Hungary 2023- 12 April 2026

Orban, Beacon to the Right, Concedes Defeat in Hungary’s Election
Prime Minister Viktor Orban, who has inspired populist movements globally, could not overcome the growing dissatisfaction of his own citizens.
(NYT) … Sunday’s vote was widely seen as showdown between friends and foes of liberal democracy, a cause that Mr. Orban has battled against for years to applause from his fans in the United States, Europe and Latin America. The race was closely watched by the Trump administration and the Kremlin, both of which wanted Mr. Orban to win and both of which offered support in his campaign.
The implications of the outcome extend far beyond Hungary’s borders. The next prime minister may help alter the course of the war in Ukraine, a neighbor that Mr. Orban has cast as an enemy of Hungary, and affect European security. And the results will be looked at by populists around the world who view the Hungarian leader as a model of success and of pugnacious defiance of the mainstream.
Hungarian opposition ousts Viktor Orbán after 16 years in power
Péter Magyar’s Tisza party wins election as prime minister concedes defeat, in result likely to reshape ties with EU
(The Guardian) With 98.74% of the vote counted, Magyar’s Tisza party was projected to have won 138 of the 199 seats in the country’s parliament, giving them a super-majority capable of amending the constitution and key laws, suggesting they would be able to reverse some of the changes made by Orbán and Fidesz, and potentially unlock EU funds.
Fidesz won 55 seats, while the extreme-right Mi Hazánk party won six.
Magyar, who pledged to repair Hungary’s strained relationship with the EU, crack down on corruption and funnel funds towards long-neglected public services, said Tisza voters had rewritten Hungarian history.
“My fellow Hungarians, we have done it!,” he told the tens of thousands of jubilant supporters who had gathered along the banks of the Danube river to celebrate.
“Tonight, truth prevailed over lies,” said Magyar, 45. “Today, we won because Hungarians didn’t ask what their homeland could do for them – they asked what they could do for their homeland. You found the answer. And you followed through.”
In recent weeks, the antagonistic relationship between Orbán’s government and the EU had plunged to new lows, after Orbán vetoed further EU sanctions on Russia, as well as an additional €90bn (£78bn) loan for Ukraine. Tensions between Budapest and Brussels had since boiled over, following allegations that Orbán’s government had shared confidential EU information with Moscow.
News of the change in government prompted an outpouring of response from across the EU. “Europe’s heart is beating stronger in Hungary tonight,” said Ursula von der Leyen, the president of the European Commission. “A country reclaims its European path. The Union grows stronger.”
Donald Tusk, Poland’s prime minister, welcomed Magyar with a jibe at Orbán. “Back together! Glorious victory, dear friends!” he posted on social media, adding in Hungarian: “Russians, go home!”
Hungary’s Orban concedes landmark defeat to centre-right opposition
(Reuters) – Hungary’s veteran nationalist leader Viktor Orban conceded defeat on Sunday after a ​landslide election victory by the upstart opposition Tisza party, in a setback for his allies in Russia and U.S. ‌President Donald Trump’s White House.
Results based on 46% of votes counted showed the centre-right, pro-EU Tisza party of Peter Magyar, opens new tab winning 135 seats – or a crucial two-thirds majority – in the 199-member parliament, ahead of Orban’s Fidesz party.

Michelle Goldberg: He Was ‘Trump Before Trump.’ Now He’s in Trouble.
(NYT) Orban, seeking a fifth term amid an economy widely seen as terrible — with high unemployment, virtually no growth and threadbare social services — is running on fear. Much of his pitch revolves around the fantastical claim that his center-right opponent, Peter Magyar, is going to drag Hungary to war in Ukraine.
Hungary’s capital, Budapest, is blanketed with posters of side-by-side mug-shot-style photos of Magyar and Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelensky, with the words “They Are Dangerous! Stop Them!” In the past, Orban has succeeded by positioning himself against demonized opponents — he pioneered many of the right-wing conspiracy theories about George Soros — but this time, it doesn’t seem to be working. “You have to strain to see an idealistic, positive message about, let’s say, the economy, that Fidesz is putting forward,” said Fund.

8-9 April
Who is Péter Magyar, the man leading the polls as Hungary prepares for election?
Former Viktor Orbán loyalist and his Tisza party have enjoyed meteoric rise as opposition movement grows
As a child growing up in Budapest, Péter Magyar had a poster of Viktor Orbán – at the time a leading figure in the country’s pro-democracy movement – hanging above his bed. Orbán was one of several political figures that adorned his bedroom, Magyar told a podcast last year, hinting at his excitement over the changes sweeping the country after the collapse of communism.
Now Magyar, 45, is the driving force behind what could be another momentous political change in Hungary: the ousting of Orbán, whose 16 years in power has transformed the country into a “petri dish for illiberalism”.
Few could have predicted the meteoric rise of Magyar and his Tisza party. “He has built an opposition movement at amazing speed,” said Gábor Győri of Policy Solutions, a Budapest-based political research institute. “Never, since the history of this post-transition Hungary, have we seen a party rise this quickly.”
Can Hungary Reverse Course?
Stephen Holmes
(Project Syndicate) As Hungarians head to the polls, the rest of the world will be watching closely to see if Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s carefully crafted system of free but unfair elections is still functioning as intended. With his challenger commanding a double-digit lead in opinion polls, three scenarios remain possible.
On April 12, Hungarians will vote in an election whose outcome may already be decided—and whose meaning will become clear only after the ballots are counted. This is not just another European political contest. It is a test of whether a system designed to make itself unbeatable can still be beaten.
For 16 years, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has pursued a single objective: to make election outcomes predictable without abolishing elections themselves. Incumbency has been weaponized. Districts are gerrymandered. Courts are stacked. Media is captured. Patronage networks reward loyalty and punish independence. The result is a system in which losing has seemed increasingly improbable.
The lesson has not gone unnoticed. Orbán has shown how constitutional majorities can be used to dismantle future constraints; how market mechanisms can be twisted to eliminate independent media without formal censorship; how preferential procurement and favoritism can entrench a political class without openly abolishing competition.

7 April
Trump stumps for Viktor Orbán in phone call during Vance’s rally
(Poliitico) Orbán is one of the Trump administration’s top allies in Europe, but he’s lagging in the polls ahead of Hungary’s national election next week.
President Donald Trump took a call from Vice President JD Vance to voice support for Viktor Orbán during a rally alongside the Hungarian leader in Budapest on Tuesday, as the White House looks to boost the beleaguered prime minister ahead of what could be a bruising April 12 national election for his ruling Fidesz party.
Operation Save Orbán: Trump deploys Vance to Hungary
U.S. President Donald Trump gives a final heave to try and keep under-pressure Prime Minister Viktor Orbán in power.
(Poliitico) U.S. Vice President JD Vance is set to land in Budapest on Tuesday for a high-stakes intervention that underscores how far the White House is willing to go to shore up Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán before the April 12 national election.
Orbán is flailing in the polls, as anti-corruption opposition candidate Péter Magyar surges ahead in his bid to claim power in Budapest after 16 years of leadership by the ruling Fidesz party.

