European country declares EU ‘bigger threat’ than Russia | World | News
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has declared the European Union (EU) a bigger threat than Vladimir Putin‘s Russia as his nationalist party gears up for spring elections. Mr Orban, who has transformed the central European country into a so-called “illiberal democracy” during his 16 years in power, targeted the bloc in a speech on Saturday.
He compared the EU to the repressive Soviet regime that dominated Hungary until 1989 and dismissed the belief of many of his counterparts on the continent that Putin’s authoritarian regime poses the biggest threat to future security. “We must get used to the idea that those who love freedom should not fear the East, but Brussels,” he told supporters. “Fear-mongering about Putin is primitive and unserious. Brussels, however, is a palpable reality and a source of imminent danger.”
The attacks come as Orban’s ruling Fidesz party flounders between 8 and 12 percentage points below the opposition Tisza party in the polls, with Hungary’s April elections just eight weeks away.
Since regaining power in 2010, after previously serving as PM between 1998 and 2002, Orban has frequently clashed with the EU in his pursuit of a regime defined by nationalist, anti-immigrant and anti-LGBTQ policies.
He has also rewritten the Hungarian constitution to reduce checks and balances, increased governmental oversight of the judiciary and severely restricted the country’s free press and academic freedoms.
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While he may be something of a pariah on the continent, Orban’s hardline approach to issues such as migration have won him the approval of US President Donald Trump, who received a nod in the Hungarian leader’s address this weekend.
He praised Mr Trump for “rebelling against the liberals’ global-scale business, media and political network”, which he attributed to “improving our chances” of sweeping to victory.
The US leader posted an endorsement of Orban on his Truth Social platform on Friday, describing him as a “truly strong and powerful leader with a proven track record of delivering phenomenal results”.
