“He is one of the commissioners who actually reads up on the stuff,” said a European Parliament official, granted anonymity to speak candidly.
There’s also the boomerang factor. A “change of regime,” as Péter Magyar described his landslide victory in Hungary, could also sweep through France next year. The Berlaymont is wary of giving Marine Le Pen any leverage to swap out Executive Vice President Stéphane Séjourné with a far-right National Rally pick.
Four high-ranking Commission officials told POLITICO there had been no internal discussion about removing or sidelining Várhelyi either before or after Sunday’s election.
Hard to fire …
In the wake of his blowout win, Magyar has signaled an intention to clean house, inviting Orbán appointees throughout the Hungarian state to resign or be removed. However, late Tuesday, his team said Várhelyi’s future is up to Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.
“It’s her prerogative to think about her college, it’s not up to us to interfere in this matter,” said an official from Magyar’s Tisza party, granted anonymity to speak about internal deliberations.
During the campaign, however, Magyar publicly accused the commissioner of withholding information about the alleged spy ring run out of Várhelyi’s office during his spell as Hungary’s Brussels envoy between 2015 and 2019. He and Magyar overlapped at the embassy from 2011 to 2015, also counting Várhelyi’s spell as deputy ambassador.
