The level of “coordination” between Moscow and Budapest, revealed by recent press leaks confirms the darkest scenario that Viktor Orban has played the role of Russia’s Trojan horse.
Contacts between Hungarian Foreign Minister, Peter Szijjarto, and his Russian counterpart, Sergei Lavrov, were consistent, detailed and focused on strategic files in sensitive meetings, (both at EU level) which has astonished many EU members.
There have been strong public reactions from EU officials and behind the scenes the EU has gone so far as to limit the flow of sensitive information shared with Budapest, for fear that everything could land on Moscow’s table in real time.
Some European intelligence sources stressed that the tone of the dialogues between Szijjarto and Lavrov resembled a typical discussion between a source and the managing officer.
Until the recent revelations, which highlighted the double game played by the head of Hungarian diplomacy, the suspiciously pro-Russian positions of Budapest were already part of EU folklore.
- Prime Minister Orban made state policy out sabotaging NATO and EU plans, aimed at supporting Ukraine in the war unleashed by Russia.
- The Orban government made state policy out of sabotaging EU efforts to strengthen the cohesion among its members.
- Orban’s state policy has been to undermine any community attempt aimed at weakening Moscow either politically or economically
- And lastly, the demonization of the EU and Ukraine has become the central campaign theme of Victor Orban and his party, FIDESZ, ahead of Sunday’s elections. At this point, there is practically no difference between the anti-EU electoral propaganda, unleashed by Orban, and the anti-Western propaganda made by the Kremlin.
From Romania’s perspective, a country, according to polls, where citizens are deeply attached to EU and NATO membership (so democracy, liberalism and strategic orientation towards the West), the relevance of elections in the neighboring state is as obvious as it could be.
Because:
- Viktor Orban’s country project of an illiberal democracy, a non-liberal state is a paradigm incompatible with the aspirations of Romanians. It probably wasn’t an accident that Viktor Orban formulated the idea of illiberalism for the first time in a speech held in Romania, on July 26, 2014, at the Summer University in Baile Tusnad. The models listed at the time by Viktor Orban included Singapore, China, India, Russia and Turkey – in that order. As far as we all know, no Romanian who wanted to live better and freer has moved to these countries since communism fell and our borders were opened. On the other hand, almost a quarter of Romania now lives in EU member states, Canada and the USA.
- Viktor Orban has a profoundly revisionist approach, and his government has invested massively – money, in influence and propaganda infrastructure – in Romania and in the other Eastern European states with a solid Hungarian minority.
- The irony of fate, however, is this: although a revisionist, Viktor Orban enjoys the support of the “sovereignists” from AUR (details HERE), and Marcel Ciolacu, when he was prime minister and president of a populist-nationalist PSD, left behind any shred of shame and embarrassed himself with his Hungarian counterpart (details HERE). Moreover, last year, around the presidential elections in Romania, Viktor Orban initially supported Simion, only changing his position after criticism from the Hungarian community.
- In addition to undermining Western democracy and liberalism and the aggressive revisionism it promotes, the Orban government has also been extremely diligent in promoting Russia’s interests in Europe for the past decade. Russian interests that, by their nature, flagrantly contradict the interests of Romanians, who are firmly committed to the country being members of the EU and NATO. It should not be forgotten, therefore, that the efforts Romanians made to join the two blocs had in the background precisely the burning desire to detach themselves from Moscow’s orbit, of which Orban’s Hungary is a conscientious satellite today.
- Finally, the same Viktor Orban, today is the Trojan horse for MAGA ecosystem and its figurehead, Donald Trump. The MAGA-Trump duo essentially has the same thing as Putin’s Russia: the destruction of the European Union, democracy and the liberal state. In addition, it undermines NATO from within with an efficiency never achieved by the external sabotage of the Soviet Union, and later of Putin’s Russia.
On Sunday, not just Hungarians in Hungary but also those who live in Romania and have Hungarian citizenship will vote in parliamentary elections.
For them, the message from the most relevant political actor that represents them is the UDMR and its president, Kelemen Hunor. His message was unequivocal: vote for FIDESZ and vote so that Viktor Orban can continue as prime minister.
Kelemen Hunor justified his appeal by invoking the cultural, political and financial benefits provided to Hungarians in Romania by Orban’s government.
For Hunor when he gave his message about two months ago) nothing from the Orban “criminal record” related to the EU, NATO, Ukraine, democracy, liberalism, freedom mattered.
He said, instead, that he did not see anything convincing about Orban’s opponent, Peter Magyar, and his party, Tisza.
Curiously, despite the fact that in the meantime the explosive revelations about the maneuvers made by the Kremlin through Peter Szijjarto have appeared, Kelemen Hunor is silent.
The underlying problem with what Viktor Orban and his subordinates are doing, in terms of promoting Russian interests and undermining the model of liberal democracy in the EU, is that Orban is not only harmful to the Romanian people, but also to ethnic Hungarians.
After all, the freedom and benefits that come from deep integration in the EU are the same whether you are called Ion or János.
Hunor knows this all too well, but the UDMR has become a trailer to Orban’s tractor.