1 April
‘Trump is freaking out’: President said to be panicking as key ally faces big loss
(Raw Story) MS NOW’s Joe Scarborough called on Republicans Wednesday to “wake up” after reporting suggested that President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin were “freaking out” over what polls suggest will be a decisive election loss for Viktor Orbán, the Hungarian prime minister who’s faced scrutiny for having eroded democratic institutions.
… Scarborough went on to issue a plea to Republicans – notably Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), who on Tuesday boasted about a clay pigeon shooting trip he took to Edgefield County, South Carolina – to intervene in Trump’s efforts to secure a victory for Orbán, which include a public endorsement and direct pleas to Hungarians.
“Wake up, Republicans!” Scarborough said. “Maybe take a break from shooting clays in Edgefield County and actually be a patriot and push back on the president supporting an illiberal thug who’s helping Vladimir Putin.”

26 March
MAGA is growing anxious over Orbán’s fate
(Politico) As the war with Iran continues to dominate headlines in Washington, another overseas battle is quietly capturing attention among the elite echelons of the MAGA movement: Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s fight for reelection.
Orbán, who has consolidated power over Hungarian politics since re-entering the prime minister’s office in 2010, is facing one of his most challenging reelection contests to date, as voters chafe at a sluggish economy, the rising cost of living and a string of scandals involving members of Orbán’s political orbit. Polling ahead of the April 12 parliamentary elections shows Orbán’s Fidesz Party consistently trailing the center-right Tisza Party, led by ex-Fidesz member and chief Orbán challenger Péter Magyar.

25 March
Orbán cornered?
Gwynne Dyer
Hungary Prime Minister Viktor Orbán was prime minister by 1998, passing as a liberal democrat. However, he lost the 2002 election and spent the next eight years in opposition. It was clearly time to change sides, and when he won the 2010 election, it was as an ultra-nationalist, hard-right, antisemitic populist
(Hill Times) What makes it interesting is that this time Hungary’s Prime Minister Viktor Orbán may lose. The election is due on April 12, and for months now his Fidesz Party has trailed the opposition Tisza Party by a wide margin—generally around 10 per cent. The real cause of his problems is a stagnant economy, but he can’t fix that and he has started to panic.

Orbán cornered?

22 March
Trump lauds Viktor Orbán as Europe’s far-right leaders gather in Budapest
US president’s backing comes as Hungary’s PM faces toughest election campaign of 16 years in office
(The Guardian) … Trump, who also backed Orbán on social media last month, said he had been a strong leader who had “shown the entire world what’s possible when you defend your borders, your culture, your heritage, your sovereignty and your values”.
… Polling averages suggest Orbán’s challenger, Péter Magyar and his Tisza – or Respect and Freedom – party could outscore him by between nine and 11 percentage points on 12 April, in what is likely to be Europe’s most consequential parliamentary election of the year.

21 March
To tilt Hungarian election, Russians proposed staging assassination attempt
To aid Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, a friend of Russia, in his election, operatives proposed “the Gamechanger” — a staged assassination attempt to stir supporters.
(WaPo) There have been no physical attacks on Orban, whose popularity has eroded because of a worsening economy. But the mere suggestion of staging an attempt on Orban’s life underscores how high the stakes are for Moscow in the Hungarian race.
Russia is not the only outside power potentially looking to prop up Orban in one of the toughest campaigns of his career. Secretary of State Marco Rubio visited Budapest last month, telling Orban that “your success is our success,” and Orban has made no secret that he hopes Trump will do the same. But with Trump consumed by the war in Iran and Orban behind in the polls, Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto said Vice President JD Vance will visit instead.

20 March
Vance to visit Hungary days before Orbán’s election challenge, foreign minister says
(AP) … Vance’s office has not confirmed the trip.
The nationalist Orbán, who has been in power since 2010 and is looking for his fifth consecutive election victory on April 12, faces an unprecedented challenge from the center-right Tisza and its leader, Péter Magyar.
Trailing in most polls, Orbán has embarked on a nationwide campaign tour in an effort to shore up support.
Magyar, who has promised to restore Hungary’s democratic institutions that have eroded under Orbán and steer the country back toward its Western allies, has tested what once seemed an unshakable grip on power by the pro-Russian populist.
15 March
Orbán and challenger Magyar summon rival rallies in show of strength before Hungary’s April election
(AP) — Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán and his main political opponent, Péter Magyar, each drew throngs of their supporters to the streets of Hungary’s capital on Sunday for a show of strength before the two men face off in pivotal elections just four weeks away.
The rival rallies in Budapest, which drew hundreds of thousands of people in support of Orbán’s nationalist Fidesz party and Magyar’s center-right Tisza, are being viewed as a barometer for which side commands more support as the campaign enters its final month.

16 February
Ahead of Hungary’s elections, Rubio says Trump is committed to PM Orban’s success
Rubio praises Orban’s ties with Trump, offers financial support
Orban faces tough election with implications for Europe
Orban’s economic struggles amid EU criticism, inflation
Hungary’s election outcome could impact Europe’s political landscape
(Reuters) – U.S. President Donald Trump is committed to the success of Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban because his leadership and rapport with Trump are crucial to U.S. interests, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Monday, offering a robust endorsement of the nationalist leader as he faces a tough election in April.
Speaking at a news conference with Orban in Budapest, Rubio said U.S. ties with Hungary were entering a “golden era” but appeared to suggest that this depended on Orban being re-elected. He also indicated that Washington would be willing to help Budapest financially if needed.

7 February
Hungary’s Opposition Lays Out Plans For the Country After Orban
(Bloomberg) Hungary’s opposition party published a detailed policy program on Saturday as it seeks to present itself as a credible alternative to Prime Minister Viktor Orban ahead of April elections.
In the 240-page document, the Tisza Party promises to restore economic stability by ending ad-hoc rule changes and curbing corruption. The policy document lays out a plan to simplify taxes and avoid year-to-year volatility in fiscal rules, stopping short of giving details on the future of taxes levied on specific sectors.
The document is the clearest indication yet of what an alternative government in Hungary could look like. Tisza was founded about two years ago by Peter Magyar, a former insider in Orban’s Fidesz, and is leading the ruling party by a significant margin in most independent polls.
While Tisza says it wants a clean break from the Orban era, it would retain some existing policies, including regulated household utility prices and opposition to rapid Ukrainian accession to the European Union. The party says it would reduce its dependence on Russian energy sources by 2035.
The program also commits to complying with the European Union’s fiscal rules on deficits and public debt. That could restore investor confidence and unlock EU funds, although it does not provide a detailed accounting of how its policies would be financed.

22 January
Hungary Joins Donald Trump’s Board of Peace as Founding Member
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has praised the launch of US President Donald Trump’s new initiative, the Board of Peace. ‘Hungary is among the founding countries, because Hungary needs peace in order to continue to grow and develop,’ Orbán wrote in a post on X from the World Economic Forum in Davos.

