Editorial|Other EU countries allow Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán to continuously expand the gray zone where the common rules do not fit.
Unkar’s Prime Minister Viktor Orbán is one of the most experienced politicians in the European Union and a power politician in the style of Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump. Although Orbán will not be able to influence the EU’s legislative work during Hungary’s current EU presidency – because it does not exist yet – the turning point of the EU seasons gives him room to make fun of the world, as it were, in the name of the EU.
On the second day of his presidency, which began in July, Orbán traveled to Ukraine, followed by a trip to Moscow to meet Putin. Soon after, Orbán shook hands with Xi Jinping in Beijing. He did all this without an EU mandate.
Orbán is counting a lot on Trump returning to the presidency of the United States. A few days ago, in the election debate, Trump mentioned Orbán, describing him as an intelligent leader who wonders why the world is at war. The mention was a good reminder that for Trump, a phone call to the EU means a call to Orbán, not to Brussels to Ursula von der Leyen, to Paris to Emmanuel Macron or to Berlin to Olaf Scholz.
On Wednesday, Orbán will speak in the EU Parliament and present the program for the Hungarian presidency. Although the far-right got stronger in June’s EU elections and the new right-wing group of Orbán and France’s Marine Le Pen became the third largest in the parliament, the reception in the parliament is probably cold. Orbán really stretches the limits when he plays in Russia’s pocket. In July, Hungary announced that it would introduce an express visa for Russians and Belarusians.
More surprises are sure to come at the time when a new commission and a program for the EU are being put together throughout the fall. Orbán wants his “peace mission” to continue, and he is favored by both Trump and Putin. In the EU, Orbán is constantly expanding the gray zone where common rules do not hold. The EU can resent Orbán as much as it wants, but the Hungarian leader doesn’t care.
The editorials are HS’s positions on a current topic. The articles are prepared by HS’s editorial department, and they reflect the journal principle line.
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