A sweeping victory in Hungary further empowered a divisive European Union and NATO member’s leader over the weekend, and approving comments from Russian leader Vladimir Putin could inflame the situation more.
Viktor Orban, the nationalist prime minister of Hungary, secured his fourth term on Sunday, winning by a larger margin than experts predicted, and he saw his party pick up two-thirds of the seats in the National Assembly. Orban has walked a fine line in recent months, signaling a friendliness with Moscow that his EU and NATO colleagues, with the exception of Turkey, haven’t shown in the face of Russia’s war in Ukraine.
Putin has taken note that although Orban has condemned Russia’s invasion and supports EU sanctions, Orban’s policies at home aren’t as hawkish.
“The head of the Russian state expressed confidence that, despite the difficult international situation, the further development of bilateral ties of partnership fully meets the interests of the peoples of Russia and Hungary,” the Kremlin said in a statement.
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Friendly words from the Kremlin, along with Orban’s statements about Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky being part of an “overwhelming force” he had to fight in his victory speech, are likely to exacerbate the tensions between the two leaders.
“The Left at home, the international Left all around, the Brussels bureaucrats, the Soros empire with all its money, the international mainstream media, and in the end, even the Ukrainian president,” he said, listing forces he believes are arrayed against his administration.
Orban has been accused of being “pro-Putin,” but the nationalist leader has been hard to pin down on a consistent policy on Russia.
Hungary, as with much of Europe, is highly dependent on Russian oil and gas. Russia provides 85% of the country’s gas and 64% of its oil. Although it supported tough sanctions on Russia, Hungary is not the only country that has declined to crack down on Putin’s oil and gas export business.
However, Orban’s rhetoric toward Ukraine has been brasher than his support for Russia.
While much of the EU has thrown its support behind Zelensky, transferring arms and aid, Orban has made it clear he will not allow any lethal munitions bound for Ukraine to cross his borders.
More than his lobbying not to impose sanctions on Russia’s oil and gas exports, Orban is creating tensions within the EU for his style of governing. The prime minister has been accused of running a self-styled “illiberal state.”
Earlier this year, the EU cut off support payments to Hungary and Poland in a response to those countries “veering away from democratic norms with policies such as exerting excessive control over the judiciary, stifling media freedom, and denying the rights of LGBT people.”
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Zelensky has been frustrated with Hungary’s failure to push for more sanctions on Russia. On Saturday, the Ukrainian president criticized Orban, suggesting he is “virtually the only one in Europe to openly support Mr. Putin.”
“The whole of Europe is trying to stop the war, to restore peace,” he said. “Then why is official Budapest opposed to the whole of Europe, to all civilized countries?”
