Viktor Orban Is Fighting for His Political Life
A friend of Trump and Putin, Hungary’s prime minister faces the toughest electoral challenge of his 16 years in power.
Opposition supporters hang Tisza campaign posters in the village of Vértesacsa, near Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s birthplace of Székesfehérvár.
Photographer: Photo: Akos Stiller/BloombergWhen US Vice President JD Vance arrived in Budapest this week ahead of Hungary’s election, it was a path well-trodden. French far-right leader Marine Le Pen, her Dutch counterpart and Poland’s president have all visited to give a boost to their ally, Viktor Orban.
The vibe in Hungary suggests that Europe’s longest-serving prime minister needs all the help he can get. He’s embroiled in the fight of his political life against a younger challenger who has mobilized support like only Orban could in the past. The outcome of the vote on Sunday will have geopolitical ramifications from Washington to Moscow via the presidential palace in Kyiv.