14 January
Hungary’s main opposition widens lead over PM Orban’s Fidesz, two surveys show
(Reuters) – Hungary’s main opposition Tisza party has widened its lead over Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s Fidesz, two polls showed on Wednesday, ahead of an April election in which the veteran nationalist is seeking to retain his 16-year grip on power.
Orban, in power since 2010, is facing a strong challenger for the first time in the April 12 parliamentary vote, with the outcome having major implications not only for Hungary but for Europe and its far-right political forces.

9 January
Donald Trump intends to visit Hungary’s Orbán during key election campaign
(Euronews) US President Donald Trump teased a visit to Hungary at the invitation of Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán as the country readies for a crucial election in April.
According to a letter published by Orbán, Trump praised what he called the “golden era of American-Hungarian relations” and highlighted his interest in deepening cooperation in the areas of defense, energy, and our shared fight against illegal migration.

3 January
Hungary Trade Takes Off as Polls Point to Orban’s Election Loss
Takeaways by Bloomberg AI
Investors are positioning for the possibility that opposition party Tisza beats veteran Prime Minister Viktor Orban in the April 12 vote.
The thinking is that if Tisza wins, it will likely unleash a big market rally on the expectation that Hungary will be pushed back to the EU mainstream and its economy will be revived.
If Orban wins, investors say the negative reaction may be relatively small because the status quo would be maintained, with one investor noting that “policy continuation could result in a mild selloff, while a clear opposition victory could see a significant rally”.

2025

6 November
At White House meeting, Hungary’s Orbán to seek Trump’s blessing to keep buying Russian oil
(AP) — When Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán visits President Donald Trump in the White House on Friday, his priority will be convincing the U.S. administration to turn a blind eye to Hungary’s dogged commitment to buying Russian oil, a potential test of how deep the affinity goes between the two friendly leaders.
Orbán, once an outspoken opponent of Russia’s dominance of Hungary during the Cold War, has in the last decade made a dramatic shift toward Moscow that has baffled his opponents and many earlier allies.
Widely considered Russian President Vladimir Putin’s most reliable advocate in the European Union, Orbán has maintained warm relations with the Kremlin despite its war against Ukraine. He has also curried favor with Trump and his MAGA movement, which views Hungary as a shining example of conservative nationalism despite the erosion of its democratic institutions.
At the heart of Orbán’s appeals for an exemption is his claim that Hungary, landlocked in the heart of Central Europe, has no viable alternatives to Russian crude, and that replacing those supplies would trigger an economic collapse. Critics dispute that claim.
Yet Trump has indicated Orbán’s arguments may have stuck a chord. In October, he called Orbán a “very great leader,” and said Hungary was “sort of stuck” when it came to Russian oil purchases. Trump said Hungary has “one pipeline” — the Druzhba, which delivers Russian crude through Ukraine and into Central Europe.
However, another pipeline, the Adria, which originates at Croatia’s Adriatic coast, also delivers non-Russian crude to Hungary’s main refinery — a route Orbán’s critics and the Croatian oil transport company argue could handle Hungary’s energy needs.
Daniel Fried, an Atlantic Council fellow who is a former U.S. ambassador to Poland, dismissed Orbán’s complaints that Hungary doesn’t have other options for energy.
“Don’t insult everyone’s intelligence,” Fried said, noting that Poland, also in Central Europe, spent years preparing for alternatives. “Hungary has done none of this. They’ve whined and complained.”

22-23 October
Thousands March In Hungary As Orban Faces Growing Opposition To Pro-Russia Policy (video)
(Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty) Tens of thousands of people marched in Budapest on October 23, the anniversary of the Hungary uprising 1956 against Soviet authority that was violently crushed. Prime Minister Victor Orban led what he called a “Peace March,” stressing his opposition to military support for Ukraine, while his main challenger, Peter Magyar of the Tisza Party, led a mass opposition protest. Magyar supporters criticized Orban’s pro-Russia stance, while Orban argued the Ukraine war should be finished as it’s “blocking the growth of the European and Hungarian economies.”

Orbán and his main rival plan dueling demonstrations as Hungary’s elections near
(AP) — Hungary’s two main political parties will mark a national holiday on Thursday by holding rival demonstrations that will likely bring hundreds of thousands to the streets and kick off a campaign for elections next year.
With the ballot approaching in April, long-serving Prime Minister Viktor Orbán — trailing in most polls to his main political rival, Péter Magyar — hopes to use Thursday’s show of force to reinvigorate his base that has had its confidence shaken by a series of political scandals and years of high prices and economic stagnation.
Magyar, a onetime insider within Orbán’s Fidesz party who erupted onto Hungary’s political scene last year, aims to channel a growing number of dissatisfied voters into what will be both a political rally and anti-government protest. Observers of Thursday’s events will be watching the size and enthusiasm of the crowds as a barometer for which way the needle is tilting within the country’s polarized political climate.

10 July
Viktor Orban’s economic luck runs out
Apart from Poland, central Europe’s Visegrad Four face a slowdow
(The Economist) FOR VIKTOR ORBAN, it was a nightmare. On June 28th over 100,000 people marched in Budapest’s Pride parade, championing LGBT rights and defying a government ban. Hungary’s hard-right prime minister has dominated his country’s politics since 2010. But for months polls have put his Fidesz party well behind a new outfit founded by Peter Magyar, a conservative who rails against government corruption. With a general election due in April, Mr Orban’s formula of bashing gays, migrants and the European Union seems to have stopped working.

7 May
Ian Bremmer: Viktor Orbán is in trouble. Europe’s populist right isn’t.
Orbán may be stumbling, but his current woes are less a sign of waning populism or an anti-Trump backlash across Europe than a story of one populist’s bad bets coming due. We could be entering a world where Budapest becomes less of a thorn in Brussels’ side than before. But if European centrists think that’ll be the end of their troubles, they’re in for a rude awakening. Far-right European populism is not going anywhere.

19 April
Orbán’s stance on Ukraine pushes Hungary to brink in EU relations
Member states are considering removing the country’s voting rights after its attempts to stymie support for Kyiv
The posters are going up all over Hungary. “Let’s not allow them to decide for us,” runs the slogan alongside three classic villains of Hungarian government propaganda.
They are: Ukraine’s wartime leader, Volodymyr Zelenskyy; the European Commission’s president, Ursula von der Leyen; and Manfred Weber, the German politician who leads the centre-right European People’s party in the European parliament, which counts Hungary’s most potent opposition politician among its ranks.
That decision is Ukraine’s membership of the EU, a distant prospect not in the gift of any of the politicians now plastered across billboards in Hungary.

3 April
Hungary to pull out of ‘political’ ICC as Netanyahu visits Budapest
Israeli PM, who is wanted by the court, hails Viktor Orbán’s ‘bold and principled’ decision to leave the ‘corrupt’ body
Standing beside Netanyahu at the start of the four-day visit, Orbàn said Hungary was convinced the “otherwise very important court” had “diminished into a political forum”.
Netanyahu hailed “a bold and principled” decision. “I thank you, Viktor … It’s important for all democracies,” the Israeli prime minister said. “It’s important to stand up to this corrupt organisation.” Netanyahu has been under an international arrest warrant since November over allegations of war crimes in Gaza.
He also said he believed Israel and Hungary, both of which are led by rightwing nationalist governments, were “fighting a similar battle for the future of our common civilisation, our Judeo-Christian civilisation”.

