Hungary Votes No to Invasion

More than 90 percent of Hungarians who participated in Sunday’s referendum have rejected the European Union’s “refugee distribution” plan—setting the stage for a dramatic clash in Brussels which could cause the EU to split.

Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s victory has however been soured by a low turnout, which needed to be above 50 percent to be binding.

If the turnout is below 50 percent, the government will still claim victory and press ahead with measures to prevent the “distribution” of the nonwhite invaders—who were invited to Germany by chancellor Angela Merkel.

The question asked of voters was: “Do you want the European Union to be able to mandate the obligatory resettlement of non-Hungarian citizens into Hungary even without the approval of the National Assembly?”

Hungarian Deputy Prime Minister Zsolt Semjen has already announced that the government has “received a political mandate to protect the country from Brussels.”

Gergely Gulyas, vice president of Orbán’s ruling Fidesz party, said he expected a turnout of around 45 percent, but that the overwhelming “no” vote means that “only powerful nation states can form the foundations of an European Union.”

Legally, the referendum is non-binding, but in practical terms, the consequences are likely to be far-reaching.

If, as expected, the Hungarian parliament refuses to take in any of Merkel’s invaders, then the EU is likely to punish Hungary harshly.

This is initially likely to take the form of extensive financial penalties, but most likely Hungary will refuse to pay. This, or other political developments, could lead to Hungary’s expulsion from the EU.

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