Budapest (AFP) – US Vice President JD Vance on Tuesday threw his support behind Hungary’s nationalist Prime Minister Viktor Orban, ahead of this weekend’s fiercely fought parliamentary elections, accusing Brussels of “foreign election interference”. Orban — the EU leader with the closest ties to US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin — is facing an unprecedented challenge to his 16-year rule in Sunday’s vote.
Vance arrived on Tuesday in the Hungarian capital Budapest to deliver a message of support from Trump to his ally, hailing Orban as a “model” for Europe. “I did want to send a signal to everybody, particularly the bureaucrats in Brussels,” he told reporters in a press conference alongside Orban, accusing Brussels of interfering “to hold down the people of Hungary”. Vance is due to deliver a speech at a rally with Orban later, focusing on “the rich partnership between the United States and Hungary,” according to a statement from his office.
The 41-year-old conservative’s visit follows that of US Secretary of State Marco Rubio in mid-February, who wished his Hungarian ally “success” in the April 12 election. US and Hungarian flags lined a bridge leading up to Orban’s office in the landmark Carmelite Monastery overlooking the Danube. Security was tight across the capital with a heavy police presence and a tight cordon around Orban’s office, the venue for the joint press conference.
Vance is one of the US administration’s fiercest critics of centrist and progressive European governments and one of the most fervent supporters of far-right parties in Europe.
Orban said he had discussed the “major issues facing Western civilisation” with Vance, such as “migration, gender ideology, family policy, and global security”. He also slammed the “unusually crude and overt interference by foreign intelligence services in Hungary’s electoral processes”. Orban, 62, has been in power for 16 years and is close to Moscow. According to analysts, Orban has benefited from covert Russian assistance to boost his chances of reelection.
However, polls by independent institutes predict a sweeping victory for the Tisza party led by pro-European conservative Peter Magyar. In two years, Magyar has built an opposition movement capable of challenging Orban. Pro-government institutions are predicting victory for Orban’s Fidesz-KDNP coalition.
Since returning to power, Trump and his government have broken with the traditional restraint past US administrations have shown regarding foreign elections. Instead, they now strongly show support for leaders they see as compatible with US diplomatic priorities. In his visit in February, Rubio left no doubt about who the US wants to prevail in Sunday’s vote. “I can say to you with confidence that President Trump is deeply committed to your success, because your success is our success,” Rubio said during a joint press conference with Orban after their meeting.
Orban is particularly aligned with the Trump administration on anti-migrant policies, which came to the fore in Hungary during the refugee crisis 10 years ago. He has visited Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida several times.
© 2024 AFP