2024

5-6 December
The Shifting Political Tide in Romania and Hungary
(Bloomberg) …in Hungary, there’s the prospect of an opposite shift. Prime Minister Viktor Orban, a figurehead for the far right and the EU leader that’s closest to Putin, is rapidly losing support to a more centrist rival. Peter Magyar has led his upstart Tisza Party to a compelling poll lead over Orban’s Fidesz, promising to root out corruption and to unlock billions of euros in crucial EU funding.

Hungary’s Descent Into Dictatorship
How Viktor Orban pulled off the unthinkable.
(Foreign Policy) …in Hungary the unthinkable happened: A state that jumped through all of the hoops to join the EU in 2004 commenced a rapid decline into authoritarianism just six years later. Other member states have endured stretches of democratic backsliding, including Romania, Slovenia, Slovakia, and, notably, Poland during the 2015 to 2023 Law and Justice government. But their political systems and societies were resilient enough to fight back and depose strongmen. Hungary did not rise from the mat. …
How Orbán’s challenger turned the tables
MEP Péter Magyar has gone from being a servant of the system to a game-changer in Hungarian politics.
(Politico Eu) Two things are certain: Death, and that Viktor Orbán’s Fidesz party will win.
That’s the way it’s been in Hungarian elections for the past 18 years, with every opinion poll confirming that Orbán, Central Europe’s populist strongman, will keep his job.
Until now. Two recent polls suggest the political tide is significantly shifting against the prime minister, as Hungarians’ discontent grows over the cost of living, frustration with rich elites and a pardon issued in a high-profile pedophile scandal.
Orbán’s long dominance of Budapest politics has infuriated the EU establishment as he aligns with Russian President Vladimir Putin on the need for the West to keep out of the Ukraine war, and with U.S. President-elect Donald Trump’s MAGA-style mantras on national sovereignty.
But that supremacy is no longer a certainty. According to the latest survey by Medián, considered the most credible polling institute in Hungary, the center-right Tisza party is favored by 47 percent of those who would vote in an upcoming election, with Fidesz trailing at 36 percent. The 11-point difference exceeds the margin of error.

17 September
Floods in Hungary lead to disputes between Orbán and opposition
(RBC Ukraine) Recent floods in Hungary, caused by Storm Boris, have sparked political tensions between Prime Minister Viktor Orbán and opposition leader Péter Magyar.
“The water level is expected to peak around Thursday in Budapest. A significant portion of the Danube’s banks in Budapest is currently closed. Preparations are underway. Against this backdrop, there’s a significant increase in political strife. Orbán and the Hungarian government are using this crisis to strengthen their power,” Tibor Tompa said.
According to him, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán is leveraging the natural disaster to criticize opposition forces.

11 September
The Hungarian leader Trump cites as a supporter champions ‘illiberal democracy’
(AP) — Former President Donald Trump made room during his debate with Vice President Kamala Harris to express the mutual admiration he shares with Viktor Orbán, the autocratic leader of Hungary who has cozied up with Russia and China and became a thorn in the side of his allies.
“They call him a strongman. He’s a tough person, smart,” Trump said of Orbán in response to Harris’ assertion that world leaders are “laughing” at the former president.
“Look, Viktor Orbán said it. He said, ‘The most respected, the most feared person is Donald Trump. We had no problems when Trump was president,’” Trump said.
Why is Orbán popular with conservatives?
Orbán, a right-wing populist and the European Union’s longest-serving leader, has become an icon to some U.S. conservatives for championing what he calls “illiberal democracy,” which includes some of the EU’s harshest restrictions on immigration and LGBTQ+ rights.
He has also cracked down on the press and judiciary in the formerly Communist Central European country and been accused by the EU of violating rule-of-law and democracy standards, all while vigorously pursuing ever deeper relations with Beijing and Moscow, considered adversaries by his allies in the NATO military alliance.
… The Hungarian leader has openly endorsed Trump’s candidacy in the November election, and boldly shared Trump’s claim that the Republican will be able to swiftly bring an end to Russia’s war in Ukraine.
Orbán, widely seen as having the warmest relations with Russian President Vladimir Putin among all EU leaders, has routinely blocked, delayed or watered down EU efforts to extend assistance to Kyiv and to sanction Moscow over its war. He has consistently pushed for a cease-fire but without detailing what it would mean for Ukraine’s statehood or territorial integrity, or the potential security implications for Europe and the United States.

6 August
‘Somewhere between Orwell and Kafka’: Hungary closes in on its media
(The Guardian) As leaders across Europe fume over Viktor Orbán’s unsanctioned foreign policy adventures, the far-right Hungarian leader has intensified his campaign against independent voices at home, increasing pressure on media outlets and civil society groups that do not toe the government line.
The prime minister’s meetings in recent weeks with the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, China’s leader, Xi Jinping, and the US presidential candidate Donald Trump have stoked controversy in diplomatic circles, further isolating Budapest at a time when Hungary is formally holding the Council of the European Union’s rotating presidency.
Getting far less attention abroad, however, has been a flurry of activity inside Hungary targeting independent journalism and watchdog groups. At the centre of the crackdown is the country’s controversial new sovereignty protection office.
Led by a figure with close links to the ruling Fidesz party and granted the power to draw upon the intelligence services without judicial oversight, the office was set up by Orbán’s government, formally to monitor foreign influence.
But in practice, critics say, it is serving not as an independent state body, but as a tool to apply pressure on government critics.

27 July
Hungary’s PM Viktor Orbán warns EU on path to ‘self-destruction’
Far-right leader talks of new Asia-oriented world order and throws support behind Donald Trump
Hungary’s nationalist prime minister, Viktor Orbán, said on Saturday that the EU was sliding toward oblivion, in a rambling anti-west speech in which he warned of a new, Asia-oriented “world order” while throwing his support behind Donald Trump’s US presidential bid.
“Europe has given up defending its own interests,” Orbán said in Băile Tuşnad, a majority ethnic Hungarian town in central Romania. “All Europe is doing today is following the US’s pro-Democrat foreign policy unconditionally … even at the cost of self-destruction.
“A change is coming that has not been seen for 500 years. What we are facing is in fact a world order change,” he added, naming China, India, Pakistan and Indonesia as becoming the “dominant centre” of the world.

