recognising that Islam is spreading like wildfire”. Christian Democrats cannot assist in this, “even if the Holy See wants us to see the invasion only from the perspective of individual migrants as victims.

” Addressing the debate, the leader of the radical nationalist Jobbik party disputed that the Oct. 2 referendum had created a “new united bloc”, as Orbán had asserted in his opening remarks. Gábor Vona said the idea of such unity after the referendum lacked credibility since a majority of Hungarians who opposed migrant quotas had also boycotted the ballot.

“Many did not vote because they object to Orbán holding power.” Jobbik, he said, would nevertheless participate in the debate as a “patriotic duty” and take part in enacting a “strong and effective” constitutional protection against migrant quotas.

The opposition LMP party’s coleader, Ákos Hadházy, said his party would take part in the debate but refrain from voting on the seventh constitutional amendment. He said the amendment “pretends to be about migration” but in reality it does not provide answers to the problems of refugees.

The government has whipped up fears over migration with its “hate campaign”, he added. Bernadett Szél, the party’s other leader, said the debate on the constitutional amendment is a “simple diversion” from issues such as low wages, poor health care and government corruption.

The opposition Socialist deputy group leader, László Varga, said his party would not take part in the constitutional amendment process, staying away both from the debate and the vote. Fidesz is not authorised to amend the constitution, he said, accusing the prime minister and governing parties of using the voice of a small minority as a reference. “This is what a dictator does ... force a minority’s will onto the majority to serve its own power interests.”

The Socialists will not assist with such “power-play”, he said. Liberal Party leader Gábor Fodor said his party would not support the amendment, adding that the Liberals believed in a “stronger, more federalist Europe” as against Fidesz’s “loose alliance of nation states”.

Speaking at a press conference outside the parliament chamber, the leftist opposition Democratic Coalition’s (DK) deputy leader, László Varjú, said that by moving towards a constitutional amendment, the government had ignored the will of some five million people who stayed away from the government’s “sham referendum”. Orbán is not authorised to pass such an amendment, he said.

“This is a day of mourning for democracy; the day that the parliamentary system was humiliated.” A “new united bloc” has formed not in support of but against Orbán, he insisted, urging all opposition parties to boycott the vote.

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

MTI photo: Soós Lajos