🔗 Share this article

During the 2016 US presidential election campaign, Viktor Orbán emerged as the sole EU chief to endorse Donald Trump. This support was expected, given the Hungarian leader's embrace of contentious notions like population replacement concept and his restrictions against media freedom. Observers observe that Mr Orbán practically wrote the playbook for the Make America Great Again campaign, with former White House strategist Steve Bannon hailing him as a precursor to Trump.

Electoral Support In advance of Hungarian Elections

Last week, ahead of pivotal polls in Hungary just half a year off, Donald Trump offered electoral assistance. As Mr Orbán pursues a fifth straight win presiding over a country he labels an illiberal state, his Fidesz party currently trails in opinion polls. A meeting to the US capital resulted in beyond a few signed Maga baseball caps; it secured considerably more valuable electoral advantages.

Energy Exemptions and Financial Shields

Even though previously lecturing European states on the imperative to stop all resource supplies from Russia, and warning of restrictions against states still to import Russian energy, Donald Trump approved to allow a special exemption for Hungary – the biggest user in the EU of Russian crude. Per the Hungarian leader, the Trump administration also pledged to provide a fiscal buffer to Budapest if it faces any future difficulties, given that the European Union persists in holding back large sums from the EU to Hungary due to violations of legal standards.

The specifics of this arrangement are somewhat murky. However Mr Trump recently demonstrated his willingness to support political friends when the United States granted a a $20 billion loan to the Argentine leader, Javier Milei. While the Hungarian PM was unable to arrange a Trump trip to Budapest to Budapest, the Washington talks nevertheless was a successful endeavor.

Brussels' Worries and International Implications

Among European leaders, the US president's move will have further underlined the strategic importance of the coming election, before which the opposition candidate, Péter Magyar, holds a comfortable lead in opinion data. European leaders have learned not to look for principled consistency from the Trump White House, and are familiar with the American leader's efforts to belittle the EU. But the special treatment for Orbán – which came at the price of an agreement to buy American natural gas and nuclear power – flagrantly undermines the bloc's aims to phase out Russian oil and gas by the target date.

• Starting in 2022, the largest EU buyers of Russian oil, Hungary and Slovakia, have contributed more than ten billion pounds to the Moscow's war operations.
• At the same time, Hungary has often employed the veto power to hinder advancement in Ukraine’s EU accession talks.
• As Europe strives to forge a unified and effective strategy for supporting Kyiv, and strengthening its hand in any future peace negotiations, Mr Orbán’s Putin-friendly presence at the international forums is still a key barrier.

Opposition Stance

The opposition candidate has avoided promising a major policy shift on the Ukraine conflict, and focused his campaigning on domestic issues, while highlighting the necessity for the country to begin operating as a positive member state. Following persistent provocations, the European Union can only wait and hope. The Hungarian leader's apathy to basic EU values, like the protection of minority groups and the autonomy of civic groups, has long been a humiliating embarrassment for the bloc. His ongoing blocking tactics regarding the Ukraine issue could harm its future security.