22 July
Top EU diplomat calls rival meeting in response to Hungary’s rogue diplomacy
Meeting of bloc’s foreign ministers organised by Josep Borrell is in effect a boycott of a gathering in Budapest

12 July
Trump’s ‘going to solve’ Russia-Ukraine war, says Orbán
Peaceniks unite at Mar-a-Lago summit in Florida.
Hungary’s Orbán faces backlash over his rogue ‘peace mission’ meetings with Western adversaries
(AP) — Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has made a Trumpian vow to “Make Europe Great Again” during his country’s six-month presidency of the European Union. As a first step last week, he astonished his allies by making a surprise trip to Ukraine — his first since Moscow invaded the country — followed by similarly unannounced visits to Russia and China for talks with two of the EU’s primary adversaries.
The EU’s longest-serving leader — who has endorsed former President Donald Trump and is known as having the warmest relations with Vladimir Putin in the bloc — wrapped up a NATO summit in Washington on Thursday before traveling to Trump’s Mar-a-Lago compound — his latest stop on what he calls a “peace mission” aimed at brokering an end to Russia’s war in Ukraine.
10 July
What will NATO leaders make of Orbán’s “peace missions”?
May you live in interesting times, the old saying goes, but what about living in the weirdest of times? (Atlantic Council) Reflecting the strangeness of the current situation in international politics, one of the leaders of NATO arrived in Washington on Tuesday to attend the Alliance’s historic summit straight from visiting the capitals of NATO’s main adversaries, and just shortly after criticizing NATO and its leaders for being “pro-war” in a Newsweek op-ed.
Less than a week into holding the rotating presidency of the European Union (EU), Hungary’s prime minister, Viktor Orbán, has been jet-setting around the world to meet Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Russian President Vladimir Putin, and Chinese leader Xi Jinping, purportedly on a “peace mission” to help negotiate the ending of the war in Ukraine. In Beijing, Orbán endorsed Xi’s twelve-point peace plan for Ukraine and highlighted that Hungary will use the EU presidency “as an opportunity to actively promote the sound development of EU-China relations,” i.e. to de-escalate EU-China trade tensions and to reverse the shift to de-risking.
EU, US, and NATO leaders have been quick to condemn Orbán for his visits to Moscow and Beijing, with the representatives of the European Union also fuming at the suggestion that the Hungarian leader negotiated as “the president of the EU.”
Orbán landed in Washington with NATO allies planning to give Ukraine the necessary help for its self-defense and a “bridge to NATO membership” by setting up a new NATO command in charge of supplying arms and military aid to Kyiv.
One of the big questions swirling around the Washington summit, then, is how much further allied leaders will go in responding to one of their own going completely rogue. Another is whether Orbán will sign off at the summit on more support for Ukraine in a war that has just seen some of its bloodiest days.
But it’s worth noting that none of this is terribly new. Since the breakout of Putin’s war, Hungary has opposed Western support for Ukraine and refused to provide weapons or allow other countries to transport weapons to Ukraine through Hungarian territory. Under Orbán’s leadership, Hungary has oriented its foreign policy around Russian and Chinese interests since 2014, doing the two powers’ bidding inside the European Union and NATO and becoming increasingly hostile to the leaders of the United States and the EU. For a NATO ally, Hungary’s behavior has been strange for quite a while, but these days we are seeing even stranger things.

2 July
Hungary’s Orban, in Kyiv, proposes ceasefire to speed up peace talks
By Anastasiia Malenko and Anita Komuves
Hungarian PM asks Zelenskiy to consider ceasefire
Kyiv sees its summit as path to peace
Hungary took over EU’s rotating presidency on Monday
It is Orban’s first trip to Kyiv in more than a decade
Orban, Zelenskiy say they want broad cooperation accord
(Reuters) – Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban urged Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy on Tuesday to consider a ceasefire to accelerate an end to the war with Russia, but Kyiv said it saw its own approach as the path to peace.
Orban, who is an outspoken critic of Western military aid to Ukraine and has the warmest relations of any EU leader with Russian President Vladimir Putin, held talks with Zelenskiy during his first trip to Kyiv in more than a decade.

30 June
Hungary takes EU presidency echoing Trump but likely to lack bite
By Boldizsar Gyori and Philip Blenkinsop
(Reuters) – Hungary’s nationalist government launches its presidency of the European Union on Monday with a Trump-like call to “Make Europe Great Again” after EU lawmakers questioned whether it should be allowed to take on the role.
Their concerns are based on Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s many clashes with Brussels over democratic norms.
Hungarian diplomats say the country will be an honest broker, while analysts say Budapest’s actions at the forefront of EU policy-making are likely to be restricted given that Brussels is in a transition phase following elections in June.

8-9 June
Orbán’s party takes most votes in Hungary’s EU election, but new challenger scores big win
(AP) — Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s nationalist party took the most votes in Sunday’s European Parliament elections but sharply underperformed its past dominance in a race that pitted the long-serving leader against a new challenger that has upended Orbán’s grip on Hungarian politics
With 85% of votes counted, Orbán’s Fidesz party had 44% of the vote, enough to send 11 delegates of Hungary’s 21 total seats in the European Union’s legislature.
While Fidesz took a plurality of votes, it was down sharply from 52% support in 2019 EU elections and looked set to lose two seats in what was widely seen as a referendum on Orbán’s popularity.
Preliminary results showed that more than 57% of eligible voters cast a ballot, setting a record for participation in an EU election in Hungary.
While Fidesz has dominated Hungarian politics since 2010, many are deeply dissatisfied with how it has governed the country. A deep economic crisis and a recent series of scandals involving Fidesz politicians have rocked the party which prides itself on upholding family values and Christian conservatism.
Those factors led to the emergence of one of the most formidable challengers Orbán has ever faced, Péter Magyar, who broke ranks with Orbán’s party in February and in a matter of months built up Hungary’s strongest opposition party.
That party, Respect and Freedom (TISZA), stood at 30% of the vote Sunday, amounting to seven delegates to the European Parliament.
Hoping to deal a blow to Hungary’s Orbán, challenger holds mass demonstration on eve of EU election
(AP) — A rising political newcomer hoping to deal a blow to Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán mobilized tens of thousands of supporters in Budapest on Saturday in a final show of strength on the eve of a European Parliament election.
Péter Magyar, a 43-year-old lawyer who in a matter of months has built up Hungary’s strongest opposition party, hopes to use a good showing in Sunday’s EU elections to propel himself and his movement toward defeating the nationalist Orbán in the next national ballot scheduled for 2026.
Once an insider within Orbán’s Fidesz party, Magyar has gained quick prominence through publicly accusing the prime minister and his allies of corruption and anti-democratic tendencies. He has drawn thousands of curious spectators on a tour of nearly 200 Hungarian cities, towns and villages in the last two months.

23 May
Orban’s Vision for Budapest Raises Fears Over a Historic Skyline
(Bloomberg CityLab) Budapest’s grand, historic skyline hints at the city’s past as part of the Eastern bloc. But Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s government plans to bring modern high-rises to an iconic neighborhood near the center of the city, transforming it into a glitzy Dubai-style hub.

