- Whoever said that politics are boring?
“Practice what you preach” is generally a pretty good guideline for going through life. If you start telling other people what they should do, it’s only right that you yourself abide by the same rules. Right?
Well, we all know that all too often it doesn’t work that way. It’s easy to dictate other people’s lives, but we as people seem pretty comfortable with giving ourselves a break.
One arena where this is particularly prevalent seems to be politics. Maybe it’s because politicians are constantly in the public spotlight, but decision makers across the aisle often seem to relax their standards when it comes to their own lives.
A great example of such a case unfolded recently in the European Union. At the eye of the storm is the Hungarian Member of the European Parliament (MEP) Jozsef Szajer.
MEP Szajer was recently busted skirting COVID-19 laws restricting the number of people at gatherings. And he did it by attending a 25-man “sex party”.
Szajer – a married man with a daughter – is a founding member of the hardline Fidesz party. The party currently holds power in Hungary with Prime Minister Viktor Orban at its helm.
Fidesz has gained notoriety for its extremely conservative politics, including such things as “defending the sanctity of marriage”. Prime Minister Orban in particular is known as a firebrand, often railing against the more liberal values of Western Europe and the EU.
You’d then imagine that Mr. Szajer would subscribe to some rigorous moral standards.
Yeah, you’d really think that, wouldn’t you?
“The parliament is now in session!”
‘Fleeing Along the Gutter’
It’s bad enough for Szajer to be caught red-handed like this, but he didn’t even do it with dignity. The whole thing started on November 27 when Belgian police received several noise complaints about a party.
The complaints concerned a second-floor apartment in Brussels, where European Parliament’s committee meetings are primarily held. As a result, the cops decided to give the partygoers a surprise visit.
And what a scene it was that awaited them. According to Fox News, the police found a full-blown orgy in action, with 25 mostly naked men in attendance.
When the officers started marching in through the door, one of the men decided to make a break for it. With a backpack on him, he climbed out of the second-story apartment’s window and jumped down to the street.
Sarah Durant, spokesperson for Brussels’ deputy public prosecutor, said that shortly afterwards, a passerby saw the man “fleeing along the gutter”.
“The man’s hands were bloody. It is possible that he may have been injured while fleeing,” Durant told The Guardian.
“Narcotics were found in his backpack,” she added.
When detained, the man was unable to produce any identity documents. So, the police cordially escorted him to his residence, where he identified himself as – surprise, surprise – MEP Jozsef Szajer with a diplomatic passport.
With the same breath, the now-uncovered Szajer claimed diplomatic immunity. And so, he got off with a stern warning, despite blatantly violating Belgium’s COVID restrictions.
Regret and Apologies
He may have slipped through the hands of the police, but Szajer didn’t escape completely without consequence. Two days later, on Sunday, November 29, he resigned from his position as an MEP.
Still two days later, on Tuesday, December 1, Szajer released a public statement. In it, he admitted that he had indeed attended the “house party” in question and apologized for his “irresponsible” behavior.
“I deeply regret violating the COVID restrictions – it was irresponsible on my part. I am ready to pay the fine that occurs. With my resignation on Sunday I drew the political and personal consequences,” Szajer said according to The Guardian.
“I apologise to my family, to my colleagues, to my voters. I ask them to evaluate my misstep against a background of 30 years of devoted and hard work. The misstep is strictly personal,” he added.
As to the drugs that were found in his possession, Szajer played the age-old card of claiming to not know where they came from.
“I did not use drugs. I offered to the police to take an instant test, but they did not do it. Police said an ecstasy pill was found. It’s not mine, I don’t know who placed it and how,” he stated.
You can decide for yourself what you think of Szajer’s statement. We’re just saying, we feel like we’ve heard these same lines before.
Party Leader: ‘Not Cool, Man’
It’s too early to say whether his little late-night romp will be the end of his political career. It’s not making him any friends in high places, though.
Hungary’s Prime Minister Orban himself rebuked Szajer in a statement on December 20. Orban said that Szajer’s actions had “no place in the values of our political family”.
“We will not forget nor repudiate his 30 years of work, but his deed is unacceptable and indefensible,” Orban told reporters.
Commenting on Szajer’s decision to resign, Orban said he had made the “only right decision”.
“We acknowledge his decision, just as we acknowledge that he has apologized to his family, his political community and to the voters,” said Orban.
The European Parliament also chastised Szajer, though not quite as harshly as Orban.
“There is nothing wrong to participate in a sex party of any kind. However, such kinds of meetings with many people are illegal under the coronavirus laws,” an unidentified source at the Parliament told The Guardian.
“The fact of being covered by parliamentary immunity does not exempt anyone from obeying the law.”
While the police can’t prosecute Szajer at the moment, his diplomatic immunity will drop on January 1. After that, he might be facing a fine of roughly $300 for violating coronavirus laws, in addition to any possible drug charges.
In all fairness, Szajer apparently wasn’t the only politician present at the orgy. According to The Guardian, two other men busted at the party also claimed diplomatic immunity.
Still, Szajer’s claim to fame was that he masterminded the 2011 Hungarian constitution, restricting marriage to be between a man and a woman. Against that backdrop, getting arrested at a gay orgy is not a great look for him.
Naughty, naughty.