Fidesz MEP Balázs Győrffy resigns from mandate after drunkenly assaulting a woman

Balázs Győrffy, a Fidesz MEP, assaulted a woman while intoxicated, and following the incident he resigned from all his posts and quit Fidesz – he announced on his Facebook page.

"I failed, and for this I accept all responsibility and consequences" – Balázs Győrffy, Fidesz-KDNP MEP and President of the National Chamber of Agriculture, began his post, saying that last night, while drunk, he got into an argument with a woman, and the argument then escalated into an assault.

"What I did is unacceptable and intolerable. I am deeply sorry for what I did. Although, unfortunately, I have no recollection of what happened (...)". He also writes in his post that after what he did, there is no place for him in public life.

“I am therefore resigning from all my public positions, including my mandate as an MEP, the presidency of the National Chamber of Agriculture and I am leaving Fidesz. It is the least I should do in this situation.”

He concludes his post by saying that in addition to publicly accepting responsibility for his actions, he also accepts all legal consequences.

Blikk reports that Győrffy has been taken to the Central Investigating Prosecutor's Office (KNYF), where proceedings have been opened against him on suspicion of disorderly conduct and aggravated assault. We have contacted the Central Prosecutor's Office and will report back once they have responded.

A few minutes after his post was published, Fidesz also reacted to Győrffy's resignation. On their Facebook page they wrote: "There are clear rules and values in place in Fidesz. Anyone who violates them cannot be a member of our community!" According to them, there is no excuse for Balázs Győrffy's behaviour, and anyone who acts in such an unacceptable and intolerable way should leave the community immediately. “We do not tolerate violence, especially against women!”

The National Election Committee (NEC) had just transferred Győrffy's mandate as an MP to Balázs Hidvéghi a few days ago. Győrffy, who won a seat in the 2022 parliamentary elections on the joint Fidesz and KDNP list, resigned his seat in the Hungarian Parliament on 9 July, as he would have worked in the European Parliament, in addition to his several other, already well-paying posts.

The Fidesz communication machine has regularly attacked opposition politicians by saying that there is no excuse for violent behaviour. State propaganda has previously also suggested that anyone who supports Péter Magyar is supporting violence (due to the claims of his ex wife, former Justice Minister Judit Varga that he had abused her while they were married).

The Istanbul Convention of 2011 was initiated by the Council of Europe to prevent and combat violence against women and domestic violence. The Convention entered into force in 2014. It is the first document of its kind to legally bind signatory countries to establish a legal framework for combating violence against women.

Although the Hungarian government signed the convention in 2014, ratification has not yet taken place, partly because – as they say – some points of the convention are "incompatible with the government's policies on migration and gender". Former Justice Minister Judit Varga described the Istanbul Convention as political hysteria, which many in Fidesz circles regard as a "Trojan horse of gender ideology". In May 2020, the Hungarian Parliament voted in favour of a resolution rejecting the Istanbul Convention. Last year, the government claimed that violence against women was on the rise in many European countries because of the pro-immigration policies of Brussels and the left.