8 May
China’s Xi arrives in Hungary for talks on expanding Chinese investments
(AP) — Chinese President Xi Jinping arrived in Hungary late Wednesday, the final stop on his five-day European tour, where he’s expected to finalize a number of agreements with Prime Minister Viktor Orbán that will deepen China’s economic footprint in the region.
Xi is set to spend two nights in the Hungarian capital Budapest where he will meet with Orbán and Hungarian President Tamás Sulyok. Talks will center on future Chinese investments in the Central European country, which has courted deep economic ties with Beijing even as mainstream European leaders have pursued more protectionist policies to limit its reach on the continent.
Xi Jinping sends love letter to Viktor Orbán
Chinese leader prepares for arrival in Budapest with gushing missive to Hungary.
(Politico Eu) Xi Jinping is whispering sweet nothings to his allies in Europe.
Ahead of his imminent visit to Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, the Chinese leader celebrated the two countries’ 75-year-old diplomatic relations in a letter published Wednesday in a Hungarian outlet.
“Although the two countries are separated by a huge geographical distance, the friendship between the Chinese and the Hungarian people can still boast a long history,” Xi wrote in the pro-government outlet Magyar Nemzet

3-5 May
Hungary tired of ruling elite, Viktor Orbán challenger tells large rural rally
Péter Magyar, who is running in European elections, has shot to prominence by pledging to end corruption
Orbán challenger in Hungary mobilizes thousands at a rare demonstration in a government stronghold
(AP) — A rising challenger to Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán held what he called the largest countryside political demonstration in the country’s recent history on Sunday, the latest stop on his campaign tour that has mobilized thousands across Hungary’s rural heartland.
Some 10,000 people gathered in Debrecen, Hungary’s second-largest city, in support of Péter Magyar, a political newcomer who in less than three months has shot to prominence on pledges to bring an end to problems like official corruption and a declining quality of life in the Central European country.
4 May
How Orban Put Hungary Between China, Russia and the West
(Bloomberg New Economy) A generation ago, Hungarians turned out en masse in their capital of Budapest to joyfully shed the grip of the Soviet Union. It was common at the time to hear people say Moscow’s domination had denied Hungary its rightful place at the heart of European life and politics.
One young anti-communist agitator, Viktor Orban, was among those celebrating. But fast forward to today: Budapest, with Orban now prime minister, is preparing to fete Chinese Communist leader Xi Jinping during a state visit. More broadly, Hungary has emerged—in the view of Washington and Brussels—as the biggest troublemaker inside NATO, with moves such as opposing sanctions against Russia for its war on Ukraine and delaying Sweden’s entry into the Atlantic alliance.
Such an outcome for Hungary would have been tough to predict in 1989. But the seeds of Hungary’s idiosyncratic behavior were always present—Orban merely exploited them.
Many Hungarians are taught from a young age that they’re a unique group that arrived from Central Asia more than 1,000 years ago, settling in Europe amid mostly Germanic and Slavic peoples. Orban has leaned on this narrative in crafting nationalist economic and social policies*. And the West’s grand geostrategic competition with the China-Russia partnership gives him a bigger stage on which to display this Hungarian separateness.
* Inside Viktor Orban’s $1 Billion Academy for Tomorrow’s Nationalists
The Budapest-based college [Mathias Corvinus Collegium (MCC)] has turned into a powerful tool for the populist Hungarian leader to export his world view.
3 May
Xi’s visit reaffirms the importance of Serbia and Hungary in China’s plan towards Europe
Belgrade is a valuable bridgehead at the gates of the European Union to strengthen Beijing’s economic presence as well as political influence. Within the EU space, Budapest plays a similar function
(Agenzia nova) The Chinese president’s visit to Europe Xi Jinping, the first after five years, sees a careful selection of stages in the program. In fact, there are only three countries affected, two of which are located in Eastern Europe. In addition to France, which saw a new flowering in relations with China after the 2023 visit of Emmanuel Macron in Beijing, Xi’s European tour will include two “old friends”, the president’s Serbia Aleksandar Vucic and the Prime Minister’s Hungary Viktor Orban*.
* 19 February
China offers to deepen security ties with Hungary
Beijing’s move comes at a time when Budapest’s relationship with its EU and Nato allies is at a low point

25 March-6 April
Challenger to Hungary’s Orbán announces new political alternative to tens of thousands of supporters
(AP) … Magyar addressed a crowd that filled the sprawling square near the parliament building in Budapest, announcing his creation of a new political community aimed at uniting both conservative and liberal Hungarians disillusioned by Orbán’s governance and the fragmented, ineffectual political opposition.
New challenger to Viktor Orbán leads huge demonstration in Budapest
Péter Magyar, once an insider in the ruling Fidesz party, declares that ‘Change has started in Hungary which can’t be stopped’
(The Guardian) Tens of thousands of Hungarians protested against the country’s leadership on Saturday in one of the biggest demonstrations in years, organised by a former government insider who has shaken up Hungary’s political landscape.
Now, Magyar – who was previously married to Hungary’s former justice minister – is trying to build a new kind of opposition movement. On Saturday afternoon, young people, pensioners and families with children marched through central Budapest and tried to squeeze into the vast square in front of the parliament, with parts of the crowd spilling over to nearby streets.
Some carried signs bearing the names of their hometowns. Many waved Hungarian flags.
“From now, nothing will be as it’s been,” Magyar said as he made the case for a European-facing and meritocratic Hungary. “Change has started, which can’t be stopped,” he declared.
‘The time is here’: the ex-government insider shaking up Hungarian politics
Péter Magyar was a well-connected figure in the ruling Fidesz party. What prompted his transformation to Orbán critic?
It is a chaotic political saga that Hungarians are following like a soap opera.
A former government insider has become the talk of the country after he publicly broke with Hungary’s powerful leadership and declared he would launch a new political party.
His sudden transformation came as a bombshell, capturing the imaginations of many Hungarians who had lost hope of anything truly shifting in a country long dominated by Orbán. For more than a decade, the Hungarian leader has centralised power at home, increasingly extending his influence into the judiciary, media, universities and cultural institutions – all while cultivating closer ties to Moscow, Beijing and far-right movements across the globe.

