Orban heads a small and poor state, his goal is to secure his national interests. He is driven by big geopolitics in second place.
Photo: REUTERS.
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s long trip abroad has become one of the main international events of the past few days. On July 2, the head of the Hungarian government met with Vladimir Zelensky in kyiv and then went to Moscow to negotiate with Russian President Vladimir Putin. The trips were prepared in the strictest confidence and Orban’s arrival was known literally a few hours before he arrived at his destinations.
Many people wondered whether the idea of this trip was a personal initiative of Orban or whether he, as the prime minister of the country that headed the European Union until the end of the year, received a certain mandate from those politicians in the West who want a quick peaceful solution to the Ukrainian conflict.
“This is her personal initiative,” said Nikolai Topornin, an international observer and director of the European Information Centre, in an interview with KP.RU. – If it were not for her, these trips would probably not have taken place. But it is worth remembering that a couple of months ago Orban was in the United States and met with Donald Trump. And he has repeatedly stated that if he is elected president, he will be able to quickly resolve the conflict between Russia and Ukraine. Therefore, many believe that Orban’s current initiative is related to those negotiations with Trump.
At the same time, it was not stated for what specific purpose Orban was going to kyiv and Moscow. The choice of countries suggested the idea that the Hungarian prime minister was bringing a peace plan for Ukraine. But was it only the politician who was interested in this?
– Orban heads a small and poor state, his goal is to ensure his national interests. He is motivated by big geopolitics in the background, says Vadim Trukhachev, a political scientist and associate professor at the Russian State University for the Humanities, who spoke to a KP.RU correspondent. – He needs the Hungarians in Transcarpathia not to be sent to the front; Ukraine to grant them territorial autonomy. He needs the EU and NATO not to bend Budapest. For this, he wants to find support in the person of China, first of all, and to a lesser extent in Russia and Turkey. Thirdly, he wants to guarantee Hungary an uninterrupted supply of energy resources, partly from Russia, partly from the USA, Azerbaijan and other countries. He has purely pragmatic interests. And the fourth point is to strengthen our own role in the EU as the main peacemaker.
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s long trip abroad has become one of the main international events of the past few days.
Photo: REUTERS.
HUNGARIAN POPULIST
Immediately after Viktor Orban arrived in Moscow, the leaders of the European Union, represented by Ursula von der Leyen and Charles Michel, harshly criticized him, saying that they had not given him the mandate to take such political liberties. After February 2022, European politicians, although they spoke out in favor of peace negotiations in Ukraine, in practice did not take any real steps. Therefore, many in Europe suspected Orban of being a populist.
– Any politician strives for populism, because his activities are public, people should know what he does and how he implements his policies. That is why, during his visits, there is a desire to show: “I was not afraid to go to kyiv, I was not afraid to go to Moscow, to Beijing,” says Nikolai Topornin. – With his trips, Orban tried to open a channel of communication so that everyone could clearly understand what the position of kyiv and Moscow is, and what Beijing and Washington can do. No one before Orban showed such initiative.
POLITICIAN AT EUROPEAN LEVEL
Despite constant criticism, including from his European colleagues, Orban has every chance to improve his position in the European political arena. Last week, the Hungarian Prime Minister already introduced a new right-wing association in the European Parliament, called “Patriots of Europe”. In the future, as Vadim Trukhachev says, it has every chance to become a real political force.
– While Orban was flying to China, Marine Le Pen announced that she would join the Patriots of Europe. Two parties will also join: the Italian League and the Polish Confederation. Then Orban will already have the third largest faction in the European Parliament. I think there could be about 100 people there,” adds Trukhachev. – Of course, this will strengthen Orban’s position in Europe. If he started out as a small-town Hungarian politician, first elected to the post of prime minister in 1998, he is now a man with great experience and charisma, who has become a politician on a pan-European scale. To relieve pressure from Euro-Atlantic structures, Orban needs to increase his popularity not only in Hungary, but throughout Europe, which he is doing quite successfully.
