Meanwhile in Hungary (and Brussels)

[majikthis]

I was tempted to post this in the "What made you laugh today" thread, but I think it deserves its own topic. I've highlighted the most salient points.

Hungarian MEP Jozsef Szajer quit after police raided 'gay sex party'

A Hungarian Euro MP close to conservative PM Viktor Orban who quit his job has admitted his resignation came after he attended a house party in Brussels, violating lockdown rules.

Police broke into what Belgian media describe as a gay sex party on Friday.

Jozsef Szajer, a top official in Mr Orban's Fidesz party, apologised for "a personal failing". Reports say he tried to flee down a drainpipe.

Fidesz is hostile to LGBT rights and backs traditional family values.*

The party in an apartment in central Brussels was attended by 25 people, mostly male, and was raided by police on suspicion of breaking coronavirus restrictions.

The Belgian news agency Belga says some of the participants were naked when the police burst in. The police cautioned them for having broken the lockdown rules.

The BBC's Nick Thorpe in Budapest says Mr Szajer's sudden resignation as an MEP on Sunday surprised his political friends and foes alike. He had blamed "increasing mental strain" for the decision.

On Friday he pleaded parliamentary immunity, but he is now under investigation.

The European Parliament said the immunity rule only extended to an MEP's official duties, not to his or her private life.

In a statement on Tuesday, Mr Szajer admitted he had attended the party on Friday, but did not describe it.

"I didn't use drugs, I told the police on the spot I was willing to undergo an official test, but they didn't do one. The police said an ecstasy pill was found. It was not mine, I don't know who planted it or how. I made a statement to the police about this.

"I am sorry that I broke the rules of assembly, this was irresponsible on my part, and I will take the sanctions that come with it," he said.

Belgium's De Standaard daily says the usual fine for breaking the Covid rules on assembly is €250 (£224).

Jozsef Szajer's resignation, followed by his confession that he took part in what media have described as a "gay orgy", is a serious blow for Fidesz, which has governed Hungary for the past decade.

Mr Szajer, 59, was one of the founders of Fidesz in March 1988, and remains a close confidant of Prime Minister Orban. He has been an MEP for 16 years, for the past 11 as chief whip and vice-president of the European People's Party.

He has played a key role in keeping Fidesz inside the conservative political grouping, despite fierce criticism. He is married to Tunde Hando, former president of the National Judiciary Office, now a Constitutional Court judge.

The sex scandal is particularly embarrassing for a party which campaigns for traditional family values and recently proposed a law to ban gay adoption.**

(Source: BBC)

* For example: László Kövér, the Speaker of the Hungarian Parliament (and a lifelong comrade of PM Orbán) has recenty called homosexuals "second rate citizens".

** The proposed amendment to the Constitution would specify that "the mother is a woman, the father is a man" and permit only married couples to adopt children.Same-sex marriage is illegal in Hungary, but adoption has been possible if one partner applies on their own. The proposal  would require children to be raised with a "Christian" interpretation of gender roles.

In May, Hungary's parliament approved a law that banned transgender people from changing the sex they were assigned at birth on official documents.

[Cool_a]

Always an interesting headline isn't it.

Quote

Anti-gay Hungarian politician József Szájer resigns after being caught attending 25-man orgy in breach of COVID-19 rules

 

[Youri]

Apparently some close-to-government Hungarian media wrote that Jozsef Szajer only resigned because he failed to comply with the local Covid-19 regulations.

Belgian media reported today that a right-wing Hungarian tabloid didn't mention a single word about Jozsef Szajer being present at a gay sex party ... instead they published a big article on how the Belgians don't comply with the Covid-19 regulations.

Are there any Hungarian media that do tell the full story, @majikthis?

 

[Youri]

The satirist in me was hoping for a Little Britain-like explanation of the things that happened.

An explanation on how gay orgies are that common in Brussels that decent straight guys can end up in one by mistake and the only way to get out is to escape down a drain pipe....

 

 

[majikthis]

3 hours ago, Youri said:

Are there any Hungarian media that do tell the full story, @majikthis?

Well, the few remaining independent outlets do.  The government and its media are trying to gloss it over - not very succesfully. In this age of the Internet these things are difficult to hide. The official story only says Mr Szajer attended an illegal party which was then raided by the police for breach of COVID regulations. No mention of a gay sex party, or drugs or that Spiderman-esque escape down the drainpipe.

The satire version (from the Facebook comments) would go something like this: Mr Szajer was invited to a prayer meeting, which turned out to be a trap set up by George Soros. When he realized this, he tried to leave, but the door was locked by G. Soros, so he had no choice but risk  life and limb  and escape through the window and down the drainpipes. The extasy pills were smuggled into his bag by an opposition MEP (who was also paid by G. Soros) .

 

 

[Kawika]

I read this story this morning ( I forget which news source) and I can sum up my reaction with this...

[majikthis]

Meanwhile in Lithuania

Anti-LGBT Lithuanian politician is mocked after semi-naked man appears behind him during online meeting

An outspokenly anti-LGBT politician has raised eyebrows after a semi-naked man appeared behind him during a Zoom call. Video shows a document on screen before cutting to Lithuanian MP Petras Grazulis's webcam. 

Grazulis, who’s known for his virulent anti-LGBT+ rhetoric and protest was joined by a topless man halfway through a conference call of the Lithuanian’s parliament’s culture committee.

The MP had been experiencing technical difficulties with the call and it looked like the friendly naked bystander stepped in with a view to help. The moment only lasted seconds as Grazulis quickly turned off his camera, and seconds later when he switched it back on the man was gone.

But the video spread across the internet like wildfire and Lithuanian media quickly seized on the scene, demanding to know who the mystery man was.

Grazulis reacted angrily to questioning and claimed it had been his son standing nearby, before changing his story half an hour later: it was Andrius Tapinas, a Lithuanian journalist who had been “persecuting” him for months.

"Yes, I said that [it was my] son, but looking at the video better, I can guarantee that Andrius Tapinas is there,” he insisted. “He’s haunting me everywhere, it’s no wonder that he got here.”

And the fact that the man in the video doesn’t look anything like Tapinas can be explained by advanced video technology. “Andrius could easily change his appearance,” the homophobic MP suggested.

 

full article and video: https://www.pinknews.co.uk/2020/12/03/lithuania-petras-grazulis-naked-man-conference-call-zoom-andrius-tapinas-homophobic/

 

[majikthis]

To commemorate former MEP Szájer's already legendary escape someone has put up this sign on the drain pipe in Brussels Mr. Szájer used to escape the police raid.

And a clever gift shop in Budapest has brought out a straw with the figure of Mr. Szájer. Unlike this figure, the real MEP was naked (or nearly so) when he fled the orgy.