7-12 March
Biden-Orbán feud heats up as Hungary summons envoy over ‘dictatorship’ diss
Budapest’s foreign minister fumes that it “is not obliged to tolerate lies, even from the president of the United States.”
(Politico) Hungary has hauled in the American ambassador for a dressing down after U.S. President Joe Biden’s remarks about Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán wanting to run a “dictatorship.”
During a presidential campaign stop in Pennsylvania on Friday, Biden said that Orbán “doesn’t think democracy works and is looking for dictatorship,” after the Hungarian leader’s love-in with Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump in Florida last week.
Trump’s love for Viktor Orbán hints at what another Trump term will look like
The ex-president recently hosted the Hungarian kleptocrat, whom he’s called a ‘strong man’ and a real ‘boss’, at Mar-a-Lago
(The Guardian) Orbán has spent the past 14 years making his country into a kleptocratic autocracy right in the middle of the European Union. Obviously, Trump does not need general guidance from Orbán; he is already endowed with authoritarian instincts. But, for all the obvious differences between Orbán’s small European nation and the US, Orbán’s rule holds concrete lessons which the American right is ready to adopt. Given the excitement with which Trump acolytes have been promoting Orbán – and their frequent pilgrimages to Budapest as the capital of “national conservatism” – Hungary offers a preview of a second Trump term.
Lesson number one: if you want to control the country, you must completely control your own party. After losing two successive national elections at the beginning of this century, it looked like Orbán’s career might be finished. Instead, he managed to govern his Fidesz party with an iron grip. It is not an accident that far-right populist leaders everywhere treat their parties as personal vehicles, with no real internal debates, let alone dissent, tolerated.
I watched Hungary’s democracy dissolve into authoritarianism as a member of parliament − and I see troubling parallels in Trumpism and its appeal to workers
Gábor Scheiring, Fellow, Harvard University
(The Conversation) Hungarian leader and strongman Viktor Orbán, who presided over the radical decline of democracy in his country, is scheduled to meet with former President Donald Trump, now the presumptive GOP presidential nominee, at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort on March 8, 2024.
Orbán has been Hungary’s prime minister since 2010. Under his leadership, the country became the first nondemocracy in the European Union – an “illiberal state,” as Orbán proudly declared. Trump expressed his admiration for Orbán and his authoritarian moves during their meeting at the White House in 2019.
I’ve followed their mutual romance with illiberalism for a long time. Although I am now in the U.S. as an academic, I was elected to the Hungarian Parliament in 2010 when Orbán’s rule started.
As the U.S. braces for a potential second Trump presidency, Americans may rightly wonder: Would Trump’s America mirror Orbán’s Hungary in its slide toward authoritarianism?

9-16 February
A Third Political Ally of Hungary’s Prime Minister Is Forced to Resign
The sex scandal underlying the resignation has challenged the ‘family values’ image Viktor Orban’s authoritarian government has tried to promote.
(NYT) A snowballing scandal in Hungary over the pardoning of a man convicted of covering up pedophilia in a children’s home forced the third resignation in a week on Friday of an important political ally of the country’s authoritarian prime minister, Viktor Orban.
The departure of Zoltan Balog, a former government minister, from the leadership of the Hungarian Reformed Church followed the resignations last weekend of Hungary’s president, Katalin Novak, and Judit Varga, a former Justice minister and a leading figure in Fidesz, Mr. Orban’s conservative governing party.
All three have been at the forefront of Mr. Orban’s efforts to present Hungary as a bastion of family values, committed to fending off what Fidesz reviles as “woke globalists” intent on undermining Christianity and Hungarian sovereignty through L.G.B.T.Q. “propaganda” imported from the outside.
Hungary’s Orbán faces a rare political crisis at home after president’s resignation
(AP) — Hungary’s long-serving government of Prime Minister Viktor Orbán faces a rare political crisis after the president, a member of Orbán’s ruling party, resigned amid public anger over her pardoning of a man convicted in a child sexual abuse case.
President Katalin Novák’s weekend resignation came after it was revealed that she issued a pardon in April 2023 to a man convicted of hiding child sexual abuses in a state-run children’s home. Former Justice Minister Judit Varga also announced her resignation from a seat in parliament over her role in endorsing the decision.
Some of Orbán’s opponents say the resignations of two senior members of his nationalist Fidesz party are not enough, and that Orbán must bear the political consequences.
Protesters demand Hungarian president’s resignation over a pardon in a child sexual abuse case

2023

17 December
How Hungary Undermined Europe’s Bid to Aid Ukraine
Prime Minister Viktor Orban used E.U. rules on unanimous decisions to sink a $52 billion package strongly backed by larger countries.
(NYT) The European Union has a population of around 450 million and one of the world’s biggest economies.
So how is it that Hungary, a small country with only 10 million people and a lackluster economy blighted by high inflation, this past week steamrollered Europe’s plan to throw Ukraine a financial lifeline worth $52 billion?
The Hungarian prime minister, Viktor Orban, torpedoed the aid package, strongly supported by much bigger countries like Germany, France and Poland, by exploiting the power of veto held by each of 27 member states over key decisions relating to foreign and security policy and spending.
The requirement for unanimity on important matters, designed to ensure that small countries have a voice, but which many see as a grave design flaw, means that no decision gets taken unless everyone is on board.
… There are growing concerns, however, that Mr. Orban wants to paralyze decision-making in pursuit of a broader ambition: upending the European Union in its current form and remaking it in Hungary’s image as a bastion against liberal values, immigrants and what he calls the “woke movement and gender ideology.” Hungary, he says, is a “counter model” that works.

22 November
Hungary’s Viktor Orbán threatens to blow up EU’s Ukraine policy
In a letter to Charles Michel, the Hungarian leader demands full review of EU policy on Ukraine.
(Politico Eu) Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán is threatening to block all European Union aid for Ukraine, as well as the country’s future accession to the bloc, unless EU leaders agree to review their entire strategy of support for Kyiv, according to a letter seen by POLITICO.
In the letter, addressed to European Council chief Charles Michel, the Hungarian leader says that no decision on funding for Ukraine, the opening of accession talks to the EU, or further sanctions against Russia can be taken until this “strategic discussion” happens when leaders gather in Brussels in mid-December.
“The European Council should take stock of the implementation and effectiveness of our current policies towards Ukraine including various assistance programs,” Orban writes in the letter, which is undated but bears the stamp of his office.

30 August
Hungary’s Orbán urges US to ‘call back Trump’ to end Ukraine war in Tucker Carlson interview
(AP) — Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán said in a sprawling interview with former Fox News host Tucker Carlson that the only path to ending the war in Ukraine would be the reelection of Donald Trump to the U.S. presidency.
In the interview, posted Wednesday on Carlson’s page on X, formerly known as Twitter, the nationalist Orbán praised Trump’s foreign policy while blasting President Joe Biden’s administration and its approach to the war.
Although Trump faces criminal charges for allegedly trying to overturn the 2020 election, returning the former president to office would be “the only way out” of the conflict, Orbán argued, calling any suggestion that Ukraine could defeat Russia “a lie.”

21 August
Orbán hosts Erdoğan and other eastern leaders on Hungary’s National Day
(Euro news) Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, a self-proclaimed proponent of “illiberal democracy”, is often characterised by his aggressive stance toward the West and was expected to use the talks to boost bilateral ties with Eastern partners.
Prime Minister Orbán received the leaders of Turkey, Serbia, Qatar and a host of Central Asian nations on Sunday in a sign of the European country’s continuing drift toward the Eastern sphere of influence.
The nationalist leader arranged numerous bilateral meetings with his eastern counterparts against a backdrop of St. Stephen’s Day celebrations (Hungary’s National Day commemorating the foundation of the state more than 1,000 years ago) and the world track championships.
Budapest is playing host to the 2023 athletics tournament and will also provide a forum for talks with business leaders from China over the nine-day event.
In a closed-door meeting, Orban and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan reportedly discussed bilateral cooperation, the war in Ukraine and Sweden’s accession to NATO however energy security was supposedly the primary focus of talks between leaders, according to Hungary’s Foreign Ministry.
Hungary’s foreign minister Péter Szijjártó told the press on Friday that the flow of gas from Serbia to Hungary will have to be increased if Ukraine terminates its gas transit contract with Russia. Budapest will also be looking to secure natural gas supplies from Qatar and Azerbaijan.

