Sweden's NATO Membership Vote Fails in Hungary's Parliament Due to Boycott

During an extraordinary session of the Hungarian Parliament convened today, the vote on Sweden's NATO membership has failed. The cause was the absence of lawmakers from Prime Minister Viktor Orbán's Fidesz party, who collectively did not attend the session.

In the 199-seat Hungarian Parliament, Orbán's party holds 133 mandates. As a result, the quorum could not be secured, leading to the cancellation of the vote.

It was reported at the end of last week that members of the ruling coalition would not participate in the vote. According to Bloomberg, members of the ruling party boycotted the extraordinary session because they were strongly opposed to the idea of convening to discuss Sweden's accession to the North Atlantic Alliance.

Orbán's party members promise to revisit Sweden's NATO membership issue at the end of February when the Hungarian Parliament's spring session begins.