World Athletics Championships 2023
The 2023 World Athletics Championships, the nineteenth edition of the World Athletics Championships, are being held from 19 to 27 August 2023 at the National Athletics Centre, in Budapest, Hungary.
These are the first World Athletics Championships in Hungary.

6 June
Watch out Ukraine, here comes the Hungaro-Austrian Empire
European officials warn that wins by pro-Russian forces in Slovakia and Austria would hand Russian President Vladimir Putin a powerful tool against Ukraine, making it easier for him to undermine sanctions and EU efforts to assist Ukraine.
(Politico Eu) That would spell major trouble for the European Union, which is already struggling to cope with Hungary, where nationalist Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has systematically taken control of all major levers of power and undermined independent media, transforming the country into what critics see as a semi-authoritarian state in the middle of the EU.

28 March
Hungary has approved Finland joining NATO. But its delays raise deeper concerns.
(Atlantic Council) On Monday, Hungary’s legislature approved Finland’s accession to NATO, 265 days after Helsinki signed the protocols to join. The vote moves the long-delayed process forward, but it still leaves unaddressed both when exactly Hungary will take up Sweden’s accession and why the Hungarian government has taken so long. After all, it took the first twenty-eight NATO members fewer than ninety days to ratify both Finland and Sweden’s accession. Hungary and Turkey have been the holdouts, and while they have shared this status, it is important to look at the differences in how Budapest and Ankara have handled the process. Doing so raises new concerns about Hungary’s approach to the Alliance beyond the specific issue of this enlargement.
The reasons Turkey has taken longer are well documented. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has been quite clear on his major interests related to arms exports and in particular to Stockholm’s attitude toward Kurdish groups with alleged links to the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), which is designated as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the United States, and the European Union (EU). And Turkey’s lengthy process toward ratification has strained Alliance cohesion and made happy its enemies, such as Russian President Vladimir Putin. That’s not a small deal.
Still, Turkey early on presented detailed arguments and conditions that allies could debate and sort out. In contrast, Budapest has been opaque on the reasons why it delayed ratification on Finland and continues to do so for Sweden. Given that other allies delivered more than six months ago, lack of time has long ceased to be an acceptable excuse.

7 March
George Friedman: Hungary and Russia
(Geopolitical Futures) … Hungary, fairly alone among European nations, has developed a singularly friendly relationship with Russia. Recall that Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban visited Moscow shortly before the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Orban was seen conversing with Russian President Vladimir Putin about war and making a deal for a large amount of Russian natural gas to be delivered to Hungary. More important, Hungary refused to join the coalition coalescing to resist Russia. As recently as last week, Orban said that the fight between Russia and Ukraine is not a matter of concern to Hungary. Hungary was therefore the country in Europe least committed to supporting Ukraine and most enjoying its relationship with Russia. …
When he saw that war with Russia was coming, he assumed the West would either fail to defend Ukraine or collapse in the face of Russian power. Like others, he expected Western help to be limited, Ukraine to be rapidly overrun by Russia, and a new political and institutional structure to be established in Europe. This reasonably led to moving close to Russia and separating himself from Western powers. The fact that his assumptions were wrong has forced him into a difficult position. If Ukraine falls, Russia will occupy the eastern border of NATO – a border shared by Poland, Hungary and Romania. The next Russian move, in the face of the defeat of NATO, would likely run through Hungary, whose terrain enables relatively easy passage. NATO would therefore have to deploy soldiers to Hungary to block Russia. Hungary is a marginal player in the Ukraine war, but if Russia overtakes Ukraine, moves into Central Europe and establishes a new balance of power, Hungary will be a key battleground – in which case Orban’s relationship with Putin will mean little. So long as the Ukrainian war continues Hungary is secure. That changes if either Russia or the West scores a decisive victory. From Budapest’s point of view, the situation can get out of control.

Hungarian delegation backs Sweden’s NATO application
(AP) — A parliamentary delegation from Hungary said Tuesday that it supports Sweden’s NATO membership bid after meeting the speaker of the Swedish parliament to iron out what Hungary’s governing party has called “political disputes.”
Some Hungarian lawmakers have raised doubts about whether to support the NATO membership applications by Sweden and Finland, citing what they call “blatant lies” from Stockholm and Helsinki on the state of Hungary’s democracy.
But the Hungarian delegation indicated Tuesday that the parliament in Budapest would ultimately ratify Sweden’s NATO bid.

31 January
Hungary FM: Sweden should ‘act differently’ to join NATO
(AP) — Sweden’s government should “act differently” if it wants to clinch Turkish support for its bid to join NATO, Hungary’s foreign minister said Tuesday, adding that a recent Quran-burning protest outside the Turkish embassy in Stockholm was “unacceptable.”
Peter Szijjarto made the remark at a news conference following talks with his Turkish counterpart Mevlut Cavusoglu in Hungary’s capital Budapest. Both diplomats addressed the Jan. 21 anti-Turkish protest that increased tensions between Ankara and Stockholm as Sweden seeks Turkey’s approval to join the military alliance.
… The meeting in Budapest came as Turkey and Hungary remain the only two NATO members that haven’t approved bids by Sweden and Finland to join the military alliance. … Cavusoglu said Turkey shares Hungary’s wish for NATO enlargement, but that it was now “impossible for us to confirm (Sweden’s) accession” into the alliance. He called the Quran-burning protest a “provocation which will take us nowhere, it can only lead to chaos.”
Ankara has also said it’s displeased with Sweden’s efforts to crack down on groups that Turkey considers to be terrorist or pose a threat to the country, including Kurdish groups. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said that Sweden should not expect Turkey’s support in its membership bid.

27 January
The ever-helpful Viktor Orban
Hungary’s Orban: Ukraine’s backers have ‘drifted’ into war
Hungary’s prime minister says Western countries that are providing weapons and money to assist Ukraine in its war with Russia have already “drifted” into becoming active participants in the conflict
(AP) In an interview with Hungarian state radio, Viktor Orban said Germany’s Wednesday decision to send 14 Leopard 2 A6 tanks to Ukraine was emblematic of the increasing role Western countries are playing in the war, now in its 12th month.
Rather than arming Ukraine, the West should pursue “a cease-fire and peace talks,” Orban said, without giving details of what he imagined such negotiations would mean for Ukraine’s future territorial integrity.
“It started with the Germans saying they were willing to send helmets, because they wouldn’t send lethal tools into the war since that would mean participation in it. This is where we started,” Orban said. “Now, we’re at battle tanks, and they’re already talking about planes.”
Orban, who has refused to send weapons to neighboring Ukraine and has held up some European Union efforts to provide aid packages to Kyiv, has consistently argued against EU sanctions on Moscow and portrayed countries that assist Ukraine as being “on the side of war.”